One in five cars bought in the UK in November was battery electric, the highest proportion so far. Add plug-in hybrids and you’re looking at 27.7% of the market.
As the World Cup comes to a close, a couple of related links. Here’s the Scientific American on FIFA’s carbon neutral claims: “FIFA’s slippery stance symbolizes the all-too-common misleading practices that many organizations, companies and governments use to hoodwink people into thinking they are addressing climate change while instead doing little.” And here’s an article that answers the question raised in the link above – FIFA didn’t get it right in Qatar, but BBC Futures asks what might a truly sustainable World Cup look like?
Two different companies in the US have launched induction stoves with built-in batteries recently. David Roberts has spoken to them to find out why that’s a smart idea.
Meanwhile on the low tech side, some councils in France are meeting their climate targets by turning back to horses – see the Guardian’s piece on horse-drawn bin collections and school buses.
With all banned accounts reopened and scientists and academics going elsewhere, climate misinformation has exploded on Twitter since Elon Musk got hold of it.
It’s been a busy week for me as I’ve been trying to get a publishing proposal together for a 2023 project, but here are some recent highlights from the blog:
What simple actions can people do to reduce their carbon footprints?
This is one of the questions I get asked most often. What simple actions can ordinary people do to reduce their carbon footprints? I expect you’ve heard it before. Let me reply with a question of my own: which simple household objects can I use to battle a T-Rex? None, right? If I need to…
Welsh wind power for Wales
The largest wind farm in Wales has 76 turbines and provides enough energy for a sixth of all Welsh households. It’s run by the company Vattenfall, and that’s an interesting firm. The name is the Swedish word for waterfall, as the roots of the company lie in the Royal Waterfalls Board, a state-owned agency that…
Rwanda’s circular economy plan
Rwanda is a true sustainability leader – see the Kigali accord that regulated greenhouse gases from refrigerants, and the plastic treaty proposed with Peru earlier this year. Last week Rwanda hosted the World Circular Economy Forum, and at the event they launched their first national action plan for a circular economy. If you’ll excuse a…
The Earthbound Report 