The most polluted city in the world is now Lahore, Pakistan, according to a list of the 12 worst cities for air pollution. Ten of the 12 are in Asia and six of them are in India, making this a real priority issue for the region.
Carbon Brief ran a week-long focus on offsets this week, looking at how the history of offsets, how they’re supposed to work, the unintended consequences, and lots more. Really useful series.
The Orkney Islands in Scotland are going to trial electric ferries for three years, starting in 2024. Space-age flying ferries no less, and I would very much like to ride one.
The mayor of Chicago is bringing in a host of new ideas to redress environmental racism in the city – a really interesting set of policies for unwinding decades of structural inequality.
There is perhaps no greater demonstration of the ‘greater fool theory‘ than the craze for NFTs. A new report reveals that 95% of investors have lost their money and the NFTs are now worthless. However, I rather liked the finding that four out of five NFTs created remain unsold. That suggests that there were never enough fools to go round, and that makes me feel better about the state of humanity.
Highlights from this week
Book review: The Nutmeg’s Curse, by Amitav Ghosh
“Do not tell yourself that you already know its contents, because you don’t,” says the Naomi Klein endorsement on the back of The Nutmeg’s Curse, by Amitav Ghosh. It made me smile, because I read a lot of books about climate change and they do tend to fall into a pattern. Man runs the numbers…
Start your own Green New Deal
If the government is dragging its feet about delivering a Green New Deal, what if you make it yourself? Not all at once, but for your street? That’s what Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell are up to on their road in Walthamstow, London. And as they do it, they want to document it all so…
How Twitter changed sides on the climate
17 years ago Elon Musk wrote the very first blog post on the newly launched website of his car company, Tesla. It’s still online today, and it’s called The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me). In it, Musk explains how Tesla is a means to an end. The elite sports car…
The Earthbound Report 