It’s great to read about America’s first hydrogen powered train, profiled in the Guardian and hopefully the start of a trend.
Lots of inspiring people to read about in the Grist 50 for this year, “50 people across the U.S. who are tackling some of the most pressing problems of today in innovative and exciting ways.”
Meanwhile in the UK, steps were finally put in place this week to end the 700 year practice of hereditary peers and stand down the last 92 of the landed gentry that still have a vote for life in the House of Lords.
Many angry words have been deployed against 20 mph zones in the UK, but a study of lower speeds (30km elsewhere) across 40 cities in Europe confirms multiple benefits. Reduced noise, emissions and fuel consumption, and reductions of 23% in crashes, 37% in fatalities and 38% in injuries.
I don’t suppose you had a speech by Xi Jinping on your to-read list for the weekend, but this opening address to a China-Africa summit is a signal of intent that international relations observers will want to note. China’s president tells his audience that development as directed by the west hasn’t worked well for the global south, and welcomes a new wave of modernisation that is green, fair, and that puts people first.
This week’s articles
What will it take to restore Britain’s biodiversity?
Last week I was reading the Wildlife Trust’s plans to bring beavers back to England. It’s a scheme that has been described as controversial or even irresponsible – usually by anglers, admittedly. But it’s only putting back something that should have been there all along. Beavers have been absent from England since the late medieval…
How Colorifix make sustainable colours
I’ve just finished a rather good book called The Secret Lives of Colour, by Kassia St Clair. It tells the background stories of dozens of different colours, from woad to khaki to avocado green. It’s full of fascinating stories, but a couple of things jumped out to me. One of them is that we take…
The Earthbound Report 