I’ve had a bit more driving than usual to do recently, and I’ve been listening to the Not Built for This podcast, a mini-series from the always excellent 99% invisible. It looks at how towns and cities were built for different weather, and how climate change is transforming places in unexpected ways. Really great reportage that tells some unusual stories.
I already shared the news about the stadium this week, but here’s the latest edition of the Zero Carbon Luton newsletter that I sent out a few days ago.
Reasons to be Cheerful has a nicely presented photographic article on sandbar cropping in Bangladesh, where farmers have developed techniques to grow pumpkins in sand on the riverside.
With Britain’s coal power ending entirely this month, Ember Climate look at the situation across the OECD, where coal power has fallen by 50% since the peak in 2007.
I can’t pretend I understand all the details of the fediverse, but I am interested in the possibilities of a healthier and more accountable social media landscape – one that’s not owned by billionaires and corporate interests. I have essentially paused social media activity that isn’t part of this emerging system. If you’re on a federated social media platform already, you should be able to find this blog under the handle earthbound.report@earthbound.report. If you comment there, your comments will appear on the blog, which is handy.
If the above paragraph made no sense whatsoever, here’s an explainer from the Verge.
This week’s articles
World Without End, by Christophe Blain & Jean-Marc Jancovici
World Without End has been something of a publishing phenomenon. It was the bestselling book in France in 2022, a surprise hit even in a country with a thriving culture of ‘bande dessinées’. A couple of years later the English speaking world is catching up with this engaging graphic novel about climate change, and it…
The SDG wedding cake
The Sustainable Development Goals are often described as a ‘to-do list for humanity’, a list of 17 priorities that includes ending poverty, universal education, gender equality and affordable clean energy. It’s a worthy set of goals, though Rohan Rockström of the Stockholm Resilience Centre suggests that they are more connected and interdependent than they look…
Luton Town’s new green stadium
As followers of English football around the world will know, my local club Luton Town made a special guest appearance in the Premier League last season. Millions of people heard of Luton for the first time, and there was much curiosity about Kenilworth Road, the old and eccentric home of the Town. Videos circulated of…
The Earthbound Report 
Thanks! I’ve been meaning to mention that my domain host has its own solar panels and does a great job for a reasonable price. They are called Viridio.