Beijing has 20 million citizens and 7 million e-bikes. There’s a boom in e-bike use going on in China right now, and Sustainable Transport magazine looks at how cities are adapting their roads and parking facilities to accomodate them.
Teacher friends, if you’re a subscriber to Myatt & Co resources, they’ve just published a guide to using my book Climate Change is Racist in the school geography curriculum. Called Climate Change and the Lives it Shapes, it’s part of their KS3 The Ambitious Years project, it’s written by Darryl Sinclair, and it’s excellent.
The IPSOS Mobility Report asked people in 31 countries what their favourite mode of transport was. Most said private car. In Britain it was walking, one of only three places where that was the case, alongside Argentina and Ireland. There’s a good case for active transport infrastructure and walkable neighbourhoods there.
Last year I wrote about the National Emergency Briefing on climate and nature. The event has now been distilled into a shorter film that can be screened by local communities, schools, churches, etc. Have a look and see if there’s a screening near you, or help to organise one yourself.
The Postgrowth Institute has announced its cohort of fellows for 2026, and includes a whole range of interesting voices on postgrowth. Take a look if you want to see what postgrowth thinking looks like from Morrocco, Thailand or Jamaica, for example.
Just in case you’re in the market for reading material, Bookshop.org has a £250 gift-card giveaway this weekend. If you buy a book from Earthbound Books, you’ll be entered into the draw. Don’t forget we do e-books as well.
Recent highlights
Book review: Street, Palace, Square, by Jan-Werner Müller
Human lives, both individually and collectively, unfold in a built environment. Generally speaking we don’t get to shape that environment all that much. Most of us don’t get to design our own homes, let alone streets and public spaces. Unless you have a particular interest in architecture or urban design, you might never really think…
Polestar’s progress on a zero carbon car
In 2022 I wrote about how Swedish EV brand Polestar had committed to creating a zero carbon car. Note that this isn’t a ‘net zero’ car, but a truly zero carbon process from start to finish. It was industry-leading in its ambition, and also the kind of thing that some companies make a big noise…
The long road to reducing Britain’s plastic waste
Last week new national guidelines came into force on recycling in the UK. There will be some teething issues as not every council is quite ready. There will still be enduring questions around esoteric plastic items. But generally speaking recycling is much more straightforward. The postcode lottery of whether or not you can recycle something…
The Earthbound Report 