Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way our society will be able to become both sustainable and equitable, providing a good quality of life for ourselves while allowing other species to flourish, is if we abandon economic growth and consciously transition to a postgrowth society. I realise that’s a tall order, but … Continue reading
Hello lovely readers! I’m sorry to admit I’ve been neglecting my blog slightly these last few weeks, and I’ve only just noticed why. It’s my summer holiday from university and I’m back in my hometown for a couple of months, visiting my family and my old friends. I realised today that the reason I haven’t … Continue reading
I’ve just made a fantastic discovery! I basically watched this film about urban food growing and distributing systems and became so inspired that I really wanted to be involved in one of the awesome local food projects exemplified in the film. I sent the link to my friend who’s also into this kind of stuff, … Continue reading
Sorry my last post was a bit depressing and emotional. On a brighter note, look at this video by Sustainable Man about police officers supporting Occupy. I have mixed feelings towards police, in general. Some do a brave and necessary job of protecting the public against criminals. Some are power-hungry thugs. The ones in this … Continue reading
My recent backpacking trip had many high points: swimming in the Portuguese sea, enjoying wine in the sun, seeing the Notre Dame… Low points included missing trains, paying through the nose for last minute accommodation, living on crisps and running out of money. But by far the worst experience I had while abroad was seeing … Continue reading
I just got back from a backpacking holiday in Continental Europe, where the beautiful Paris was my last destination. Rifling through my emails, today I’ve learnt that over the next two years my attention will be placed on the capital of romance and style for something a bit more important than budget sightseeing: the next … Continue reading
Last Friday I took an exam and finished my first year of university. Most students probably want to move on as quickly as possible after the stress of revision, but this exam was on something I study in my free time: environmental issues and management. An interesting part of the module I had to revise … Continue reading
If everyone in the world consumed the same amount of resources and produced as much waste as the average person in Western Europe, we’d need three planets. If we all lived like the North Americans, we’d need five. On the global scale, we’re using just over one and a half Earths worth of resources and … Continue reading
Originally posted on Ecology is not a dirty word:
Genetic modification (GM) has been on the radar for quite a few years – another really important issue that has been misrepresented and misinterpreted for too long to maintain any sort of clarity in the general public’s consciousness. The problems with GM (of crops or animals)…
I often find myself confused as to why on earth more people aren’t freaking out about the contemporary environmental crisis. I assumed it was because most people just don’t care, and I couldn’t get my head around that. Recently, I’ve been coming to the conclusion that actually, it’s more likely to be because most people … Continue reading
Enough Is Enough (2013) is an astounding book by Rob Dietz and Dan O’Neill, subtitled “Building a sustainable economy in a world of finite resources”. I read it in three days, tossing my novel away with my exam revision. It’s possibly the best book I’ve ever read in my life; it’s only real competition is … Continue reading
Okay, now I’m going to sentence you to my musings, thoughts and half-baked plans. As you may know already, I’m studying a degree in Environment and Media Studies. I’ve just finished my first year, and I can’t believe how fast it’s gone. This September I’ll need to organise my placement year, a 12 month optional … Continue reading
I personally really don’t like the big energy companies. I’d quite like to see them crash and burn. Individual satisfaction aside, it turns out that’s not particularly likely nor as good as it sounds. This is because: They will fight tooth and claw against carbon regulations, and are in fact already doing this. And they … Continue reading
I have good news today! Yesterday I read about Solar Impulse, the American-owned solar aeroplane that can fly all the way through day and night powered purely by the sun’s rays. It flew from one side of the USA to the other yesterday, and the next big challenge is to fly all around the world … Continue reading
“The elephant in the room” is a funny phrase because if there was an elephant in your room, you’d definitely talk about it. Pretty loudly, I’m willing to guess. If there were two elephants, there’s absolutely no chance the issue would be ignored. And yet many people continue to ignore population growth and consumption growth. Population growth … Continue reading
