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“The Oil Machine” and the Changing Climate.
“The Oil Machine” and the Changing Climate. Released smartly in time for the COP27 climate change conference, the film “The Oil Machine”, presents a stark picture of the imperative to cut our use of fossil fuels, in particular crude oil, but moreover of our utter dependency on the “black gold” for practically all aspects of modern civilization. While […]
Russia-Ukraine War and the Changing Energy Landscape.
Russia-Ukraine War and the Changing Energy Landscape. The can of worms that is our global use of energy, has been levered open yet further by the escalating war in Ukraine. Prices of all types of energy had already been hiked dramatically as a result of a strong economic rebound post-covid, but with limited capacity to […]
Not Just Energy, but Everything.
Not Just Energy, but Everything. The criticality of the global energy situation is emphasised by the release, on schedule (18-5-21), of the eagerly awaited “Net Zero by 2050” roadmap (NZE) from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Not only does this document delineate the gargantuan quantities of energy currently used by humans on Earth, mainly from the fossil […]
What Kind of a World do We Want? (…really?)
What Kind of a World do We Want? (…really?) Although this question is both enduring and familiar, its present urgency is fully accentuated in a typically brilliant, but viscerally terrifying, exposition by Noam Chomsky on the current frangible condition of the world, and its near-term prognosis. However, I am also reminded of the strapline from the International Permaculture […]
Transition Towns, Re-localisation, COVID-19 and the Fracking Industry.
Transition Towns, Re-localisation, COVID-19 and the Fracking Industry. The vulnerabilities of the global village and its economy have been laid bare by the assault of the coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2), which has led to a pandemic of the infectious disease, COVID-19. The mobility chains that enable the flow of civilization are now substantially truncated, with collapsing demand for transportation […]
The Uninhabitable Earth.
The Uninhabitable Earth. This is a book review that I wrote, which will be published in the journal, Science Progress, of which I am an editor.“The Uninhabitable Earth.” DAVID WALLACE-WELLS. Allen Lane 2019 ISBN 9780241355213; xx + 310 pp; £20.00 As set in motion by human hands, the forces of the Anthropocene – a word coined to mark the […]
Only 12 Years Left to Readjust for the 1.5 Degree Climate Change Option – says IPCC Report. Current Commentary.
Only 12 Years Left to Readjust for the 1.5 Degree Climate Change Option – says IPCC Report. Current Commentary. 1. Introduction. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently published a report1 (abbreviated as SR15) which concludes that humankind has a mere twelve years left, during which time sufficient and dramatic carbon-emission mitigation […]
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary.
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary. The following was published in the journal Science Progress recently, of which I am an editor. Since this blog typically covers issues of environment and energy, I am including the present topic, which I hope will be of interest to its regular readers, […]
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary.
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary. The following was published in the journal Science Progress recently, of which I am an editor. Since this blog typically covers issues of environment and energy, I am including the present topic, which I hope will be of interest to its regular readers, […]
Burn Out: The Endgame for Fossil Fuels. Dieter Helm.
Burn Out: The Endgame for Fossil Fuels. Dieter Helm. Book review Ironically, given its theme, as published early in 2017, “Burn Out: The Endgame for Fossil Fuels” shortly preceded the announcement made by President Trump of the withdrawal by the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change, driven primarily by an aim […]
COP21 and “4 per thousand” – Storing Carbon in the Soil.
COP21 and “4 per thousand” – Storing Carbon in the Soil. It would have been a remarkable oversight, had not our use of the land and its soils featured among the discussions about climate change mitigation in Paris at COP21. However, at the conference was hosted a side-event and official launch of the “4 per thousand” […]
The Global Oil Supply: Implications for Biodiversity?
The Global Oil Supply: Implications for Biodiversity? The following is an overview of my recent lecture to the Linnean Society of London, which is named in honour of Carl Linneus, who among many other accolades has been described as “The father of modern taxonomy”, and is also considered as one of the founders of modern ecology. It is the world’s […]
Permaculture: Regenerative – not merely Sustainable.
Permaculture: Regenerative – not merely Sustainable. Introduction. September 2015 saw the International Permaculture Conference, held in London followed by the Convergence, which occupied 6 days at Gilwell park, on the Essex-London border, where practitioners of the discipline gave presentations and workshops on various aspects of this growing art, which is a sustainable design system intended to emulate […]
Eat Less Meat to Save Ourselves.
Eat Less Meat to Save Ourselves. A report has been released by the U.N., in which it is urged that we reduce consumption of meat and dairy products as a means to mitigate climate change, hunger and fuel poverty It is stressed that food, transportation and housing must be made more sustainable if we seriously intend […]
