As I sit by the lake, and face the tyranny of the great white page, I think about many of the influences on my life and the lives of those I love. I have blogged before that humans are biologically driven to seek connection and have a deep need to bond.
Bas Van Abel heads up Fairphone, a Dutch company who have succeeded in making an interesting impact in the smartphone market. After becoming concerned over the dilemma owning a smartphone can cause for many sustainably minded individuals, he decided to re-think the way the materials were sourced. He built relationships with mineral suppliers who he was able to count on to have more eco-friendly practices in place.
Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health
The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change has been formed to map out the impacts of climate change, and the necessary policy responses, in order to ensure the highest attainable standards of health for populations worldwide. This Commission is multidisciplinary and international in nature, with strong collaboration between academic centres in Europe and China.
By Alastair Moore, Doctoral Candidate, University of Manchester, Doctoral student, MC3 2.0: Meeting the Climate Change Challenge
The Pope’s release tomorrow of his encyclical calling for changes in lifestyles and energy consumption to avert the “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem” before the end of this century is another new tipping point in climate action.
Wind energy just got even more exciting, thanks to David Yanez, co-founder of a company called Vortex Bladeless. He’s begun a revolution within a revolution with an amazing new approach to harnessing the power of the wind. By capturing the power in vortices of air through oscillation, these blade-less generators are capable of producing wind energy without the concern about excessive noise and/or danger to wildlife. Not only that, they are exceedingly more cost effective to produce and maintain.
Those of you who know me, know how very important animals are to my life, especially my dog companions. I would not be who I am today without their unconditional love and friendship. This video, beautiful both because of the story but also the remarkable cinematography, is a must watch.
Interesting guidelines for chosing the right methods for greater public engagement in decisions.
Why do we get used to everyday things, they become habits, often unconscious. Habituation can be both positive and negative. Some habits help us develop routines, as we can’t pay full attention all the time. It can also stop us from noticing and fixing the problems around us if we don’t ‘see’ them. This video talks about how design can help us fix the problems. The first secret of design is to notice—try to see the world the way it is and not what we think it is. Perhaps there are important clues here for responding to the need for more climate innovations.
Once again, France is finding viable ways to ‘change the rules’ of the game to transition to more sustainable community development. Their newest move sees them passing legislation that will require all unused and unsold retail food items be donated to charity. This simultaneously addresses the issues of food waste, and hunger amongst the more economically disadvantaged members of society.