It’s been a minute since I picked up the pen but I couldn’t resist writing about what’s going on in sustainability – especially waste – right now. Since I started this blog, sustainability on the world stage has gone from a niche, first-world ideology to semi-mainstream table-talk. Here in Australia, the most recent propellant has… Continue reading The world, unwrapped
Positively charged
How good is cooking on a gas stovetop! Nothing comes close — not electric nor induction. It seems we’re so used to cooking with gas that food even tastes different when we don’t. Sure you may have one relative who swears by electric now but you had to sit through years of winging while they got… Continue reading Positively charged
Moooooove Over
If you’ve ever spent time with an environmental vegetarian you’ll likely empathise with my frustrations at being preached at for being a lowly omnivore. Of course, there are many reasons to choose vegetarianism over other religions including those of ethics and health. I believe the ethical one is a personal choice so I won’t investigate… Continue reading Moooooove Over
Environmental Realism
Recent changes on the global political stage have led some to preach the apocalypse of the climate fight. Trump embodies the hard political shift to the right which we’re seeing around the world in many parts of Europe and Asia. It’s easy to be an environmental pessimist with leaders like Trump at the helm especially… Continue reading Environmental Realism
Brave New World
The state-wide black-out in South Australia on October 28th was a warning sign of the most dramatic type. Our energy systems are changing faster than we know how to deal with. And our politicians, try as they may, are struggling to keep up with the changes. The lights went out in South Australia on September… Continue reading Brave New World
Energy Equ(al)ity
According to the International Energy Association, approximately 1.2 billion people currently live without access to electricity. That is a staggering figure! Imagine if 1 out of every 8 people you know didn’t have lights after dark or even on demand hot water. That means no netflix, no facebook and no definitely no tinder! In the… Continue reading Energy Equ(al)ity
Flying High
Do you fly? Me too. Whilst we have attractive sustainable options for terrestrial and aquatic travel, there are no realistic low carbon alternatives to air travel. We could take ships for international travel but that’s not very practical and only marginally more sustainable. At present if we want to fly, we’re stuck with the associated emissions. With 2%… Continue reading Flying High
The Oldest (and Cheapest) Energy Storage
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve heard of Tesla and it’s Powerwall home battery. Whilst the economics of home batteries hasn’t reached the tipping point for mass uptake of the technology, it is certainly going to in the not-too-distant future. This is a familiar story in the energy industry,… Continue reading The Oldest (and Cheapest) Energy Storage
Grub
Food. We all eat it and most of us like it. Where it’s grown and how, though, can have both huge environmental and health impacts. A lot of the food we eat comes from large intensive farms. Intensive farming requires nutrient rich soil but with each crop, nutrients are extracted from the soil. To keep the… Continue reading Grub
Energised
I recently travelled to South Africa which, for me, highlighted the contrast between the developed and developing worlds in a beautifully humbling way. And humbling it should be, for those of us concerned about the consequences of climate change, because it is those in the developing world who are at most risk from rising sea levels… Continue reading Energised
