Tech-no-fix: why technical fixes won’t mitigate climate change
Moriaty and Honnery, two mechanical engineers from Monash University, in Australia argue that technological fixes, such as carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, geoengineering, incremental improvements in energy efficiency are ‘too little, too late.’
Unburiable: is there enough space for carbon in the ground?
The capture and the long-term storage of CO2 is now central to plans for reducing CO2 emissions from large-scale fossil fuel uses. But new and controversial research argues the storage potential of CO2 may have been overestimated.
Conspicuous skies: a lesson from Eyjafjallajoekull
The ever increasing complexity of infrastructure, leaves us extremely vulnerable to often unpredictable events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, extreme weather events or even civil disobedience, industrial action, civil war and terrorism. The eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull is the latest example of how, one exogenous shock, can throw society into a tailspin.
Ration me up, selected to appear at the Design Museum, London
Can Design Save the World? That’s the question the Design Museum ‘s Sustainable Futures exhibition attempts to answer through examining the objects on display. Taking a selection of projects, existing or are in the making, this exhibition presents key examples of how design can deliver a more sustainable future.
New PLATFORM report reveals RBS is UK bank most involved in financing loans to tar sands
Our friends at PLATFORM, have just published new report exploring the financing of loans for tar sand projects in Canada. Tar sands extraction in Canada is devastating Indigenous communities, wildlife and vast areas of boreal forests, as well as being many times more carbon-intensive to produce than ‘conventional’ oil. “We are seeing a terrifyingly high … Read more
Event: Rising to the Climate Challenge: Artists and Scientists Imagine Tomorrow’s World
This event looks like an interesting collaboration between the Royal Society (celebrating it’s 350 year anniversary this year) and the Tate Modern in mid-March. As you would expect from the Royal Society, their line up of speakers is pretty impressive, and I am sure it won’t disappoint. I’ve seen Professors Corinne Le Queré (UEA) and … Read more
Why the magic bullet?
‘Technology is […] a queer thing. It brings you gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other.’ CP Snow, New York Times (1971) Magic bullets, by their very nature, are reductionist. By simplifying problems within the complex systems that we live in – the biosphere, the economy, society itself – … Read more
