We would dearly love more people to heed the environmental message and through a mixture of altruism and education, recycle their waste but we reluctantly accept that there are many people who simply aren’t interested. For example, our own neighbourhood consists of households who recycle nearly everything, bottles, paper, plastic, compost, etc.. in different bins [...]

There can be little doubt that the Internet has revolutionalised the way we search for information with over a billion people now going on-line globally. Research by global software giant Microsoft has revealed that if current growth trends continue over the next couple of years, then the Internet will become the most consumed form of [...]

Reading through the various reports on climate change and environmental damage it can sometimes seem as though the problems we face are insurmountable. That, despite the hard work of environmental campaigners and those concerned with fair trade and green issues, we are merely forestalling inevitable environmental collapse. As the overdue realisation dawns on governments around [...]

Reading through some scientific papers recently I was struck by the many, well-intentioned ideas for tackling climate change. These included solar arrays in space beaming back microwave energy to Earth, burying charcoal, pumping iron into the oceans and various ingenious devices designed to block out the sun’s rays. Whilst not questioning the need to seek [...]

The prospects for the emergence of a genuinely sustainable global economy have been given fresh impetus with the election of Barack Obama, extending beyond the well intentioned rhetoric characteristic of new administrations. I think we can be optimistic for several reasons. Firstly, it signals a radical departure from the previous administration’s policy of denial, apathy [...]

Sometimes it can be demoralising watching events unfold. War, famine and greed seem endemic and gloomy news ever present in the media; brinkmanship over Iran’s nuclear programme, economic collapse in Zimbabwe, human rights abuses in Sudan, melting ice caps, terrorism, population growth, species extinction, religious facism, deforestation, etc…the list goes on. For some, there is [...]

Here I expand on a previous discussion ‘Would it be ethical to burn fossil fuels if it didn’t cause climate change?’ My view is that the debate surrounding the extent to which the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change misses a more fundamental point. That is, fossil fuels are an inherently finite resource. [...]

Here I pose a hypothetical question: would it be ethical to burn fossil fuels if it didn’t cause climate change? Supposing that the scientific consensus turns out to be wrong. That the warming we are currently experiencing is actually part of a natural cycle unconnected with the billions of tonnes of carbon being pumped into [...]

The Bush administration has been responsible for quashing evidence for climate change, casting doubt, putting pressure on scientists and re-writing scientific reports. These actions are more akin to totalitarian regimes than to democracy and bring shame on the US. Now we have Sarah Palin, Republican number two, claiming that climate change is not related to [...]

Hmmm, a tricky question with no easy answer. Undoubtedly, uncontrolled and mass market-driven consumerism isn’t. However, it may be more appropriate to turn the question on its head and ask if sustainability is possible without consumerism. After all, green markets exist because different producers (including fair trade, organic and renewable producers) are able to sell [...]