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 [...]

There is a misguided perception in some quarters that the looming energy crisis in the UK can only be solved if we accept that environmental damage is inevitable.
The argument goes something like this; if we rely on fuel imports then we are forever at the mercy of foreign governments. If we re-open the coal mines [...]

We often hear about protestors who complain about wind farms looking ‘unsightly’, spoiling the landscape, killing birds and being noisy.
Living near to a wind farm set in a nature park, we often walk past the windmills. In the seven years that we have been walking this route, we have never seen a dead bird. The [...]

I recently received a letter from a sceptic who claimed that the link between carbon emissions and climate change was a hoax, and that warming and cooling were part of a natural cycle that had always occurred throughout the Earth’s history. The scientific research linking the change in global temperatures to man-made emissions was apparently [...]

Green campaigners and those concerned about the environment were once regarded as fringe activists, ‘tree huggers’ and ‘eco warriors’.
Belittled for their stance against things like road building, corporate pollution, urbanisation and 4×4s, and personified as lentil-eating vegans living in trees.
Now the evidence for man-made climate change is overwhelming with rapidly disappearing ice sheets, rainforest destruction, [...]