Engineering the (low carbon) future
Last night I was the speaker at the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) North East branch. Doing a last minute piece of homework...
So is the Paris climate deal any COP?
It's the Monday after the week before. They did it in Paris, signing an international treaty to tackle climate change, the world is rejoicing and...
We’re not going to save the planet…
...because, in geological timescales, the earth is quite capable of looking after itself. The question is whether the human race is part of the equation at...
Adding friction to unsustainable behaviour
Regular readers will know I'm a bit sceptical about the plastic bag tax – mainly because it's aimed at a minor environmental impact rather than...
Raising Cash for Solar Aid
I'm exhausted this morning after doing the grunt work for my sons' yard sale yesterday. Every year the boys raise cash for Solar Aid, but...
The myth of bottom-up sustainability
I couldn't have picked a better antidote to this dismal autumn than to spend 24 hours with the Interface Europe sustainability ambassadors in Scherpenzeel, Netherlands. Hearing...
Nobody does it better
I'm in Scherpenzeel in the middle of the Netherlands for one particular reason: it's the base of Interface's European operations and the location for the company's Mission...
Hopes for Paris
Yesterday, I threw off my cynicism about such things and went on the Climate March in Newcastle, taking the little one with me (right). All...
Sustainable Stupidity
I sometimes read stuff on-line that makes me go all "why oh why oh why?" This week it was yet another article from an employee...
Who is the keystone of your sustainability programme?
The keystone of an arch is the one which completes it and lets the arch bear weight. Whether in a structural engineering sense it is...