Think Differently
Point of view: Treat emissions as resources, By Braungart & Mulhall
A wave of recent developments has rendered emissions trading schemes and EU carbon emissions taxes impotent.
Recycling and the circular economy
One of the biggest confusions around a circular economy framework is that sparked by the word ‘recycling’. Surely a circular economy just means mor...
Towns in transition: from Grytviken to Detroit
“There were ships filling the harbours, some of which still line the shores today, and spare propellers and patterns for producing engine parts (.....
Ellen MacArthur signs expert crew
Ellen MacArthur unveiled a high-profile line-up of independent experts to help ensure her quest for a design and systems revolution stays on course.
Mining... out in the open?
Materials and energy are at the heart of the Foundation’s preoccupations and message - in a world of finite resources where the overall long term t...
Prosperity, money and the circular economy
What we know. In a circular economy energy flows through, but is increasingly based on current sunshine rather than fossil stocks; materials cycle ...
A look at collaborative consumption
Consumption is, as we're constantly told, what defines our modern western societies - not a very inspiring taxonomic place to be in, is it? Well, c...
Facing future challenges together
It often has been said that the European Union would give power back to regional authorities by minimising the effects of centralisation, as a natu...
When technology is not enough: problems vs predicaments
If only it were just about technology, y’know redesign a telephone for easy disassembly, perhaps shift to bioplastics for some of it, rework the co...
Challenging greenwash in an "honest and creative way"
Artist Jacqui Jones and Harmless Packaging joined forces to "produce artwork that raises a dialogue about the importance of building sustainable fu...
"The reign of the conjurors"
Heading to Lille to attend the World Responsible Economy Forum had our little team reflect on an issue that tends to make the headlines more often ...
The power of feedback.
It's a puzzling old world. No sooner has the IEA’s latest outlook on world oil (1) announced that as far as conventional and cheap-to-extract oil i...
'Nature as natural capital' - an illustration of the concept
One of the principles of the circular model is that we should use insights from living systems to design systems that work and sustain themselves. ...
Putting a price on nature - controversial but necessary?
There is an obvious distortion between the "services" and commodities provided by nature and the economic realities of everyday life, as resources ...
Breaking free from the "Dumb Development Design" curse
Janis Birkeland, Professor of Architecture at Queensland University of Technology, explains how re-designing our built environment is the only way ...
Oil - When will we run out?
Will the planet run out of oil in 2021, 2042 or 2105? How many trillions of barrels lie under the ground? As hard as you may look, you will not fin...
Load, Fire… erm… Aim?
The challenge of moving to a sustainable low carbon economy is huge, so doing something always seems better than doing nothing - yet panic is not a...
An ecological future for agriculture?
The extensive agriculture model, relying heavily on oil and offering a dubious environmental record, needs to be re-designed.
"Setting the Table": a first step towards a sustainable diet?
The Sustainable Development Commission published its “Advice to Government on priority elements of sustainable diets” in December 2009.
Teaching the fundamental facts of life
To understand how nature sustains life, we need to move from biology to ecology, because sustained life is a property of an ecosystem rather than a...