This is something I’ve been looking for for quite some time – the depletion rates of various non-renewable resources. This graph shows the number of years of supply that remain, if we were to carry on consuming at today’s rates. Of course, consumption of every one of these resources is growing rather than remaining at [...]
Archive | January, 2010
Cameron and Brown, singing from the same economic hymn sheet
Browsing some speeches over the weekend, I discovered this remarkable similarity. In his new year’s speech, David Cameron announced his economic philosophy, saying we need “an enterprise economy. We need to create opportunity through green growth and new skills. We need change right across the board: tax, regulation, banking, infrastructure. And that’s exactly what we’re [...]
What we learned this week
Guess what? The blackwater trial has been thrown out of court, letting off US mercenaries who shot dead 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. No surprises there, sadly. If you haven’t been following the story, War on Want’s report on corporate mercenaries is here. The 2010s show every sign of being China’s decade, but as Andrew [...]
The growth report
I’ve been following the growth debate more closely for a few weeks. The people who usually caution against all consuming growth strategies are environmentalists and sociologists, so this is a particularly interesting development. Lord Adair Turner, head of the FSA, said this on Radio 4 this week: I am not in the group of people [...]
What’s for dinner in 2030? Exploring the UK’s food security strategy
In recent months the British government has turned its attention to climate change and energy security, with mixed results. This week they tackle food security, and it’s about time too. 2008 was a real wake-up call to world governments, and many countries have reacted to protect and shore up their food supplies for a changing [...]
The landfill prize 2010 – nominate your useless consumer items
Last year it was the motorised ice-cream cone. The year before, the ‘sonic’ electric toothbrush. It is the award for Britain’s cleverest rubbish, and it’s back to take your nominations for 2010. You might have thought that a global credit crunch would have dimmed our obsession with plastic trinkets, but apparently not. Walking into a [...]
Planetary boundaries
The earth is a delicate balance, and that balance has to be kept if we wish to maintain a safe and healthy environment for human flourishing. Scientists have identified ten quantifiable boundaries that we should be observing, making it possible to chart our current performance. As the graphic shows, levels of fresh water use, ocean [...]
Books of the year, 2009
I read a lot of great books last year, and partly to remind myself, I thought I’d do a quick round-up. Here are the five new books I think are the most important, and you can click on the titles for the full review: The Spirit Level – the result of thirty years’ worth of [...]
Avatar: a modern parable
Lou and I went to see Avatar in 3D at the weekend, and as well as being a feast for the eyes and an opportunity to wear Clark Kent style glasses, it’s also a film with environmental and social justice themes and well worth a mention here. If you haven’t come across it yet, Avatar [...]
Books
No data found
