I’m going to come back to this when I have a little more time, but a new campaign launched this week. Called Action for Happiness, it’s the brainchild of Richard Layard and it’s a ‘movement to create more happiness’. It has a lot of potential, a lot of enthusiasm, and perhaps more going on than you [...]
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Smile or die, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Here’s a counter-cultural book. In Smile or Die, How positive thinking fooled America and the world, Barbara Ehrenreich takes a bold and much needed swipe at the culture of positivity. It sounds instinctively like it ought to be grouchy and pessimistic, but it’s more of a call to reality. Ehrenreich rails against the oppressive culture [...]
Movie review: No Impact Man
It’s been out for a while, but I just got around to watching No Impact Man over the weekend. (Thank you Dogwoof sale*) If you haven’t come across it, Colin Beavan runs one of the world’s better environmental blogs at No Impact Man. It began a few years back to track a bold personal project [...]
Ten reasons to give up your car
I recently found myself explaining to a friend why I don’t have a driving licence, and have no intention of getting one any time soon. I claimed I could give them ten good reasons not to drive. I was making the point rhetorically, but then I thought I should actually try it… 1. Climate change [...]
A dispatch from the New Home Front
A few months ago I was inspired by a great exhibition called The Ministry of Food, at the Imperial War Museum. The exhibition, which has now finished, documented the huge social movement that mobilised the British population during the war. The country was far too dependent on imported food, and people had to learn to [...]
Ten facts about cold homes
It’s snowing in Britain this week, earlier than usual. Snow hasn’t fallen this deep in November since the 60s. As long as the travel conditions don’t deter people, it’s a good week to be holding an event on how to make your home warmer. If you’re in Luton tonight, drop by Get Cosy on Hart [...]
Love your front garden
When my wife and I moved into our house, the front ‘garden’ looked like this – a blank paved square. 18 months later, it still does. I’ve been focusing on the inside, and on the back garden. But next year, I’ve got plans for this space. Now, someone clearly spent a fair amount of money, [...]
Britain announces a happiness index
Where Bhutan leads, the world follows. Well, sort of. The mountain kingdom was the first to start measuring Gross National Happiness, and yesterday the British government said it was going to start gauging public wellbeing alongside more traditional metrics like GDP. President Sarkozy has been working with Joseph Stiglitz on this in France, and Canada [...]
18th September is Offlining Day
On September 18th, internet users have been invited to switch off and enjoy a day offline, as part of offlining day. It’s the brain child of New Yorker Eric Yaverbaum, who found himself checking his blackberry over dinner and following conversations on twitter more than the ones happening in front of him in person. Inspired [...]
Nic Marks on the Happy Planet Index
Nic Marks’ talk on the Happy Planet Index at TED this year. It’s a very helpful explanation of why society measures the wrong things, and what we could be doing instead. It puts forward a positive vision of the future, where we understand what a good life is. Well worth fifteen minutes of your time! [...]
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