Category Archives: technology

The Story of Plastic: a movie reviewed in The Revelator

Posted on 16/10/2019 by

This is a movie all of us need to see. Before you have the opportunity, the review by Tara Lohan is a must-read. Full of pithy, quotable one-sentence hammer-blows, this review is great writing. The content of the movie is … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, reviews, technology | Leave a comment

CO2-sucking concrete?

Posted on 17/08/2019 by

Lloyd Alter reports in TreeHugger that the world’s largest cement company has put a new product on the market. It is precast concrete with 70% of the carbon content of manufacture of the standard stuff, and which sucks carbon dioxide … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, environment, technology | 3 Comments

Why have some US states banned plastic bags?

Posted on 20/07/2019 by

This was a question at Quora. When I visited, there were two ignorant, stupid answers, so I just had to do something about it. This is what I wrote. Photo from Papa Bois Conservation

Posted in environment, politics, technology | 2 Comments

Monash University’s Net Zero Initiative

Posted on 15/07/2019 by

A few days ago, I posted about the climate emergency declaration by over 7000 mobs associated with higher education, and said I had pestered the two universities where I’d studied. Monash University got back to me. “I will pass your … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, environment, good news, technology

You can invest in recycling space suits

Posted on 06/06/2019 by

My friend Petrea King has written, “Your body is a space suit for surviving on this planet.” She is right. When you no longer need a house, you can bury the leftovers, or burn them — or recycle them. Until … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, technology

Recycling people

Posted on 06/05/2019 by

Cremation is a way of using irreplaceable fossil fuels to turn perfectly good organic fertiliser into greenhouse gases. Burial usually involves toxic embalming chemicals that interrupt the cycle of nature. In many places, shortage of space means that you get … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, good news, technology | 3 Comments

Bagging the plastic

Posted on 20/04/2019 by

The worst thing plastic waste does is to kill birds and marine life. An Australian town has implemented a solution: they bag the outflows, then deal with what they catch. This is expensive, but they reckon it’s worth it. The … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, technology

Hydrogen is not a fuel

Posted on 21/03/2019 by

There is talk of a “hydrogen economy.” Australia’s prime minister, desperate to distract from his government’s failures, has promised to put lots of money into it in the (completely unlikely) event of being re-elected. It’s a mirage. Hydrogen is not … Continue reading →

Posted in technology

Electricity-free refrigeration

Posted on 13/02/2019 by

The technique is thousands of years old. The Australian version is the Coolgardie safe: It’s a wire mesh cage with damp cloth on its outside. As long as you keep the cloth damp, and the air is not 100% humid, … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | 3 Comments

EV epic to admire

Posted on 03/02/2019 by

Dutch young man Wiebe Wakker has driven his small 2009 electric car across 33 countries, and is now doing huge distances in Australia. Unlike in most other countries, there is little in the way of charging opportunities, and distances are … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, good news, Inspiration, technology | 1 Comment