Category Archives: technology
Should we use Mars as a lifeboat for humanity?
A person whose first language is not English asked a question with this meaning. His opinion is that the problems we face on Earth will only follow us to Mars. I’m interested in your reaction to my reply to him … Continue reading
Completing the cycle of nature
King County in Washington State, USA, has been doing the natural, logical thing with sewage: turning it into soil since the 1970s. This is in great contrast to most sewage processing facilities, which kill bacteria, then release the nutrients into … Continue reading
Plastic stopper
A simple but effective device is now being trialled in a canal in Amsterdam. A pipe in the water blows bubbles, which stop plastic from flowing downstream, and pushes it to the side. There, it can be collected, saving fish … Continue reading
The people’s architect
Poor people in Kerala State, India, have no doubt about climate change. They have suffered devastating floods twice in recent years, with 5.4 million people badly affected. The state government is doing something about it: redesigning houses and settlements to … Continue reading
The Story of Plastic: a movie reviewed in The Revelator
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
CO2-sucking concrete?
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
Why have some US states banned plastic bags?
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
Monash University’s Net Zero Initiative
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
You can invest in recycling space suits
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
Recycling people
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
