Category Archives: Alternative Energy

Sustainable transport initiatives – 'must go faster'

A few months into the Department for Transport funded project I have been working on over the last year or so I met with a senior business figure from the Solent region who has worked for some big companies on the UK south coast.

When I explained what the Hampshire councils were doing to encourage transport related behaviour change and achieve a targeted shift away from car usage within the next three years he was surprisingly skeptical and believed the campaigns would go the way of previous such efforts and focus far too much on cycling as the main answer to the issues.

Now that I have an insight into what’s happening in Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) projects around the UK, one thing has become very clear. A lot of taxpayer’s money is being pumped into these initiatives with an emphasis on them being measurable and ultimately self-sustaining but, as far as I have seen so far, there are no real big or radical ideas being implemented now or in the foreseeable future and I’m really not convinced the activities will make much difference in the larger scheme of things.

Am I surprised? Not really. Does it matter? I think it does. Any answers? I can think of a few …

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Imagining the World my children will inherit

This phrase has sat as the strapline to my blog since its inception back in 2008.

My baby girl has grown up

My baby girl has grown up

 

The first of my children was born in a different century, before the World changed.

The second was born early in the 21st Century after the catastrophic events of 9/11.

Compared to the generally impoverished and challenging upbringings my wife and I had, with her losing her father at the age of four and both my parents being badly disabled, my children have led a relatively charmed existence so far. It was always our goal as parents to give them the happiest childhoods possible and we will remain focused on that.

We have recently returned from a lovely relaxing family break at our faithful Spanish bolthole. The sun is shining for a change in the UK, the girls are busy preparing for the long holidays and my wife and I are encouraged by the progress of our respective small businesses, with signs that the economy is starting to recover a bit from the grind of the last few years. All things considered, life is good.

Then came an enormous slap round the face !!!

I read this book – 10 Billion by Stephen Emmott.

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5 Gold Rings – 2012 in review

 

On the fifth day of Christmas 2012, here are some thoughts on the last year …

My enduring memory of these last twelve months will be Danny Boyle’s awe-inspiring creativity with the Olympic rings at the London 2012 opening ceremony.

From the way the idyllic countryside scene was transformed to depict the Industrial Revolution and the hot metal seemingly flowed to form gigantic glowing rings which were then raised above the stadium and fused together was one of the most amazing theatrical displays I have ever seen. It set the tone for what I will always remember as a wonderful golden period for the British people during a back-drop of financial depression and tough times. Continue reading →

Could playing 'games' help safeguard our planet?

via cycling.com

The success of the London 2012 Olympics shows that our enthusiasm for ‘The Games’ has not waned since our earliest civilisations battled to become Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

As the sun sets on the Games of the XXX Olympiad and we head off to XXXI in Rio, the next 4 years have been deemed crucial by some organisations for addressing potentially one of the biggest issues facing our planet – global warming.

We are just 2 short months from the onehundredmonths.org half way point and the remaining 50 months will take us up to the next ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ in Rio 2016.

London 2012 has been described as the ‘greenest games ever’ and this article debates quite nicely just how true this is. Regardless of the efforts that have gone into building the venues from recycled materials and creating new wildlife habitats, the article points out that …
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WoW ! It's the Web on Wheels

I wrote recently about my delight at finding a new monthly car magazine that focuses on efficiency and sustainability while still pressing hot buttons of style and performance. The second edition of iCar has several articles on ‘in-car Internet’ and the different ways it is currently possible to access the Web on wheels.

You could say that the Web passed its driving test a few years ago with the arrival of high bandwidth mobile access. However, now that smartphone ownership is starting to pass the 50% mark in some countries, access and use of the Mobile Web is growing exponentially and ‘in-vehicle’ capabilities are improving steadily in competency and sophistication. The major challenge remains the speed with which smartphone technology is changing and the comparative slow development lifecycles of automotive technologies, restricted as they are by a myriad of safety legislation and complex supply chains.    Continue reading →