What if…?

Institute for the Future - Global Sustainability Futures Map

August 3rd, 2008 by stuart

The Institute for the Future has a talent for producing these rather fetching visualisations of their futures work.

This one maps out the driving forces (as they see them) underpinning sustainability over the coming decade.

I quite like the idea of a ‘planatery markup language: PNL‘.

Its available in pdf to download.

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »

A Green New Deal

August 1st, 2008 by stuart

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) publishes some good ideas and often some bad ideas (or should that be unworkable rather than bad?).

However, the latest notion from the self-styled ‘think and do tank’ is very interesting.

They propose a ‘Green New Deal’ akin to Roosevelts New Deal implemented in the US during the 1930’s depression. Full details of their proposals (and who drafted them) can be found here.

There main proposals include;

“Massive investment in renewable energy and wider environmental transformation in the UK, leading to,
The creation of thousands of new green collar jobs
Reining in reckless aspects of the finance sector – but making low-cost capital available to fund the UK’s green economic shift
Building a new alliance between environmentalists, industry, agriculture, and unions to put the interests of the real economy ahead of those of footloose finance”

All interesting stuff I think, but as always how its implemented would be the challenge. Setting aside the alarmist (but possibly true) 100 months to live stuff, it’s an interesting contribution to a wider debate.

Are we going to sleepwalk into the abyss always doing things the way we have always done them or are we prepared to change?

Bloomberg news this morning had an analyst on who was talking not about recession but about depression, just like the 1930’s. So perhaps a New Deal will be required.

Posted in Futures & Foresight, Sustainability, Innovation | No Comments »

Hello Rufus Team!!

July 25th, 2008 by stuart

Many thanks to the Rufus Team in Sunderland for their time this morning and showing me their 1962 Vespa which has pride of place in the corner of their office.

Nice touch!.

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Eco Towns & The Aarhus Convention

May 26th, 2008 by stuart

In our recent Housing Futures work for the Construction Products Association, we investigated in some depth the potential trajectory of development for eco-homes and eco-towns in the UK.
Personally, I think we’re more likely to see eco-homes long before we see eco-towns. For me, the latter represent a policy idea from a government that appears to have forgotten about the legislation and policy instruments that has already introduced that make eco-towns a planning battle ground.

For example;

This article indicates that a pressure group has been formed to fight the sighting of a proposed eco-town and is using the little known Aarhus Convention as its basis.

Now the Aarhus Convention is a UN instrument that is designed to give communities ‘environmental justice’ by providing wider public participation in deciding development schemes (roads, powerstations, dams etc).

Now DEFRA claim that Aarhus has been implemented in the UK via various EU Directives and through other primary UK legislation. See this link for details.

Interesting times ahead if this challenge works though.

As for Eco-towns, don’t expect any to built near you soon.