July 2012

  • Steady as she goes

    I confess that I struggle with issues around economic growth, in particular wondering how more people can enjoy a decent life – Sen's idea(l) of living a life one has reason to value – without it.  I subscribe to the...

  • Quote of the year – so far

    From a 2012 UK report to UNESCO ... "... a lack of coordination and support for project projects which often results in duplication ..." Just so: must be a recurring problem. Rather sadly, I did not spot this myself ...

  • Peak Gas anyone?

    A long special report in last week's Economist on natural gas and its rapidly increasing availability.  Looks like peak gas has been put off for a while yet, and, given that natural gas is increasingly substituting for oil across its...

  • Rio ± 20

    In his latest blog posting, Arjen Wals shares some of his recent experiences at the hands of UNECO editors, and looks back both at Rio+20, and Rio -20 in Stockholm.  He notes ... I was invited to Rio to present...

  • EAUC's eloquent response to the QAA

    EAUC has submitted a well-argued response to the QAA about its marginalisation of sustainability in the new UK quality code.  See this post for a comment on the very poor fist QAA made of all this. EAUC begins ... In...

  • Keep America beautiful by recycling less

    I once got into trouble during a talk at a school by suggesting that they should try to reduce the amount of stuff they recycled, and that cutting waste in the first place was a better project.  It fell on...

  • Having your cake and eating other people's

    This Michael Leunig cartoon wafted its way from Australia the other day.  My reaction was: doesn't this satirise affluent developed-economy lifestyles, especially those enjoyed by my generation, rather than the idea (or, for some, ideal) of sustainability? On being provoked to...

  • John Clare day

    In Monday's Guardian, George Monbiot suggested that today ought to be John Clare Day (his birth date in 1793).  Well, fine by me, and I'd join any queue to be the first to agree with this.  Monbiot's argument is that John...

  • The university contribution to the green economy

    The Guardian last Friday carried a story from the CBI about the current contribution of green growth to the UK economy.  The headline was: Choice between 'green or growth' is a false one, CBI chief says. The CBI's chief executive,...

  • The most comprehensive publication on sustainability at universities ever produced

    This is not my claim; I'm just passing it on.  It comes from Walter Leal (Filho) and describes the forthcoming book: Sustainable Development at Universities: new horizons – edited by Walter Leal.  This arises from the "World Symposium on Sustainable...