Managing sustainability through decision processes: the influence of values and frames–2015 RICS Award, Best Sustainability Paper
Conference Paper: Managing sustainability through decision processes: the influence of values and frames–2015 RICS Award, Best Sustainability Paper By Richard Perry Kulczak, Poorang Piroozfar, Marie K. Harder ARCOM 31st Annual Conference, … Continue reading
Monbiot: How you measure the depth of our problem: by our inability even to discuss it
This is enough to make any thinking human cry. Thank you for being the voice of reason, George. The Impossibility of Growth May 27, 2014 Let us imagine that … Continue reading
Food Or Fuel? [INFOGRAPHIC] #food #fuel
Originally posted on Infographic List:
Biofuels: good or bad? I don’t have a car and use 100% renewable electricity for all my power and heat requirements in my small apartment. So would I consider … Continue reading
Exciting new PhD research opportunity secured by Richard Kulczak
Big news! In Jan 2014 Richard starts research work on the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sustainable Built Environment at the University of Brighton under the watchful eye and guiding … Continue reading
Spend, Don’t Mend.
Monbiot. Awesome. Read it… Spend, Don’t Mend.. Advertising and consumerism dull our capacity for empathy. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 26th November 2013. Guilt is good. It’s … Continue reading
Espoo and the EIA: Effective Environmental Governance or Struggling, Conciliatory Measure?
1 MEAs & Effectiveness With the negative effects of human activity increasing at national and international scales across the gamut of existence, the need for binding means commit governments and … Continue reading
Corporate Sustainability: Profit, Motive and Intention in Greenwash
A large-scale sustainable trajectory is impossible without the corporate sector, whose profit is neither necessary nor sufficient for sustainability, and where ethical motives, positive intention and measurable … Continue reading
Strengthening the UK Homes and Communities Agency: Supporting regeneration, integrating sustainability
Presentation given 07 March 2013. Here is a link to the presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/rkulczak/strengthening-the-uk-homes-and-communities-agency-supporting-regeneration-integrating-sustainability-presentation-130307 In the United Kingdom, delivering sustainability in regeneration and social, or affordable, housing is the responsibility of the … Continue reading
Green Underpants
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
In the recent leadership forum we were asked what we believed clients would be selecting us for in 5 years time, one of my answers…
Does sustainability need rational or irrational people?
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
He isn’t quite my name sake but Oscar Wilde once said “the rational man looks at the world as it is and adapts himself to…
Wanting makes us happier than having!
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
Great news for the environment bad, news for retail. Interesting study from the University of Missouri that has studied the happiness effect from stuff and…
Twitter Roundup, 21 August 2013
Interesting views opposing the anti-fracking groups re: previous tweet from @TheCommentator. Check the views in the comments. Not convinced. Hilariously, Green MP Caroline Lucas (arrested earlier) says democracy has failed … Continue reading
Monbiot: DDT 2.0
DDT 2.0 So important I’ve re blogged it here in full. Thank you Mr. Monbiot. “We’re just beginning to understand the wider impacts of neonicotinoids.” http://www.monbiot.com/2013/08/13/ddt-2-0/ By George Monbiot, published … Continue reading
Twitter Roundup
The hideous Belgian Blue SUPERCOW. Can people be persuaded to alter their diets for health and sustainability? http://t.co/2Io9l6tmbC Sweden’s energy supply now over 50 percent renewable! http://t.co/xgNKG6SMqA Amazing reality for … Continue reading
Green Cities – Calculating the value of trees
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
We have intrinsically known that trees add benefit to a city or a development for a long time, they shade, they cool, they take pollutants…
How to be green – hybrid cars are cheaper
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
Is hybrid, electric or petrol cars better for the environment? I am sure we have all heard the fact that Arnie’s hydrogen hummer is better…
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
Back in February this year, I asked the question “Green Ratings What’s the Point?“, thank you to all that responded. I combined the results from…
Originally posted on Infographic List:
US, GER and UK top three countries for scientific output, by far… Infographic List View original post
Originally posted on Grist:
Over time I’ve grown more and more suspicious of stories about breakthrough technologies. I always think back to those heady days of EEStor, the guys who…
Originally posted on Infographic List:
Some interesting facts on composting from a really great site! Please continue reading: Infographic List View original post
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
We need to lift developing countries out of poverty, increase health, education and security. But this will involve lifting the carbon emissions per person in…
How to be green – Solar Power is cheaper than carbon capture and storage (CCS)
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
Getting to zero carbon or 80% by 2050 is a tough task, its going to cost money but as with anything that costs money we…
Sustainable Development: Actors and Politics, Stakeholder Agendas and Power Relations
Internationally, Sustainable Development attracts and subsumes a vast network with multiple stakeholders involved in the politics of SD. It is worth exploring their potential agendas in relation to SD and … Continue reading
“Suits and Savages”: A fair portrayal? Devil’s Advocate
See the short film here: http://blip.tv/zoe-young/suits-and-savages-why-the-world-bank-won-t-save-the-tiger-2501536 Whilst it might seem provocative, I’m going to play devil’s advocate argue in favour of international NGO initiatives, as it’s worth challenging Young’s tear-jerking … Continue reading
“Suits and Savages”: A fair portrayal?
Watch the film Suits and savages by Zoe Young (http://www.zoeyoung.net/films) and consider whether the classic bad guys are portrayed fairly and evenhandedly. See my Devil’s Advocate position in the next … Continue reading
Originally posted on SIMON WILD:
London rubbish bins now consume energy!! Another example of Jevons Paradox, the new rubbish bins in London have different size slots for different waste sources…
DEFRA: Incremental Progress Towards Sustainable Development
Defra’s Administrative Rationalism Incremental progress towards sustainable development Created through departmental mergers in 2001, The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the principal UK government department responsible … Continue reading
Oblivious
Blindness and ignorance veil the realities of modern impacts on the environment perpetrated by our daily choices. We see it on the news, we hear it on the radio, we … Continue reading
Urbanisation Part III – Progress Since Rio ’92
Part three of a three part discussion entitled Urbanisation: towards a progress in understanding within the UN Sustainable Development Conference Arena Progress since Rio ’92 Several UN and international frameworks … Continue reading
Urbanisation Part II – Challenges
Part two of a three part discussion entitled Urbanisation: towards a progress in understanding within the UN Sustainable Development Conference Arena Main challenges We have become increasingly aware that both … Continue reading
Urbanisation Part I – Key Issues
Part one of a three part discussion entitled Urbanisation: towards a progress in understanding within the UN Sustainable Development Conference Arena 1 What’s it all about? Known variously as urban … Continue reading
North-South Climate Justice: Sustainable Development and Climate Change
Climate change (CC) is seen as a result of development, namely economic growth which accelerated during the period of industrialization in the global ‘North’. Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due … Continue reading
Adbusters’ Buy Nothing Xmas
Reblogged from Adbusters.org Attention shoppers! As our planet gets warmer, as animals go extinct, as the humans get sicker, as our economies bail and our politicians grow ever more twisted, … Continue reading
Exponential procreation or eternal damnation?
The Rio +20 outcomes from the perspective of a UK-based NGO focusing on population. Population: What Elephant? Somewhere around 31-October-2011 the human population reached 7 billion individuals, right around the … Continue reading
Forcing the Environment to Market – The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
At least as far back as 1997, researchers have suggested that earth’s ecosystems provide ‘goods’ and ‘services’ upon which humanity has relied for its’ well-being since, effectively, the dawn of … Continue reading
Is Resilience the new Holy Grail of Humanity?
According to Adger (2000), ‘resilience, in both its social and ecological manifestations, is an important aspect of the sustainability of development and resource utilisation’. But does resilience theory have the … Continue reading
Originally posted on When Worlds Collide, by Nalaka Gunawardene:
Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 1 July 2012 Humanity’s Ecological Footprint is…
Linking Planetary Boundaries to earlier sustainable development concepts
Links between the Planetary Boundary concept and earlier arguments within sustainable development are evident in the Limits to Growth (LTG) debate, with several key concepts highlighted in Buttel et. al. Surprisingly, … Continue reading
From Limits to Growth to Global Change
Reflection on Buttel et al, From Limits to Growth to Global change (1990) This is a paper that compares and contrasts two dominant debates in environmental science and ideology, … Continue reading
Sustainable Development, Politics and Agency
Recently a private briefing on SD, Politics and Agency caught my attention. After a good but brief introduction to social agency through an explanation of sociology’s externalities and psychology’s internalities, … Continue reading
Reflecting on Two Global Environmental Change types
B.L Turner and a team of seven colleagues from The Earth Transformed Program at Clark University in Worcester MA wrote in 1990, “The long sweep of human history reveals an escalating … Continue reading
Food for Thought: Four Books and a Seminar
Two books have surfaced that are particularly exciting: The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis by Jeremy Rifkin and Requiem for a Species: Why we … Continue reading
Planetary Boundaries – Safe Limits and Transgressing Important Boundaries
In 2009, Rockstrom et al published a paper entitled ‘A safe operating space for humanity’. The paper defines planetary boundary as: ‘the safe operating space for humanity with respect to … Continue reading
Population: A Problem for Sustainability?
It is estimated that on 31 October 2011 the human population reached 7 billion individuals. It was only 1999 when there were 6 billion people, and it is estimated to … Continue reading
The environmental movement: Assessing focus
We come to this forum with many questions, and an open mind. It is with this open mind that we raise an issue and pose a question about a legitimate … Continue reading
The Ascent of Man – Engage in Environmental Policy
Jacob Bronowski wrote in his book, The Ascent of Man: We are all afraid – for our confidence, for our future, for the world. That is the nature of the … Continue reading
RIP Mel Starrs
We read with great sadness that one of our blogrollers, Mel Starrs, recently passed away unexpectedly, at the very young age of 38. She was a prolific blogger and staunch … Continue reading
Rio+20 Outcomes: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Following the press coverage in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, one would be forgiven for thinking it was destined to fail. The advance draft texts … Continue reading
Why is the Subject of Population so Contentious?
Recently even our beloved Sir David Attenborough in a set of televised closing remarks identified the issue of population control as one of great significance in relation to the successful … Continue reading
Originally posted on Truth11:
Jurriaan Maessen Infowars.com July 17, 2010 Bangladesh leader Zillur Rahman and others in Asia are pushing for population control. As we know, the globalists endeavor to…
A great introduction to the NatCapDec covering the key points and linking to the Dec. itself – Thanks GreeningCanada and GlobeNET.
Originally posted on Linking Sustainability:
GUEST POST: By Dr Joël Houdet, Integrated Sustainability Services, South Africa The Natural Capital Declaration was released on June 20th at the Rio+ 20 Earth…
Rio+20: The Future We Want? WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET IT OURSELVES.
The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development has turned out to be a major disappointment. Why are our leaders unable to step up and act in favour of universal … Continue reading
Debates in Sustainable Development – Cyclical and Twisted
If the challenge of defining sustainable development isn’t enough to spin your head, the cornucopia of its contexts, applications and arenas will – anything and everything from natural resource use … Continue reading
Unsustainable Products, Services and Business Practices: Legislation, Taxation or Self-Regulation
“Getting the true cost of production integrated into market prices so that purchasing choices lead to optimum outcomes” is what Paul Hawken hopes will contribute to a system of production … Continue reading
Economic Growth and Prosperity are Not the Same Thing
The sadly devolved Sustainable Development Commission published an incredible report entitled Propserity Without Growth, which perfectly explains, well, what it says on the tin… For us, the central salient point: … Continue reading
Challenges, what challenges? Where’s the remote…
Yes sir, but can we switch off the tube for a minute please, sir? Can we sit and think for a few minutes maybe? Shouldn’t we be concentrating on the … Continue reading
Will Technology be Our Safety Net?
Is technology a safety net, or does it just get in the way of what’s really important? Safety net for what? What is the problem we are trying to solve … Continue reading
Environmental Sustainability, Everyone’s Duty
However you look at it, either as sustainability, protection, stewardship, or just old fashioned respect, unless the overwhelming majority of us begin to take responsibility for the environment on multiple … Continue reading
Natural Resource Depletion, Enviro-Degredation
The OECD ties Natural Resource Depletion and Environmental Degredation directly to human well-being. In order to properly respect the environment and our biosphere to ensure it remains in tact for … Continue reading
Thoughts for Environmental Activists, Climate Change ‘Believers’ and Skeptics Alike
According to the Buddhist faith, this passage contained within their cannon outlines the Buddha’s thoughts about believing: “Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not … Continue reading
“If you’re not doing a job that is about improving the world, then you’re wasting your life.”
Whether you buy into the premise of the 10:10 campaign, e.g. the notion of climate change and pledging to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%, the campaign founder and die-hard … Continue reading
Annie Leonard and her Wonderful Stories of Stuff
We all need stuff to live. Seems simple. We need food, shelter, clothing, education, representative government, healthcare and employment. But our contemporary culture, and more importantly the people around us, … Continue reading
Dude, what’s up with Canada, eh?
What are they thinking? First of all, Canada, an area of magnificent unspoilt wilderness, continues to support their environmentally detrimental and carbon intensive tar sands mining in favour of, you … Continue reading
Tar Sands? Holy Mother Earth – What are They Thinking?
Talk about raping the planet?!? Yeah, you can get oil out of the bitumen that is eked out of tar stands extraction, but holy Moses is it a bastard on … Continue reading
How nasty are the carbon emissions in your country?
Check out this simple but effective Interactive Carbon Emissions map from The Guardian, but be sure to click on the drop down menu to get the more helpful information on … Continue reading
Congratulations Earth, You’ve Been Granted an “Instrument”
Durban Climate Talks Conclude without Great Substance. Hurrah, let’s all stand up and congratulate our climate change negotiators in Durban for finding the political will to grant our beloved Earth … Continue reading
Showing Real Passion about the Environment!
That’s just what RP Siegel has done in this impassioned piece on the Durban climate talks: “I truly hope that Amory Lovins is right when he says we can do … Continue reading
A Book that Opens Eyes to Serious Social Sustainability
The Guardian’s Lynsey Hanley reviews Richard Wilkinson’s excellent book, The Spirit Level. Short URL. A clear and fair review, summarising well the best points whilst raising interesting issues.
COP17 Durban – process and posturing, or progress and potential?
Have we too many urgent economic and social crises to worry about the planet that sustains us? Are we all simply too concerned about where the money for our next … Continue reading
PLEASE Make sure ministers do the right thing on climate change and the environment
Dear Nick Clegg MP, Please ask Norman Baker to back the European ban on buying oil that has been extracted from tar sands. Getting oil from tar sands is an … Continue reading
Product Ecolabelling or Greenwash?
The website Environmental Graffiti has posted this great infographic illustrating ways in which product manufacturers use environmental greenwash in an attempt to hoodwink us into buying their products under the … Continue reading
Community ‘Consumption’
New research is emerging indicating the success of community sharing, swapping and reselling – these actions begin to create a culture of experience versus one of ownership and consumption. Fascinating. … Continue reading
Social Sustainability Equates with Smaller Income Gaps
In a recent TED talk by the unbelievably articulate Richard Wilkinson, the gap between rich and poor was identified as the principal barrier in creating the greatest advances in social … Continue reading
Adapting our Behaviour.
This is the goal. Adapting human behaviour through information, knowledge, education, about the impacts we make, the choices we have, why we must act now, and how we can go … Continue reading
