I read an article recently about a bicycle "upcycling" (the sexier added-value marketing version of recycling) operation in Daylesford, Victoria where the author claimed that any technology developed after the Stone Age was to blame for the planet being “in a mess”. This sort of woolly thinking is pretty common amongst the rank and file of the environmental movement, and the article finally prompted me to pull some of it apart for closer inspection.



Now, first off, unless the author… Continue

Originally posted as editorial for Newsburst 30.11.09



I was out last night at the pub with some friends from a small rural town in Australia and the conversation kept returning to the difficulty of attracting and keeping professionals in their town. It seemed that doctors, dentists, lawyers and teachers came and went with astonishing rapidity, and while no one was lamenting the loss of lawyers, there was general agreement that it was hard for a community to function without the… Continue

So, Cornwall’s eco town has jumped another hurdle on its way to becoming a reality. What sort of reality will it become? New towns are nothing new, so there is a smörgåsbord of past errors (and a small dill pickle of successes) on which to graze. Will the project suffer the gradual slide that often seem to occur in projects like this? You know the sort of thing: “the vision included a hospital, crèche and secondary school, but escalating costs, funding shortfalls and unforeseen delays mean we… Continue