Tag: climate breakdown

Cher-Loire confluence to Saumur

The one night we decided to sleep with out a tent and it rained. Only a few spots at around 5am, but enough to wake me and wonder…

When government bans protest against our projects, engineers must put down their tools

The cornerstone of our democracy is the right to protest. At the moment the government is pushing through amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that…

Our responsibility: reduce carbon on projects by 7% a year starting now

Hold this figure in mind: 7%. In 2019 the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) published a report concluding that in order to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees, we…

Towards Regenerative Conceptual Design

I have had the great fortune of having spent three weeks in France, a good portion of it cycling. Touring is a great way to leave behind your…

What if the screen you are now using is your last?

One day I hope this article will be printed in a book. But until then I can be fairly sure that you will be reading it on a…

What is more important than how

It’s a phrase I picked up a long time ago from Tim Ferriss and it has stuck. What you do is much more important than how you do…

The end of trying harder and being nicer

Over the last few weeks I’ve been talking to engineers about they can do in response to the climate emergency. For those that are engaged with the topic,…

A reminder about the imminent climate catastrophe and how we should educate engineers to prepare for it

[The following text is adapted from the after-dinner speech I gave at the University of Edinburgh Engineering Faculty’s away day. It was originally titled ‘How problem-based learning can…

Climate breakdown – uncivil engineering questions

At the start of the summer I felt that the best contribution I could make to tackling the climate emergency was to offer my skills as a trainer…