Climate and Energy

How Captured Carbon Can Be Used

Why carbon capture? The UK Government suddenly seems a fan of carbon capture - primarily, it seems, as an excuse to keep using carbon-generating fuels (i.e. oil and gas). This is not good. However, carbon capture isn’t inherently bad. Atmospheric carbon has been growing for decades, due to the aforementioned oil and gas, and is continuing to do so. We’ve already passed the “oh shit” point, arguably several times. Carbon capture gives us a way to reduce atmospheric carbon levels and reduce the impacts of climate change.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 | 9 minutes Read

Edible Insects (National Taiwan University)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/edible-insects Why Why not: Cultural differences between which animals (and parts of animals) are and aren’t food → Too cute? Too scary? Disgust? Safety? Endangered? More useful alive? Bad taste? Racism? Lower inputs (space, feed, water), lower emissions, higher nutrition density (low carb, medium protein, high protein, high fibre, high nutrients/minerals) Insects react to external (but not internal) physical pain but don’t seem to care - they don’t suffer (mental), they’re likely not conscious Veganism kills more than entoveganism: 1 acre of crops kills 800,000 insects Can be prepared in a huge variety of ways, from flour/minced to whole as nuts/land-prawns substitutes, and have a range of innate flavours Circular agriculture: flies eat chicken waste, chickens eat fly larvae Utilise food waste (avoid landfill) Space food!

Wednesday, July 5, 2023 | 3 minutes Read

Business Sustainability in the Circular Economy (RH/UoL)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/business-sustainability-circular-economy Lower food miles is not necessarily better - green beans grown in Kenya (hand-raised, natural fertilisers) and flown to the UK may emit less than those grown in the UK (tractors, oil-based fertilisers). Emissions from the entire supply chain must be considered, and the bottom of the pyramid (the most distant suppliers in the supply chain) are usually hardest. Linear (take, make, dispose) vs circular (make, use, return) → reduces virgin material use (and hence mining etc), reduces landfill (and hence emissions and waste) Reverse logistics (getting something back to the supplier) What: End-of-use product or packaging Why: For recycling, repurposing, reuse How: More complicated than forward logistics due to uncertainty (when, where, what (condition), etc) so often use third-party logistcs (3PL) companies Who: B2B is easier than B2C New legislation Design must consider end-of-life dismantling for recycling/reuse Right to repair

Wednesday, June 28, 2023 | 1 minute Read

PESTLE and Grid-Scale Energy Storage

I’ve been thinking about energy storage recently, and what may affect the industry in the coming months and years. PESTLE is a framework for analysing external factors that can affect an organisation or an industry. It’s an acronym that stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. Below is a quick outline of grid-scale energy storage, followed by a PESTLE analysis of the industry. Grid-Scale Energy Storage The transition to renewable energy sources is also a transition to intermittent ones.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023 | 5 minutes Read

Electric Motorcycles in the UK

Fazer vs e-scooter After my recent post on car ownership, I had a comment on LinkedIn suggesting I should do a comparison of my Yamaha Fazer (600cc petrol motorbike) against an e-scooter. Upon investigating this topic, I quickly realised a major problem: e-scooters are mostly illegal. Using a privately owned scooter is only allowed on private property - not on roads, cycle lanes, pavements, etc. Plus, you can’t carry them on public transport, so you can’t ride one to the bus or train.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 | 11 minutes Read

Do I Need to Own a Car? And the Future of Mobility.

I love cars - always have. I’ve been driving tractors as long as I remember. I got my driving licence within three months of when I was legally able to. And this love has expanded into motorbikes, when I first left the rain of the UK and experienced the joys of the Australian mountain roads. Currently I own a car (Fiesta ST) and motorbike (Yamaha Fazer) However, soon I move back to London.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | 7 minutes Read

Wind and Solar Potential

Which countries have the most potential for wind and solar power? PV Potential Based on data from https://globalsolaratlas.info/., here is a map of the best countries for solar: Unsurprisingly we have the deserts in Africa, the Middle East, and Chile. The map on the source website has much more precise intra-country data, so it is definitely worth checking out. Wind Potential Based on data from https://globalwindatlas.info/, here is a map of the best countries for wind:

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 | 2 minutes Read