When Britain’s water and sewage industry was privatised in 1989, the promise was that private investment would result in a massive expansion of the infrastructure to overcome some of the problems with droughts and leakage that had emerged in the 1970s. The real reason for privatisation – based on the actual outcome – was
Picture this: a storm knocks out the neighborhood power. Your lights flicker and die. You relax, knowing your fancy Tesla solar panels and big Powerwall battery should kick in. But nothing happens. Silence. Darkness. Heartbreaking, right? Why did your expensive backup system fail you? Let’s figure it out. Your Tesla solar system isn’t magic.
Increasing frequency of heatwaves and flooding raises fears over health, infrastructure and how society functions Record-breaking extreme weather is the new norm in the UK, scientists have said, showing that the country is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis. The hottest days people endure have dramatically increased in frequency and severity, and
Last week’s blogpiece bemoaned our cultural focus on the future. During the intervening week I found myself guilty of that same error, although not a future of optimism. In a response to an online post I stated, ‘Unplanned collapse is what will happen…’ Another commentator rightly pulled me up on that comment. Unplanned collapse
Once, getting ready for the apocalypse was for the paranoid. Now, in the face of cyber-attacks, climate breakdown and nuclear threats, the UK government recommends it. Should everyone have a survival kit? This is a great time to be a shopkeeper, if that shop is for those worried about the breakdown of civilisation. “It started
After Europe’s biggest blackout in over 20 years, experts warn that while such incidents are rare, no grid is infallible Europe’s biggest blackout in over 20 years on the Iberian peninsula unleashed hours of chaos for people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France earlier this week. But in the aftermath it has raised a
In one hand, an oat latte. In the other, a phone with social feeds full of doom-scroll posts about the end of the world. Across Britain, a quiet transformation is happening. It’s not the stereotype of survivalist preppers hoarding beans in bunkers. It’s middle-class professionals - scientists, sustainability experts, teachers, doctors, policy analysts and management
Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior Allianz figure The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate. The world is fast approaching
Understanding watt-hours will help you survive power outages and off-grid adventures. Buying a giant battery for the next blackout or off-grid adventure can be daunting, especially when hundreds or even thousands of dollars are on the line. Get it wrong and you’ve either spent too much money for something you’ll never use or discover that
The Snow Moon is certainly living up to its name this year. But then, the Wolf Moon was snowy also. In fact, there have been only a handful of days in 2025 when it was not snowing here in central Vermont — and only a couple days above freezing. So the garden is deeply buried