From the age of 16, Tom Blakey was in the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. After 25 years of regular service, he spent another eight years as a reservist. The regiment’s motto, Utrinque Paratus – Ready for Anything – remains front of mind in his daily life, even though he’s now 54 and no longer
homeowners are getting a preview of what the future could hold: longer, more frequent electrical outages that leave neighborhoods in the dark, sometimes with little warning. From extreme weather to wildfire-prevention shutoffs, residents are questioning whether the conventional power grid can meet modern demands. Enter home battery backup coupled with solar panels, an energy solution
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication I know it’s almost impossible to turn your eyes away from the Trump show, but that’s the point. His antics, ever-grosser and more preposterous, are designed to keep him in our minds,
You get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the
Solar energy is the least expensive source of electricity in history and has been for the last six years according to the International Energy Agency. New technologies like black silicon are pushing solar costs even lower. Thus, with no subsidies solar is simply less expensive than all of the other antiquated options. Solar costs
For decades, solar energy has been hailed as one of the most promising answers to the climate crisis. But while its ability to produce clean power is well known, new research from China reveals that large solar farms can do far more than generate electricity—they can actually transform entire ecosystems. A groundbreaking study in
‘When spectacular success spells calamitous failure’ What is real? One of humanity’s more curious traits is an unlimited capacity for self-delusion. And if you don’t think you are delusional, you are doubly deluded. There are numerous causes of this enigma, many springing from basic human nature. Perhaps the most obvious is that human groups
Experts lay out scale of changes needed in ‘first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing’ in Westminster A host of eminent scientists have warned politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security. According to its organisers more than 1,000 corporate bosses, senior civil
Rescue operations in Wales, submerged railway lines in Cornwall – these events are ever more common. So why have we utterly failed to prepare? As autumn blurs into winter, the news is once again filling up with a familiar story: overflowing rivers, inundated streets and overwhelmed infrastructure. Since Friday, England, Wales and Ireland have
Millions of rooftops are quietly doing what big power plants can’t Home solar marks a fundamental shift in how we produce and consume energy. The rooftop panels are quietly transforming what, for over a century, had been a centralized power model into one that is far more dynamic and resilient. This decentralized model is