120530_PCP_Header

Post Carbon Pathways Launch

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I have been fortunate to be working on a very exciting project entitled “Post Carbon Pathways” and we’ve just completed and launched a new website. The site  brings together information and analysis about the most promising large-scale post carbon economy transition plans and strategies. It is intended as a resource for policy makers, activists and others working on the actions needed to build a just, sustainable and safe post carbon future. There are many websites providing information about the... 

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Life Cycle Lessons from Bill the Krill

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

“This is Your Life Cycle” is a humorous, tongue-in-cheek nod to popular reality TV makeover shows. Hosted by the whale Bill Krill, the five-minute animation puts an entertaining spin on the scientific process of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). With the contestants — including a light bulb encrusted dress, a neurotic vacuum cleaner and un-functional chair — all competing for a sorely needed eco-design makeover. This is the second animation in the Secret Life of Things educational animation series... 

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Materialism1

The High Price of Materialism

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tim Kasser has turned some of the key concepts from his book “The High Price of Materialism” into a short animation for greater entertainment value. He discusses how the greater the materialistic values of the individual, the more miserable they are. Kasser describes how participation in materialist pursuits detracts from intrinsic values, such as caring for family. He proposed that by promoting intrinsic values, materialistic values diminish. This may be a bit of a rash simplification. What happens when... 

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beetroots11

A Refreshing Take on Food Miles

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

For a while I have been pondering the notion that food miles are the barometer of what is more sustainable to eat. When I was at the COP15 in Copenhagen, I was given a book called “Fair Miles”. This challenged the simple view that locality ensures a more sustainable food choice by looking at the debate through a sustainable development lense. The concept of fair miles is that by buying imported goods from developing nations, we are supporting these struggling economies. To withdraw our support for their... 

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start

Going solo to make a change

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Disheartened by the constraints of working for larger organisations, Melbourne’s Joost Bakker flies solo so that he can bring about the rapid change in a sustainable direction her requires. Having tackled green building in collaboration with CSIRO, contributed to preserving biodiversity and decorating each and every eco-minded bar in Melbourne’s alleyways, Joost has been busy making a difference. When you hear what what he has been doing behind the scenes, it’s clear that he is focused on making the... 

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croquet

In Praise of Leisure

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Dreaming of 15 hours weeks? Willing the working day to end so you can pop your feet up? Finally, someone is writing in praise of leisure. This article penned by the Skidelsky brothers for the Chronical Review reflects back to the 1930′s when Keynes wrote and essay proposing that as “technological progress made possible an increase in the output of goods per hour worked, people would have to work less and less to satisfy their needs, until in the end they would have to work hardly at all. Then, Keynes wrote,... 

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The Great Unwashed: The Story of a Dirt Provocateur

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Back in March we promoted researcher Tullia Jack’s exhibiton ‘Nobody Was Dirty’ which seeks to challenge peoples views about cleanliness in relation to jeans. Tullia was motivated to investigate this subject after reading Kate Fletcher’s book that identified that washing constituted a significant proportion of a garments ecological footprint. When looking at Tullia’s wonderful website, I happened across this great little video clip which outlines her social experiment. Tullia asked the... 

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Too Many Toys… When too much fun turns into housefill

Friday, June 15, 2012

You’ve all been to their house. You know who they are. The crazy people who’ve given away their adult sanctuary to kid land; characterised by piles and piles of toys. There’s plastic fantastic, wooden wonders and any number of broken crayons. When I was pregnant, it wasn’t giving birth that struck terror into the hearts and minds of my husband and I. It was the thought of becoming the parents who’d get lost wading through their housefill; a sea of toys and trinkets. Over the last year,... 

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Maslow's hierarchy

Looking for those living otherwise

Friday, June 15, 2012

As you know, this website was inspired by the fascinating conversations I’ve had with young Australians who are looking to live better with less. In my PhD Thesis- Elegant Sufficiency, I chatted to fourteen amazing individuals who are radically reinventing the way they live in accordance with their vision for a sustainable future. They are meeting their basic needs, while inspiring those around them. There were new converts to the ‘sustainability religion’ and those who grew up believing it was important... 

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Collaborative Consumption

Friday, June 15, 2012

Ever Since the term ‘collaborative consumption’ was cleverly coined by Rachel Botsman, there has been a snowball of interest in share-schemes, renting ventures and swapping initiatives. As the founder of The Clothing Exchange, I’ve experienced an influx of interest in the swapping service model from journalists penning a piece about collaborative consumption (see Peppermint & G Magazine). By defining collaborative consumption as a movement, Botsman did all of us hard working swappers and sharers... 

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Wise Animation

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Introducing Project Otherwise

Screen shot 2011-12-09 at 2.50.30 PM

This is a short animation that tells you why Project Otherwise exists with a few gags along the way. It makes for excellent procrastination so send it far and wide. To share the laughs just copy and paste this link: http://youtu.be/lvsigErL1OM Produced by Kate Luckins & Katelyn Samson (Project Otherwise). Illustration by Nick Lewis (Turd Circus) and animation by Steve Philips (Dead and Buried).    Read More

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Wise Film

The High Price of Materialism

Materialism1

Tim Kasser has turned some of the key concepts from his book “The High Price of Materialism” into a short animation for greater entertainment value. He discusses how the greater the materialistic values of the individual, the more miserable they are. Kasser describes how participation in materialist pursuits detracts from intrinsic values, such as caring [...]

0

Wise Idea

Post Carbon Pathways Launch

120530_PCP_Header

I have been fortunate to be working on a very exciting project entitled “Post Carbon Pathways” and we’ve just completed and launched a new website. The site  brings together information and analysis about the most promising large-scale post carbon economy transition plans and strategies. It is intended as a resource for policy makers, activists and [...]

0

Wise Living

Looking for those living otherwise

Maslow's hierarchy

As you know, this website was inspired by the fascinating conversations I’ve had with young Australians who are looking to live better with less. In my PhD Thesis- Elegant Sufficiency, I chatted to fourteen amazing individuals who are radically reinventing the way they live in accordance with their vision for a sustainable future. They are [...]

0

Wise Mum

Too Many Toys… When too much fun turns into housefill

big_pile_of_vintage_toys

You’ve all been to their house. You know who they are. The crazy people who’ve given away their adult sanctuary to kid land; characterised by piles and piles of toys. There’s plastic fantastic, wooden wonders and any number of broken crayons. When I was pregnant, it wasn’t giving birth that struck terror into the hearts [...]