Latest Stories from Jamie
The 2022 mission to clean-up electric battery production
Precious metals like cobalt and nickel are vital components of electric batteries, but extracting them is a dirty and dangerous. As the demand for green tech grows in 2022, are we any closer to fixing the labour and sustainability issues? 2022 is going to have to be a big one for vehicle manufacturers, if we’re going to meet any of the clean transport pledges made at COP26. Whilst the majority of...
Climate tech start-ups raise a record $32bn in 2021
Opinions may vary on how significant the role of tech should be in solving the climate crisis, but that isn’t stopping overall investment growing within the sector every year. A decade ago, tech entrepreneurs searched for ways to emulate the likes of Zuckerberg and Bezos, filling market gaps with what they hoped would become profitable endeavours. However, amidst our growing climate crisis, the landscape is drastically changing and start-ups are now...
Russia orders the disbandment of human rights outfit Memorial
In what’s being decried as yet another assault on Russian democracy, the state has ordered the liquidation of human rights group Memorial. Civil society within Russia has had a complicated history to say the least, and many are worried the authoritarian regime of decades past is creeping back. This week, Moscow city court ordered the dissolution of the nation’s most prominent human rights institution, Memorial International. Now officially deemed a ‘foreign...
Henry Glogau’s ‘portable solar distiller’ wins the Lexus Design Award 2021
The Lexus Design Award 2021 was all about invention for the good of humanity, and New Zealand born architecture graduate Henry Glogau took first prize for his solar powered water distiller. Since its inauguration in 2013, the Lexus Design Awards have always been shaped by the company principles of ‘anticipate, innovate, and captivate’, and the 2021 winner has ticked all the boxes with his first major undertaking. In case this is...
Study suggests 25% of young people hesitant to speak on climate change
While Gen Z is undoubtedly the most eco-conscious generation to date, a new report suggests many young people are concealing their views on climate change through fear of being judged or getting facts wrong.
Unlike many a generation which came before, a lack of motivation isn’t the problem when it comes to Gen Z and wanting to solve the climate crisis.
On the contrary, a new report from
The ‘genetic code’ of Covid-19 is being sold as ambient tracks
Forget your Spotify wrapped, the real soundtrack of your life over the last year (at least) has been Covid-19. You can hear exactly what that sounds like by picking up NFTs of ambient tracks mixed by music producers, apparently. If, like many, you found solace and escapism from the many lockdowns of 2020 by listening to music, 2021 is offering up an obscure yet symbolic treat… we think? Using the many...
Why India will struggle to break up with coal
In the final negotiations of the COP26 deal, India actively opposed the ideal of phasing out coal before the mid-century. Here’s why. In the closing stages of Glasgow’s climate negotiations, and with a promising deal in sight, India insisted that promises to ‘phase out’ coal be tempered in the final bill’s language. Backed by China and a few other countries in the pressing hours of Saturday, this resistance to cutting out...
New York’s multi-billion plan to thwart climate change impacts
Architecture is now beginning to consider the ecological ramifications of new builds, but resiliency projects will be needed to protect cities from the more immediate impacts of climate change. On that front, plans for New York City are already well underway. Constantly the backdrop for fictional menaces and mass destruction, whether that be at the hands of a giant marshmallow man, a rampaging gorilla, the Cloverfield monster, a tornado of...
Cambo oil field development halted indefinitely
Days after Shell pulled out of the Cambo oil field development, Siccar Point Energy has now put the whole build on pause indefinitely. Citing time constraints as a big hindrance, could this finally be the end of the controversial project? Who would’ve thought building a multi-million pound fossil fuel factory amidst a climate crisis would create so much controversy? Uneconomic and ill advised plans to drill for oil deep under the...
High-tech methane detectors are helping the US crack down on emissions
80 times more detrimental to our climate than carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for 30% of all warming since pre-industrial times. Here’s how the US is utilising tech to tackle such emissions domestically. If you kept up with the key developments of COP26 last month, you’ll know that any chance of meeting the Paris Agreement all but relies on driving methane emissions down – as well as carbon dioxide, obviously. While...
