How Circular is the Circular Economy?
As long as we keep accumulating raw materials, the closing of the material life cycle remains an illusion, even for materials that are, in principle, recyclable.
High-tech problems
Interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology.
High-tech has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions.
There is a lot of potential in past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society.
We Can’t Do It Ourselves
How to live a more sustainable life? By placing responsibility squarely on the individual, attention is deflected away from the many institutions involved in structuring possible courses of action.
Bedazzled by Energy Efficiency
To focus on energy efficiency is to make present ways of life non-negotiable.
How (Not) to Run a Modern Society on Solar and Wind Power Alone
Matching supply to demand at all times makes renewable power production a complex, slow, expensive and unsustainable undertaking.
The Curse of the Modern Office
The information society promises to dematerialise society and make it more sustainable, but modern office and knowledge work has itself become a large and rapidly growing consumer of energy and other resources
Why We Need a Speed Limit for the Internet
The energy use of the internet can only stop growing when energy sources run out, unless we impose self-chosen limits.
How Sustainable is Stored Sunlight?
Energy storage is often ignored when scientists investigate the sustainability of PV systems.
How Sustainable is PV solar power?
At high growth rates, the energy and CO2 savings made by the cumulative installed capacity of solar PV systems can be cancelled out by the energy use and CO2 emissions from the production of new installed capacity.
Well-Tended Fires Outperform Modern Cooking Stoves
Despite technological advancements since the Industrial Revolution, cooking remains a spectacularly inefficient process.
How Sustainable is Digital Fabrication?
Automation is more energy-intensive than mechanisation.
High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network
High speed rail is destroying the most valuable alternative to the airplane; the “low speed” rail network that has been in service for decades.
Bike Powered Electricity Generators are Not Sustainable
The present approach to pedal power results in highly inefficient machines.
Piston-powered aircraft from the 1950s were as fuel-efficient as the current average jet
Estimates about the fuel efficiency of aircraft ignore the record of the pre-jet era.
The Status Quo of Electric Cars: Better Batteries, Same Range
We don’t need better batteries, we need better cars.
How (Not) To Resolve the Energy Crisis
Increasing the share of renewable energy will not make us any less dependent on fossil fuels as long as total energy consumption keeps rising.
The Monster Footprint of Digital Technology
The embodied energy of the memory chip alone exceeds the energy consumption of a laptop during its life expectancy of 3 years.
Small Windmills Put to the Test
Wind power rules, but small windmills are a swindle.
Who Killed the Electric Grid? Fast-charging Electric Cars
Fast recharging times generate lots of excitement, but what seems to be forgotten is that they can lead to a fabulous amount of peak demand.