June 2023

Introduction

The first three articles in this newsletter give some positive news on actions and research responding to climate change challenges.

Item 5 on Los Angeles deals with how the residents of some US cities are responding to the ongoing effects of the covid pandemic, and identifies some urban planning and design implications. While our own urban planning policies and objectives reflect some of these challenges (at least on paper), our transport planning often seems to look backwards. There is too much emphasis on very expensive public transport and/or major new road projects in our larger urban areas, and too little effort put into developing and actioning a programme of targeted smaller projects supporting a more diverse urban form with a mixture of land uses in attractive, walkable town centres serving and reflecting the local communities.

The final article is my summary of a new book by the philosopher William Macaskill entitled “What we owe the future,” Oneworld Publications (ISBN 978-0-86154-250-5 hardback, eISBN 978-0-86154-251-2). The book subtitled “A million year view,” is a broadly optimistic look at what human beings need to do to ensure that humanity survives and future human beings can have a good life. I have directed my summary to those parts of the book which I think might be of specific interest to ESR members so have missed out large sections. Anyone wanting to look further into what William Macaskill has to say should definitely read the book.

Newsletter contents

1. The clean energy investment boom
2. Rock flour from Greenland can capture significant CO2, study shows
3. The path to radically lower emissions
4. Global Energy news
5. L.A. and other cities are recovering, but not their downtowns. Why?
6. Asia’s largest timber building
7. A review of the book “What we owe the future