Science and Technology

Give local authorities more freedom to deliver sustainable cities

By Sally Gee and Elvira Uyarra Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 21, 2014

Public bodies play a unique role in renewing our urban infrastructure to make our cities more sustainable. The transformation of the Greater Manchester waste system illustrates how local government can accomplish this through ambitious procurement projects, argue Dr Sally Gee and Dr Elvira Uyarra. In 1999, local government faced a major problem. European legislation was […]

Dinner parties and healthy eating should share blame for food wastage

By Daniel Welch and David Evans Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 14, 2014

Eating ‘properly’ and special occasions are more to blame for household food waste than lazy consumers and supermarket BOGOFs, according to Dr David Evans and Dr Daniel Welch. We waste 15 million tonnes of food in the UK every year, according to a recent report from the House of Commons EU Committee. This has serious […]

Evidence ignored amid Lords committee’s bullishness on fracking

By John Broderick Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 12, 2014

Last week a Lords Select Committee report backed “all out” development of a UK shale gas industry, pointing to compatibility with UK climate change commitments. But this conclusion flies in the face of a wealth of evidence to the contrary, writes Dr John Broderick. The message from last week’s House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee […]

Policy, partnerships, collaborations; laying the foundations for graphene city

By James Baker Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: May 7, 2014

As the government announces further support for the UK’s emerging graphene industry, James Baker from the National Graphene Institute says the emerging concept of a ‘graphene city’ can be a UK model for commercialising new scientific discoveries. Announcing new investments into graphene commercialisation in March’s Budget, Chancellor George Osborne described the material as a “great British discovery […]

Green policymakers should take a cue from Quorn’s success

By Claire Hoolohan Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 30, 2014

Last week Quorn announced it will invest £30m in its County Durham factory following significant sales growth in recent years. Claire Hoolohan argues that Quorn’s success is a signal to governments, policy makers, academics, and others that the time has arrived to move forward on the sustainable food agenda. Reducing the amount of meat in […]

Towards sustainable consumption: start by reframing the questions

By Daniel Welch and Nicola Spurling Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 22, 2014

Sustainable consumption is all too often framed in terms of individuals’ choices. The social practice perspective offers an alternative model, argue Dr Daniel Welch and Dr Nicola Spurling. “Do you find it easy to follow a sustainable lifestyle? Do you switch off every light? Plan each meal to avoid food waste? Why is behaviour change […]

Back to the future; the recurring patterns of flooding in the UK

By Anna Carlsson-Hyslop Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 16, 2014

Flooding is not new in Britain, with major floods recorded throughout history. But with predictions of climate change suggesting such deluge conditions may become more common, Dr Anna Carlsson-Hyslop argues that policymakers must heed some important lessons from the history of flooding. History tells us that central government involvement in flood defence has swung first […]

Does the UK have a future in manufacturing?

By Kieron Flanagan Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: April 9, 2014

Thanks to its world-class science base the UK is very good at developing ideas. But we still don’t invest enough public money into developing early stage technologies, says Dr Kieron Flanagan. Does the UK have a future in manufacturing? Does the North West or the Greater Manchester city region have a future in manufacturing for that matter? These were the questions debated at a panel discussion I took part […]

Beyond sandbags – how to defend your house from flooding

By Angela Connelly, Iain White, Nigel Lawson and Paul O'Hare Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: March 20, 2014

For much of the 20th century, faith has rested in bigger and better defences to hold back floodwaters. But repeated flooding has shown that large defences cannot, and should not, be the sole focus. The first, and for most people the only, tools in the box to protect homes have been the thousands of sandbags […]

What should responsible innovation look like in our society?

By Jonny Hankins Filed Under: Science and Technology Posted: March 12, 2014

The emerging concept of responsible innovation is already taking hold in science policy and governance, writes Jonny Hankins. He argues for a multi-faced approach that emphasises reflexivity, involves public engagement from the outset and brings on board social scientists. The phrase ‘responsible innovation’ is cropping-up ever more frequently in policy documents in the UK, Europe […]