Smarter Communities Media

28/04/2023

The arrival of battery and hydrogen trains to rail networks across Europe looks imminent. They are likely to play an important role in decarbonisation, as a replacement for diesel. At an event hosted this week by Siemens Mobility, there was the chance to hear all about the technologies, how they complement each other,and where the demand is coming from. With its partner, Deutsche Bahn, it also demoed a mobile hydrogen refueling station.

Siemens Mobility’s test centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath near Düsseldorf resembles a giant model train set. Today, at its “alternative drives press event”, one loop is hosting its battery train, the other its hydrogen train. The group of 30 or so journalists, overwhelmingly white and male (as is ...

15/04/2023

The work of Dr Joseph Poore at University of Oxford has provided a vital source of evidence in the last few years for understanding the full impact of our food systems on the climate, land use and environment. At a lecture this week hosted by Vegoforum and Plant Based Treaty he set out the clear benefits of moving to a plant-based diet for the CO2 emissions of individuals, cities and the planet. Hestia (University of Oxford)

What would be the climate-related benefits of moving to a plant-based diet? A vital voice on this topic over the last few years has been University of Oxford researcher, Dr Joseph Poore. He has been building the evidence base to answer that question and influence policy makers. Unfortunately, the la...

04/04/2023

It wasn't an April Fool joke. As of 1st April, airlines are paying 50% less passenger duty on UK domestic flights. To add to the lack of hilarity, it follows another steep hike in rail fares. This government has a total disregard for the . Meanwhile, those governments that are trying to do the right thing are facing legal challenges from the airline sector.

The UK government’s cut to the air passenger duty airlines pay on UK flights came into force on 1st April. Remarkably, it turns out not to have been an April Fool joke. Adding to the lack of hilarity, it follows swiftly on from rail fare increases of 5.9% in the UK. The move is intended to

29/03/2023

The pharmaceutical industry is a prime example of the bad things that happen when monopolistic capitalism overrides the common good. A few companies dominate; “unprofitable” diseases, cures and markets are ignored; and the price of some treatments is massively inflated. What are the issues, what are the (spoiler alert: tragic) consequences, and what's do be done?

The fundamental problem with today’s pharmaceutical industry is that it is geared up to make profits, not to save lives. This has deadly consequences within individual countries’ health systems and around the globe. It means massive inequity, which ultimately causes huge suffering and loss of li...

22/03/2023

This is such vital, inspiring story telling. Finite follows the incredibly brave, committed and eloquent communities pitted against open coal extraction in the UK and Germany. When all else fails, it is down to individuals to stand up for what's right - we all need to become activists now. Definitely worth catching one of the screenings if you can.

Finite tells the story of two communities standing up to profit-driven, planet-wrecking corporates. In the UK, residents are lined up against a new open coal mine in Durham. In Germany, the protests are against the expansion of an already huge open mine that is destroying villages and ancient forest...

01/08/2022

What is the true cost of industrial fish farming? For years, a small group of dedicated campaigners have been exposing the reality and countering the green-wash. I caught up recently with one of them, Don Staniford, who has been campaigning for almost 20 years.

The only thing that has improved in that time, he says, is the ability of the industry to green-wash. Industrial fish farming is horrific from an environmental, animal welfare and human health perspective, while the likes of the RSPCA provide a sheen of respectability with their accreditation schemes.

https://smartercommunities.media/the-true-cost-of-industrial-fish-farming/

Don Staniford (above) has spent 25 years exposing the horrors of Scottish salmon farms. He is one of a small band of dedicated campaigners around the world showing how – despite all the green-wash - industrial farming of fish is a disaster for animal welfare, human health and the environment. Smar...

10/09/2021

It was great speaking recently to Leah Gage, grants programme manager at VegFund about the funder's reach over the last decade helping local activists spread the word about why a diet benefits health, animals and the planet https://smartercommunities.media/vegfund-helping-the-vegan-cause/

From small beginnings – a letter to a newspaper – VegFund now provides more than 1000 grants per year valued at over $2 million to further the vegan cause. By so doing, it plays an important role in enabling mostly local activities, such as food sampling, film screenings, paid-per-view (PPV) scr...

24/08/2021

Tulipshare claims to be the world's first activist investment platform. It is seeking to provide a platform for retail investors to apply shareholder pressure to corporations to bring about positive change. The first ones in its sights are Amazon, Apple and Coca-Cola. I spoke to founder, Antoine Argouges about his intriguing start-up.https://smartercommunities.media/tulipshare-empowering-shareholders-to-change-the-world/

“If you change Amazon, if you change Exxon, you change the world,” says Tulipshare founder and CEO, Antoine Argouges. Launched in July, this is essentially the aim of what is described as the world’s first “activist investment platform”. The initial companies in its sights are Amazon, Coca...

18/08/2021

Ailuna is an app that uses behavioural science to encourage lifestyle changes to help the planet, initially for individuals, with a version on the way for organisations' employees. Great to talk to co-founder Lars Nordhild Rønning about the roots of the company, what's available to date, current take-up and what's to come https://smartercommunities.media/ailuna-changing-habits-one-dare-at-a-time/

Drawing on behavioural science, the Ailuna app seeks to help people develop habits that are good for them and the planet. It was launched at the start of this year and now claims users in 50+ countries. It was devised by husband and wife, Lars and Helene Ronning, who live on the Danish island of Sam...

17/08/2021

One of my favourite interviews of all time - and I have been doing this for a long while! Film-maker, Thomas Wade Jackson, is on a mission to alleviate suffering and this comes across so well when talking to him, as well as in his great film, A Prayer for Compassion. https://smartercommunities.media/thomas-wade-jackson-on-a-vegangelist-journey-with-a-prayer-for-compassion/

Film-maker, Thomas Wade Jackson, has taken a break from planting fruit trees to speak to me over Zoom. From under a broad brimmed straw hat, he talks about how he was inspired to make his film, A Prayer for Compassion. It essentially poses one vital question: Why do so many religious and spiritual p...

09/08/2021

In our third piece looking at the future of European night train services, we talk to an operator that has been running these for more than a decade, Sweden-based Snälltåget. Its Stockholm-Berlin service started on 27th June after a hugely challenging year. More generally, there remain plenty of hurdles for any private operators in this space. We spoke to head of sales, Marco Andersson, about what needs to change, and about this pioneer company's experiences and plans. https://smartercommunities.media/the-challenges-of-being-a-night-train-pioneer-swedens-snalltaget/

While a few would-be entrants plan new night train services in Europe, Sweden-based Snälltåget has been around for more than a decade. It is fair to say, it hasn’t been the smoothest of rides, particularly in the last year or so. Life is tough at the best of times for private rail operators and,...

01/08/2021

It was really interesting to talk to the US's first climate-focused community bank, Florida-based Climate First Bank. At its heart it has carbon neutrality, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Drawdown framework for how to reduce greenhouse gases. Launched a month ago, it is a welcome addition to the US banking scene. https://smartercommunities.media/climate-first-bank-a-welcome-newcomer-to-the-us-banking-scene/

Florida-based Climate First Bank opened for business on 1st June. It is a full-service community bank offering personal and commercial banking services with, as its name suggests, a focus on environmental sustainability. It claims to be the US’s first climate-focused community bank. That focus inc...

23/07/2021

In our second piece looking at what's needed to rebuild Europe's night train network, we talk to someone actually going through the process of launching their first service, European Sleeper's co-founder, Chris Engelsman https://smartercommunities.media/european-night-trains/

19/07/2021

I used to take night trains a lot in Europe but the current network is a shadow of its former self. It would be great to see it rebuilt but the main train operators (with one honourable exception, Austria's OBB) are not interested and there are high barriers for private companies. Political lobbyist, Jon Worth, has set up Trains for Europe to try to win political support. It was fascinating to talk to him about the dynamics of night train travel and what's needed to bring positive change https://smartercommunities.media/all-aboard-for-european-night-trains/

The sleeper train network across Europe is patchy, to put it politely. Services have come and (more often) gone in the last decade or so, with others now lost either temporarily or permanently (such as Thello’s Paris-Venice and Nice-Milan services) due to the pandemic. Given the need to reduce fly...

17/07/2021

The term “must-see” is overused but there is a strong argument for applying it to the documentary, Rivercide, which was screened this week. First, there are the vital and shocking core messages per se, about the pollution in our rivers and the failures of the agencies that are meant to enforce t...

14/07/2021

As part of a wider leadership role to champion green hydrogen, plans have been unveiled for trials of Siemens Mobility hydrogen-powered trains on Bavaria's railways. German operator, Deutsche Bahn, also has planned trials, with this mode of energy seen as an important complement to electrification and the ultimate aim of carbon-neutral train travel.

https://smartercommunities.media/bavaria-plans-hydrogen-train-trials/

Hydrogen-powered trains running on European lines have moved a step closer with plans for a trial in Bavaria, on the rail network of Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB). The train is due to be unveiled to the public in the spring of 2022. The first test runs are planned for 2023, with the train officially en...

12/07/2021

I was delighted to interview Sailesh Rao 🅥 about his transformation from systems engineer (Stanford University, ATT Bell, Intel) to trying to solve the world's biggest challenges. After a wake-up call in late 2005, seeing a presentation on the Climate Crisis from Al Gore, he threw all his engineering skills into solutions to heal the planet, including the ambitious aim of a vegan world by 2026.

Storytelling is part of the solution. Dr Rao is the author of two books, Carbon Dharma: The Occupation of Butterflies and Carbon Yoga: The Vegan Metamorphosis, and an executive producer of four documentaries: The Human Experiment (2013), the highly influential Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014), the follow-up What the Health (2017) and A Prayer for Compassion (2019).

https://smartercommunities.media/climate-healer-interview-with-dr-sailesh-rao/

“I decided, I had no choice but to do this, I have to drop everything and work on it full time”. In 2005, the wake-up call of the climate crisis came crashing into the life of Dr Sailesh Rao. In rapid time, he went from high-tech, high paid engineer to would-be climate crisis healer. Since then,

02/07/2021

What stops people from investing in energy improvements in their homes? The folk from Nesta have been looking at this vital area - homes are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It has carried out a survey of 5000+ UK residents to understand the hurdles and what's needed to bring change. We spoke to report editor, Madeleine Gabriel
https://smartercommunities.media/nesta-survey-identifies-the-hurdles-to-decarbonising-homes/

What stops people from adopting energy efficiency measures and green heating? A survey carried out by Nesta has sought to understand the hurdles and looks at what incentives are most likely to drive change. These are urgent questions as zero carbon targets across the globe will be missed if there ar...

30/06/2021

World Unity Week, which ended at the weekend, was a remarkably ambitious eight days of online events. Here's my report of the often baffling, sometimes bonkers, inspiring and never dull coming together of so many people and organisations from around the world. Nearly all of the content is available free to view, so enjoy!
https://smartercommunities.media/world-unity-week-baffling-bonkers-and-inspiring/

World Unity Week was an incredibly ambitious, bonkers, baffling, often inspiring and never dull eight-day online event. The schedule was like a mandala – if you meditated on it for long enough then you could more or less work out what was happening. As well as the main programme, there were 32 ‘...