Categorie: news

Is Art innocent…? and what about Musk or Putin?

Why does someone throw a can of soup against a van Gogh? Everyone was shocked. Either because of the van Gogh, how dare they, or because of the soup, from a multinational company, not an oil company or something, or because of the ‘soup-against-art’. What a strange way to bring…

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Which books to read, and which to avoid…. (Non fiction…!)

In the newspaper, we get reviews of new books almost daily. But, it’s mostly fiction. Fake, fantasy. We take refuge in dreams. Once in a while there is an interesting non fiction suggestion, but mostly of the soft kind, about people, and their behavior. But books about science, nature, physics…

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NRC newspaper interview: 6 limitations with sustainability

Just a few weeks ago I was interviewed by Paul Luttikhuis for the national Newspaper NRC. He creatively ‘summarized’ my book ( People vs Resources) into 6 limitations and discussed the issues with me. The first one is probably the most important one, and well re-phrased by Luttikhuis as: “the…

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Continue partying, or (CO2) lockdown ?

There are actually only two options (‘scenario’s’): Either we go into CO2 lockdown, or we party on until the whole thing collapses…. The latest IPCC report makes that perfectly clear again. What we are doing now is a case of “soft nurses make bad wounds”, with our decades-long unbridled optimism…

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Environment and climate checklist for journalists

blind spots in the environmental and climate approach/sustainability When listening to an interview, I regularly think: dive deeper, keep asking….! The same in the newspaper. Like recently: the newspaper offered space to a philosopher, who was allowed to go wild with his climate and environmental solutions. The editors didn’t realize…

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the Graz declaration: a amendment proposal

Next week, the world sustainable built environment conference was planned, from 9-11 June, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It has been put on hold since early March, due to Covid-19 virus of course. It probably will be postponed or become a virtual conference, but since Sweden has enough trouble from itself currently,…

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Avoiding CO2 lock-down: learning from corona

(this text was send as an open letter to the installations industry , media and policymakers, on 26 March 2020) What is happening around the corona virus today, is understandable and needed, health is paramount. Let that be clear. But we experience with Corona, what we will also have to…

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Corona brings us “Back to normal’… ?

( a short version has been published on Linkedin) . Whats happening now, with the corona crises, shows how the world / human beings have become vulnerable to disruptions of “business as usual’ , or better: current ‘life as usual’ . Only think of global connections when suddenly all countries…

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People vs Resources, update and annex (Max Power)

It has been a year since the Dutch version of the book was published, Gebroken Kringlopen (Broken Cycles). I handed out the first copy to Marjan Minnesma, who is on top of the required transition with NGO Urgenda. The English translation came out last month under the name “People vs…

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The world on fire (and BBQ)

The introduction to the Dutch version of my book was headed: the world on fire. ( after summer in English available!) “Well”, was often the reaction, “a bit exaggerated, isn’t it? Sounds like doomsday thinking right?” But it is not doomsday thinking, it is a realistic look at what is…

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