Look Near First

On the face of it, something doesn't seem to make sense. Most of us are worried about climate change, and most of us also believe that flying is a major contributor to climate change. Yet around half of the UK population flies at least once a year, some much more than that, with demand continuing to grow. What is going on there? If there appears to be something irrational - a disconnect betwee...

Anna Hughes is an influential campaigner and activist. In 2018, she founded Flight Free UK which attracted widespread attention and acclaim, and has been successful in persuading people to think about their travel choices, to try a year without flying, and, literally, find out where that gets them. In this conversation, she talks to me from the cabin of her narrowboat about the inspiration behind...

This is an episode from Dave Powell's brilliant podcast, Your Brain on Climate, which features me! Dave asked me to talk to him about how climate change led me to a place where I felt I had to leave my job as an airline pilot. We also talk a little bit about how our brains often don't make the most rational decisions when faced with challenges that they didn't evolve for, such as, for...

Wow. Hearing yourself on a podcast is a big moment, or at least it was for me, especially when, in that podcast, you dive deep into the issues that have turned your life upside-down. This is a brief reflection on the conversation I had with Dave, and how it has helped me to see what needs to happen next. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pilot-who-quit-for-the-climate-with-joel-walker/id15...

Alastair Humphreys has written books about his epic, worldwide adventures, which included cycling around the world, walking across India and rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. But more recently, he has turned his attention much, much closer to home and, not being someone to do things by halves, he has taken 'local' to an extreme. In this episode, we explore some of the reasons behind the switch, an...

Inspired by John Ruskin's example (see part 1 in the previous episode), I was keen to get out on a nature walk with my sketch pad. But at this time, I met Silvie Hibdon, a co-fellow in Cohort 8 of the Climatebase course, has set up the non-profit organisation 'Arts Humanitas', and is leading the organisation of the San Francisco biennale in art, nature and ecology. She is knowledgable...

John Ruskin is a fascinating figure from the 19th century. He wished for a fairer society, and advocated strongly for social reform. He was also concerned by what he recognised as harmful effects of the industrial revolution - not only seeing how the emissions might harm the environment, but how the ever-increasing pace of life could inhibit us from really seeing and appreciating the wonder and be...

Olivia Stamp is a writer and project builder committed to unleashing our collective intelligence and imagination to create a future we actually want to live in. A couple of years ago she left her comfortable life in London to embark on a more adventurous life - adventures of the kind that arise from breaking away from societal expectations and trappings, and finding communities and ways of living...