The global burden of disease due to infection
John Rex in his excellent AMR Solutions newsletter highlighted an excellent analysis of the global burden of disease due to infection by Naghavi et al published in The Lancet. The 'burden' measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) that are lost due to the disease both from death or incapacitation
Deforestation and zoonotic diseases
Forests are a significant ecological and economic resource that sequester carbon and provide habitat for wildlife and livelihoods for communities. A number of activities cause deforestation including the clearing of forests for commercial crop cultivation (e.g. soybean, palm oil, and wheat) and for livestock grazing especially in tropical regions
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 18, 2024)
Are we near peak coal in China? Deforestation brings new disease risks. And we need to think more about bacterial infections.
Sunday Brunch: tales of the unexpected
The transition to a more sustainable world is a complex process. Even with the best intentions, there could be some unintended consequences.
Can we have better meat?
What is better meat ? There is a lot of discussion about how we need to eat less meat, for all sorts of reasons, not just climate change. But, another part of the solution is eating 'better meat'.
The hidden influence of viruses on climate change
We know that climate change can impact the spread of viruses and disease. But, have we thought enough about how viruses can impact climate change? How? Through methane production. And we all know that methane is a powerful GHG.
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 16, 2024)
Inability to connect new renewables to the grid slowing down the transition, microbes creating methane - we need to know more, and is there such a thing as better meat (yes - but it has other implications we need to think about).
Heating and the importance of systems thinking.
The Heat Pump Summit took place at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford on 10th April. Despite a long history of heat pump innovation and usage - the first large scale heat pump in the UK was in operation in 1945 in Norwich - household installed heat pumps
KlimaSeniorinnen, the Great Indian Bustard and Insurance.
A number of judgments were handed down last week that could have important implications for insurance, investing and project viability. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland violated citizens' human rights by not doing enough to combat climate change. The court sided with over 2,000 Swiss
What caught our eye - three key stories (week 15, 2024)
Here are three stories that we found particularly interesting this week and why. We also give our lateral thought on each one. Read in full by clicking on the link below. 'What caught our eye' like all of our blogs are free to read. You just need to
The allure of consensus
We all know that building consensus is the best way to drive change - but is it really? What if the consensus building approach is not the best way after all? Are there some cases where having a narrower but stronger support base is better? And what read across might
Clean ammonia - the decarbonised future of fertiliser
We know we need to decarbonise ammonia production. There are already technical solutions, including electrification, and the use of green hydrogen as a feedstock. In most cases they are not yet financially comparable, but they seem to be getting closer. But in many situations decentralisation can also be a practical