30th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
This morning it was pouring with rain when I first looked out of the window. So I was pleased that it had cleared a couple of hours later when my Brazilian colleague Isabel and I stood on a hillside overlooking Addis Ababa in our wellington boots. Actually, it was perfect conditions for tree-planting, and we […]
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7th June 2013
Los Angeles, USA
The Los Angeles S&I team recently visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to meet the Megacities Carbon Project team. The MCP is designed to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in urban areas, starting with Los Angeles (LA). CLARS, a laboratory housing remote-sensing instruments built by JPL researchers, sits atop of Mount Wilson, where it samples […]
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25th April 2013
Washington DC, USA
Today, I dressed up in black and white in solidarity with my dearest feathered, slithery and loud-mouthed friends, Penguins. Today is World Penguin day (no offense taken if you were not informed), celebrating the many millions of happy-feet who accumulate impressive mileage swimming around the coldest parts of the southern hemisphere. I became a fan […]
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15th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Standing in his moleskins in a grove of gum trees in rural Victoria, British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson looked every inch the countryman. Me, in my dark suit, not so much. He was here with scientific and policy officials to look at several aspects of Australian agriculture. The […]
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12th April 2013
Toronto, Canada
Back in February, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) announced the latest round of SD Tech Fund investment. This round released $61.8 M to 23 projects across the country, many of them highly relevant to SIN: Anti-bacterial pesticides that are less damaging to the environment ($1.5 M) A biomass-derived coal (torrefaction) demonstration plant ($2.7 M) A […]
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27th February 2013
Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest blog by Roben McCabe, Executive Assistant, Global Issues Group at the British Embassy in Washington. As someone with a background in International Conflict Resolution, I was a bit unsure if my attendance at Last week’s American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Annual Meeting would be too high level […]
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25th February 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
Earlier this month I posted some futuristic thoughts on what Lebanon could be in 2020. Much more interesting than the speculation in the post was the response. The almost 300 comments so far give a good sense of current debate in Lebanon: idealism, cynicism, fatalism, frustration. Some seek to apportion blame, many to identify practical […]
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22nd January 2013
Washington DC, USA
Inauguration Day is a four-yearly highlight of the Washington calendar – and indeed, the calendar of most US citizens. It is the day when the newly elected president is sworn in for the next four years. Full of pomp and circumstance, bugles, marching bands, songs, prayers, and lots of US flags, “What are you doing […]
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15th August 2012
Washington DC, USA
You know you’re British when the first conversation starts, and continues, with the weather. I descended upon the Falkland Islands in the early afternoon to glorious sunshine and a cool breeze – exactly what I needed after a long flight full of recycled air. As soon as my ride picked me up from Mount Pleasant […]
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12th July 2012
Ottawa, Canada
In celebration of summer and getting outside, another guest blog posting by our British High Commission Ottawa, Climate and Prosperity Advisor, Adrienne Yuen: Last week, I came across this eye-popping infographic on nature and us. Apparently, nature is good for you. It can make you healthier, smarter, fitter, and nicer. Just two minutes outside can […]
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