What can Sustainable Development do for World Heritage Sites like Cromford Mills?

   ‘Why bother?’  – if you have never thought about sustainability in terms of heritage and education, or have only touched on it, there are several reasons to engage, or engage further: – Public interest: Society is in a state of rapid change not least about rising energy costs and more generally the cost ofContinue reading What can Sustainable Development do for World Heritage Sites like Cromford Mills?

CULTURAL HERITAGE in a CHANGING CLIMATE

March 21, 2022 | by Adam Markham Climate change is the fastest growing threat to heritage sites across the world, and as such it was chosen as one of the themes for the 2022 Watch. As a member of the independent panel that gathered (remotely) over three days to make the final recommendation of sites for inclusion, IContinue reading “CULTURAL HERITAGE in a CHANGING CLIMATE”

Should We Abandon the Concept of Climate Refugee?

Climate change is expected to force millions of people to relocate this century, as rising seas inundate small islands and intolerable heat makes life impossible in tropical regions. But is the world really facing a mounting climate refugee crisis? It is entirely reasonable to assume that as climate change intensifies, it will result in moreContinue reading Should We Abandon the Concept of Climate Refugee?

Bangladesh Sink or Swim

Many recent news stories highlight Bangladesh and its people living with and dying from climate change.  This is both a moving and disturbing story – a wake-up call to all of us about the direct environmental and indirect social and political consequences of our (the developed world’s) dependency on fossil fuels.  In this most vulnerableContinue reading “Bangladesh Sink or Swim”

Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change

Edited by Arjen E.J. Wals and Peter Blaze Corcoran. Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2012. 550 pages. (€) 69.00 (hardback) ISBN: 978-90-8686-203-0. I reviewed this massive book for the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development in 2012 and set it in the context of a prescient album by the Indie Group ILiKETRAiNS: “And we regret theContinue reading “Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change”

Matlock Floods investigated by East Midlands BBC News

On 6th March the East Midlands news team descended on Knowleston Gardens, site of the Bentley Brook pumping station. Contrary to local understanding the film crew took evidence from the Environment Agency who confirmed that the November 2019 floods were caused by surface water rather than flooding from the river. The volume of the waterContinue reading “Matlock Floods investigated by East Midlands BBC News”

Climate Change and the proposed housing development on The Wolds Matlock

Can we Safeguard the Future of the Town ? Richard Arkwright and John Smedley(and son) were celebrated Victorian entrepreneurs. Their visionary use of the streams and rivers which are so abundant in the Derwent Valley, led to the development of innovative hydro-engineering systems, which powered the industrial revolution and factory-based cotton textile production in theContinue reading “Climate Change and the proposed housing development on The Wolds Matlock”