What links Arcade Fire, lab-grown chicken burgers, the rare white Arabian oryx, masks made from plastic waste and the circular economy? We’re closing a tough year and starting a fresh one with a trip around the world, travelling from Afghanistan to Zambia in a gorgeous reminder of what’s good – a mix of meaningful innovations, excellent examples of resilience and things
The problem of fast fashion is – by its nature – accelerating quickly. In the UK alone, people are purchasing five times as many clothes as they did in the 1980s, and the global fashion industry is now responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions. But on the rise, too, is the number of ideas
“I am the Amazon. Please look after me.” Thought–provoking and emotional, the stirring sound of a 22-year-old afro-indigenous eco-activist from the Brazilian Amazon drumming on a Barcelona stage signified the beating heart and soul of our planet, an urgent need for a new era… and the start of Fixing the future 2019. This year’s event opened
Something special is happening inside an old school made from recycled salvage from a theatre company, decommissioned bio labs and art freight containers. As London’s first incubator workspace for urban farming entrepreneurs and ‘agritech’ startups, the Green Lab is creating a vibrant city community for creative sustainable food innovators. Having previously co-founded Fab Lab London, Ande Gregson was
Britain’s most ethical restaurant doesn’t have a bin. Founded by ex-St John chef Dougie McMaster, the team at Silo brews its own booze, mills its own flour, churns its own butter and even has chairs made from jeans and plates formed from plastic bags. At the UK’s first ever zero waste restaurant, all materials are digestible by
In the late 18th century a small group of remarkable friends met at a house outside Birmingham, UK, got blind drunk and applied themselves to the problems of the age. Between the writers, intellectuals, scientists and industrialists they discovered oxygen, harnessed steam power, pioneered the theory of evolution and launched the Industrial Revolution. Then they staggered
“I have a deep desire to make Africa a better place.” From its volcanoes to its tropical rainforests, Cameroon is one of the most biodiverse countries in Africa. Often considered the ‘second lungs of the earth’, the Congo Basin boasts a beautiful coastline, mountains, savanna, desert and tropical rainforests – and endangered species like bonobos,
We’re overjoyed to announce that ‘Fixing the future’ is back. And this year it’s bigger, better and faster – because the future can’t wait. ► Download the full programme After 2018’s sold out event in Barcelona, we’re returning to the CCCB – in partnership with Holaluz – with TWO full days and 40+ FutureHeroes from around the world. This
Imagine if you could get a ‘city’ to agree to making the world more self-sufficient. A creative team of pioneers and makers is doing exactly that. They’ve created a set of ten principles as a sort of instruction manual to build a more sustainable and inhabitable new world. And they’re getting cities to agree to it. In fact, 28
In an era of rising environmental awareness, cleantech has become the fastest-growing technology sector in the world. And sunny California loves it. That’s why they buy more electric cars and do more recycling than any place else. So what is ‘cleantech’? At its simplest, it’s any technology that helps a more efficient use of natural resources. We travelled
From culinary creativity and food fads to a dystopian future soil crisis, friends of the Atlas ask Dan Barber – Blue Hill chef and co-founder of Row 7 Seed Company – their burning questions… 1. Ande Gregson, founder of GreenLab, an experimental space in London for urban agriculture: “Is urban agriculture future or fad?
A lot of staring at screens happens at Mobile World Congress – whether tapping away at your own rapidly depreciating handset, ogling smarter ones, deciphering the agenda, or (in my case) simply trying to download the app that gets you a free coffee. ‘Mobile Is Everything’. The clue is in the slogan, but Barcelona’s MWC isn’t just about mobiles. Amid
As co-founder of the open source building system WikiHouse, Alastair Parvin sees democracy as a design blueprint, has never shied away from provocation and likes people who are trying to be useful or doing seriously disruptive stuff. Take a journey through his favourite Atlas projects. 1. Ethereum This super-interesting project is looking at how you can use the