Tag: Innovation

Tokyo’s Love Affair with Bicycles

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Tokyo Bicycles

The Next Stage of Urban Cycling

Living in Japan for nearly a year now, I am still perpetually amazed and impressed by the number of people who chose to commute by bike (see The Daily Commute). It’s a clean, convenient, and cost-effective means of getting around, and it has the potential of bringing genuine joy to the rider. I’m certainly a fan. Biking to work, school, and social events had often been my preferred means of travel back in Montreal (despite the long winters), but here in Tokyo, they’ve managed to bring urban cycling to the next level!

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Why Biomimicry is So Cool!

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Close-up of Gekko Fingers

Adopting Nature’s R&D

Nature has had millions of years to work on its designs and efficiencies, and it’s no wonder that humans have sought to adopt and mimic these traits for our own uses. This practice of transferring over elements or techniques from the natural world is called biomimicry, and it represents a cutting edge approach towards developing sustainable solutions to the many problems we face.

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What is The Circular Economy?

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Taking The Non-Linear Approach

The circular economy, much like Mad Max‘s Bartertown, represents a model by which waste is not viewed as waste, but rather a source of power or material for something else. It’s essentially a closed loop system. The circular economy currently describes a pretty amazing representation of our desire to strive for zero waste,  like the natural world itself. Rather than the conventional means of manufacturing, which is often devised for a single purpose, more attention is given to the product’s end of life, and assessed for further opportunities.

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A Sustainable Source of Quality Jobs

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Book Recommendation

The Green Collar Economy

by Van Jones (2008)

Green Collar

Van Jones makes the case for the renewable energy sector as a force for environmental and economic good. Climate change is indeed a terrible man-made crisis, but it also presents an opportunity for societies to shed their fossil fuel dependency and offer leadership through alternatives and innovation.

Globalization has transferred millions of manufacturing jobs away from developed nations towards the developing world. This need not be viewed as a bad thing for the developed states (although labour conditions in the developing world are still in need of dramatic improvement). Rather, it provides the chance for the US, and other prosperous countries, to invest in the future and expand the skills of their citizens.

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