Chris Turner

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Physics-defying LEDs light the way to a brighter cleantech future

Thu, May 31 2012 at 2:37 PM

A light-emitting diode (LED) developed at MIT operates at 230-percent efficiency. That's not a typo. LEDs will provide 70 percent of the world's general lighting by 2020. That's not a typo, either. The cleantech revolution has barely begun.

Have we reached 'peak car'?

Fri, May 25 2012 at 10:52 AM

People under the age of 30 are waiting longer to get their driver's licenses and buying fewer cars. 88 percent prefer walkable downtowns to traffic-choked freeways. Welcome to the post-automobile age.

My big fat New Urbanism conference rundown, Part 2

Fri, May 18 2012 at 3:17 PM

At the 20th Congress for the New Urbanism, there were many big ideas on display. The best: How to transform China into a New Urbanist showpiece, plus how to use 'tactical urbanism' and 'sprawl repair' to rebuild American cities.

My big fat New Urbanism conference rundown

Thu, May 17 2012 at 4:20 PM

The Congress for the New Urbanism is the most significant urban design movement since Levittown gave birth to the postwar suburb. Its 20th anniversary conference in Florida proved it still has plenty to say about the future of cities.

The competitive advantage of green grids

Tue, May 01 2012 at 3:21 PM

As Greenpeace attacks Apple for the coal clouds firing its data centers, green grids from Iceland to Quebec are attracting some surprising new customers. All kilowatt-hours are no longer created equal.

Who knows less about global warming than Jose Canseco? Mitt Romney, for one

Wed, Apr 25 2012 at 10:52 AM

When Jose Canseco started lecturing about global warming on Twitter, everyone knew to laugh. So why do the leading lights of the GOP - and their enablers in the mainstream media - face less ridicule for even stupider pronouncements?

Giant Earth Day Sale! Everything Must Go!

Thu, Apr 19 2012 at 1:42 PM

No generations in the history of human civilization have consumed as much of the planet's natural bounty as the ones alive today. So what are we doing this Earth Day? More shopping.

Great cities do the everyday things right

Wed, Apr 18 2012 at 10:29 AM

Any old city can build a fancy stadium or host a big event. But the 21st century belongs to the cities that master the art of the everyday. Safe sidewalks, dog parks, even just crossing the street.

What have we learned about cheap energy?

Thu, Apr 12 2012 at 10:15 AM

There's not a free and fair market for energy anywhere on earth. The reason Germany's solar industry is failing and America's natural gas 'fracking' business is thriving is because the markets are rigged that way.

The symbolic power of bladeless wind turbines

Thu, Apr 05 2012 at 5:35 PM

Critics of renewable energy are obsessed with the costs and practicalities of cleantech right this instant. Visitors to Silicon Valley in the 1970s didn't see the iPhone coming, either. There are countless innovative new ideas blowing in the wind.

Commenting (8)

Actually, the folks in Europe

Fri, Mar 30 2012 at 12:54 PM

Actually, the folks in Europe go to the nearest square and sit out at cafes on warm evenings. Together. In public. There are no drive-by shootings there because no one has guns.

I'll throw in my two cents on

Tue, Nov 01 2011 at 1:37 PM

I'll throw in my two cents on this, Jenn. Very thoughtful response, and I recognize that half a century of car-centred urban planning (even at small-town scale) has turned walkable neighbourhoods into a certain kind of luxury. As with urban cycling, the safety of walkability comes in numbers, in what Jane Jacobs called "eyes on the street." I certainly can't speak authoritatively to your situation, but one thing I always stress in these conversations is that sustainability shouldn't be a chore, especially for kids. It should be joyous, reinvigourating, exciting. If it isn't, maybe your town isn't ready for it on that particular front. I gather the main reason your kids don't like it is because they're by themselves. Would there be a way to channel their energies into advocacy, maybe something like a one-day-a-month walk or ride to school day just to get some more kids engaged? Just a thought. Like I said, sustainability's not one-size-fits-all and it shouldn't be a constant battle. If it is, I'd argue the energy's better spent on something else.

Consider the source indeed.

Mon, Oct 10 2011 at 11:53 AM

Consider the source indeed. In classical logic, this is known as an ad hominem argument and is not generally thought to be a strong tactic. My credentials, for the record, are mostly as a journalist with 15 years' experience and nearly all of those on the climate/energy/tech beat. You think rocket scientists write their own press?

JOIN THE NEST
READ, WRITE,
EARN POINTS

JOIN NOW

Green Tech Blogger

Member since March 2011

Chris Turner is an author, journalist and public speaker covering climate change and sustainability issues. His most recent book, the bestseller The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need (Random House Canada, 2007), was named one of The Globe & Mail's Best Books of the year and shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Nonfiction and the National Business Book Award. His narrated visual tour of The Geography of Hope has captivated audiences ranging from Environmental Defence summits to Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers galas. He was a featured speaker at the 2008 Alfred Deakin Innovation Lectures in Melbourne, Australia.

Turner is also the author of the international bestseller Planet Simpson: How A Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation (2004). He writes a monthly feature on sustainability for The Globe & Mail. His magazine writing mostly for the late, great Shift Magazine has earned him four Canadian National Magazine Awards and six honourable mentions, including the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence (the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing). His writing and reporting on culture, technology and the environment have also appeared in Fast Company, Time Magazine, The Independent (UK), Maclean's, Canadian Geographic, The Walrus, Azure and Utne Reader. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, the photographer Ashley Bristowe, and their daughter, Sloane.

Start a Blog

MNN's community blogs are the perfect place to broadcast your environmental passions.

Start a Blog Community Blogs

FEATURED CAUSE

Support Local Foods

No Farms. No Foods. Support local farmers and locally-grown foods with this cause.

Donate

Chris Turner

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Chris Turner

FEATURED CAUSE

chris_turner'S PLEDGES