Chris Turner

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Welcome to the urban (sustainability) century

Fri, Dec 09 2011 at 11:07 AM

Half the world now lives in cities, and by midcentury 75 percent of us will be urbanites. To make those cities sustainable, look to the 2012 TED Prize and a fascinating new documentary called Urbanized.

Still no Pearl Harbor in the climate battle

Tue, Dec 06 2011 at 3:05 PM

The world is on course for climate catastrophe. Until the calamity is upon us, however, the 'war footing' argument for dramatic action won't find much support. Optimism is still the best tool for building a better world.

Another reason to be mad at the banks: They wreck complete streets

Fri, Dec 02 2011 at 10:28 AM

Nothing turns a lively street into a wasteland quite like a big bank on the corner. But unlike many financial woes, there's a quick, easy, sustainable fix for this one: Just turn the storefront into a coffee shop. Seriously.

Real green buildings aren't about the glamour

Wed, Nov 30 2011 at 11:28 AM

When it comes to reducing a building's carbon footprint to zero, it's often the most eyecatching details that get the most attention. But as an exemplary net-zero apartment building in Montreal demonstrates, it's not about the solar panels on the roo

The key to climate action? Getting the size just right

Mon, Nov 28 2011 at 11:43 AM

In the face of the global challenge of climate change, our responses too often involve doing Much Too Little or thinking Way Too Big. The real key is to start acting now, collectively, somewhere in between.

Do climate talks just get in the way of climate progress?

Wed, Nov 23 2011 at 1:11 PM

The world's most committed climate activists are descending on Durban for the next attempt to reach an international climate change treaty. So why did one of most successful green politicians of our time consider the process an obstacle to action?

In Hamburg, a derelict customs house becomes an oasis for creativity

Fri, Nov 18 2011 at 2:11 PM

Recycling is too often about virtue, not value. But when a hip design firm discovered some old barges on the river Elbe, they quickly learned that a derelict space can be upcycled into a transcendent satellite office.

When you make a product better, you're embracing sustainability

Tue, Nov 15 2011 at 12:11 PM

The German seafood wholesaler Deutsche See went looking for a better brand, but instead it found a more sustainable packing crate. Sustainability, it turns out, is often a synonym for quality.

At Unilever's Hamburg headquarters, sustainability is a side effect

Fri, Nov 11 2011 at 12:02 PM

On Hamburg's waterfront, world-class sustainable architecture has emerged not from lofty green goals but from practical questions like this one: How do you build an office so comfortable that employees want to linger together there?

If beating climate change is the goal, does motivation matter?

Tue, Nov 08 2011 at 4:14 PM

Worried about input costs, beer titan Molson Coors went green mainly to save green. If the end result — less waste — is to the planet's benefit, why should we care what motivated the company to change?

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?

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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.

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Chris Turner

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