Ed Dowding

Why doesn’t Monsanto fix energy?

There’s a very simple way we can tell that GMO companies (a) don’t understand genetic modification very well, and (b) aren’t interested in solving humanity’s biggest challenges. Ask yourself what you would do if you ran Monsanto. If it was me, I’d look at the reasons people don’t like my work: it’s tampering with complex ...

Superior orders

Since we keep being asked to do immoral things by our businesses and our Governments* it’s worth remembering Rule IV of the Nuremberg principles: “The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible ...

Evidence-based policies

Let’s face it, we know a lot of stuff now. Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data — so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. This data comes from everywhere: sensors used to gather climate information, posts to social media ...

A film about The Prince and Global Sustainability

“”I have long been deeply concerned about the effect our modern, highly industrialised approach is having on nature’s capacity to sustain life on Earth.” Source: http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/news-and-diary/news-film-about-the-prince-and-global-sustainability

A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales to the Future for Food Conference, Georgetown University, Washington DC

“President de Gioia, Ladies and Gentlemen. Having such fond memories of my last visit, it is a great joy to be invited back to Georgetown to speak at this conference. It certainly makes a change from making embarrassing speeches about my eldest son during wedding receptions…!” Source: https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/speeches/speech-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-future-food-conference-georgetown-university

If Day

“If Day (French: “Si un jour”, “If one day”[1]) was a simulated Nazi invasion of the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and surrounding areas on February 19, 1942, during the Second World War.” Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Day

“The Great Feast” – TEDxOxbridge

This is the transcript from my talk at TEDxOxbridge last weekend. —————–   If you a have a phone, take it out and hold it up. This device makes us magicians: At any time, from any where, we can know almost ANYTHING that is known to mankind. Ok – hands down. But what is truly ...

There are two kinds of failure.

There are two kinds of failure. The failure of ambitious dreams that maybe we’ll see in China. And the never ending failure of the miserable cynical bastards in the west who never open their mouths but to whine about how terrible everything is. People so fundamentally opposed to a better world tomorrow that the highest ...

Does your MP think a vote on Europe is the most important thing right now?

More than 100 Tory MPs ‘express regret’ at lack of referendum bill. Well well well. Do they, now? This is what I’m expressing regret about to my MP. Hi Caroline I just wanted to say thank you so much for expressing regret about the decision to leave an EU referendum out of the Queen’s speech. ...

The Scale of Genuine Civilisation

A postcard to Michael Gove.

Accept what you can not change, change what you can not accept.

By all means, follow the advice of the Desiderata and “accept what you can not change”, but only so that you have energy and sanity left to change what you can not accept.

At-a-glance: Queen’ Speech 2013

You’re only allowed to stay if you were on the guest list we wrote 18 years ago. You are to clean up after your dog. You will work harder, longer, and when you die you’ll be able to know exactly how your privatised hospital is failing. We acknowledge that prison is a crap solution, so ...

In historical terms, today is absolutely incredible. In terms of the world we’re going to create in your lifetime, today is rather embarrassing. Get to work.

The Bottled Water Challenge – your opinions sought!

Public opinion needed here, please help! There’s a charity water company which raises £10k/yr from bottled water sales. This funds 3 clean water projects in India. The person running this activity costs £10k/yr in salary. Externalised costs include extraction, bottling, labelling, transport, and refrigeration. Costs: £10k + externalities Yield: £10k + cascading benefits So by ...

Petition fatigue: in defence of clicktivism.

Every. Single. Day. Every single day there’s another damned petition to sign. Is it about anything sensible or reasonable? No. It’s about trying to prevent only the most stupid / villainous / malicious / self-serving people from doing the most ludicrous and outrageously stupid things they could ever possibly dream up to do. It makes ...

Playing the spoons to Faithless’ Insomnia

Pretend that you’re happy

By Jay Foreman.

Darwin on marriage.

On Darwin’s list of the disadvantages of being married: A married man could never go up in a balloon. On balance, probably better than having a dog.

Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?

Nope, you’ll be shredded by your own insecurities borne of your deluded values framework.