Three excellent presentations about carbon, design and climate

Three rapid-fire presentations, three lots of food for thought at the latest (and best this MCFly reporter has been to) “Green Drinks”- which is essentially a montly business-card-swapping opportunity for professionals in the regeneration/sustainability game.
First up was Charlie Baker of URBED, giving an overview of what needs to be done and why (he pointed out how small-c conservative the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change actually was.
He was followed by Kate Brown, a consultant engineer with Faber Maunsell, a consultancy specialising in the planning, design and engineering of buildings, transport systems and environmental services. She looked at the different ways her company designs out waste and aims at zero carbon buildings.
Greg Keeffe, Principal Lecturer at the Manchester Metropolitan University's Faculty of Art and Design closed out with a look at how smart nature is, and how dumb we humans can be when they refuse to accept the subtle design hints on offer. (Cuttlefish can say so much without words- they use colours!) Worth googling bio-mimicry and industrial ecology. He also recommended a book called "Out of Control" by Kevin Kelly. Subtitle is "The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World."

On the plus side, it was free and really engaging- MCFly will nag the three speakers to post their presentations somewhere for all to see.
On the negatives, it was a downstairs venue and the drinks were expensive.
MCFly will let you know when the next Green Drinks is happening- definitely worth going, even if you don't have a business card to swap...