Projects. Articles. Films. Art.
‘Feel the power of the sun’, by Diana Ejaita for Reach for the Sun: Ten Steps to Creating a Solar Powered World (Little Sun, 2021)
'Grace of the Sun': Robert Montgomery's COP26 solar powered artwork
November, 2021 - A project very close to my heart that Robert and I dreamed up together when I was working with non-profit Little Sun, this magical solar powered light poem is urging divestment from fossil fuels and commitment to renewable energy at COP26, and will illuminate every day at sunset as a poetic beacon of hope for Glasgow.
Fast Forward: A series of short films that shift the climate conversation
Little Sun, July 2021 - Fast Forward is a series of short films produced by the Little Sun team, exploring five artists’ dreams for a regenerative world. Featuring over 300 global voices, the films have been made by artists from Ethiopia, Senegal, and the United States.
Reach for the Sun: Ten Steps to Creating a Solar Powered World - illustrated by Diana Ejaita
Little Sun, April 2021 - Reach for the Sun is a campaign I designed and produced for Little Sun, illustrated by Diana Ejaita and supported by the IKEA Foundation, to unite, inspire, inform and activate those concerned by climate change from artists to organisations and activists alike.
Art explains: A zero carbon world
4 May 2020 - Many of us want to stop climate chaos and shift to world without fossil fuels, but what does it look and feel like? Art helps bring it to life.
Climate chaos - giving you the facts to act
Solarcentury, December 2019 — A resource hub I created together with Solarcentury: bringing together the facts to act on climate chaos.
The origins and rise of the extinction symbol
Ecohustler, 9 April 2019 — My interview with the Londoner who designed the symbol behind the movement.
100% renewable energy is possible, this is what it looks like
Ecohustler, 16 April 2019 — 100% renewable energy is possible within a decade scientists say, but what does it look like?
Five ways solar power is improving lives
Ecohustler, 17 June 2019 - Solar is fast powering the globe, it is disrupting traditional energy systems and quite literally redistributing power. Solar is, in short, improving lives.
Swim beyond politics to a space of imagination
Human Nature, 5 November 2018 - Why it is time to ignore political noise and focus on our own potential. As Stephen Hawking said, humans are a wonderfully resourceful bunch and together we will do what it takes. Action, however, will be driven through hope rather than fear. Let’s look at what is possible.
Podcast interview on art & sustainability: All Fruits Ripe with Louis Masai
Louis Masai, 1 April 2018 - Street artist Louis Masai and I talk about deforestation, the origins of Human Nature and the importance of artists in communicating about sustainability. All Fruits Ripe is a podcast about politics, music, art, film and sustainability: “When a fruit is ripe, it is time to pick it and eat it. If you say the time is ripe, then now is the time for action. Ripe means ready.”
More than 100 cities now powered by renewable energy
The Guardian, 27 February 2018 - A story I produced with CDP highlighting the progress cities have made on renewabe energy, with 100 now sourcing at least 70% of their power from renewable sources across the world from Auckland to Nairobi and Oslo.
Progress: How our cities are tackling climate change (Video)
You Tube, 11 September 2017 - A short film I produced with CDP, to show just how our cities are changing. More than ever, cities around the world are taking action to build sustainable economies. With over 1,000 projects planned worth US $52 billion, a tipping point on environmental action is within reach. But to get there, we need to move even faster.
Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions
The Guardian, 10 July 2017 — A report I launched for CDP showing that just a handful of fossil fuel companies and investors hold the key to tackling climate change.
10 ways you can help nature thrive
Human Nature, 14 December 2016 — Be you ambivalent or activist, it’s difficult to ignore the reality that our planet is changing. With 50% of species set for extinction by 2050, Human Nature and Artist Louis Masai have been raising the profile of the extinction crisis across the USA with ‘The Art of Beeing’ tour. Following the completion of the tour, here are ten simple things you can do to reduce your impact on nature, and even begin to help.
Can we put the environment at the heart of culture by 2020?
Felix Dodds, October 2016 — The political, commercial, technological and scientific direction we must take is clear. But I’m looking at the less defined role of the arts and culture in our transition to a low carbon society. Art as a means to touch emotions, be the visual, visceral, subtle, powerful means for change. Simply put, art changes people. Layered together with political and economic change it could, I believe, be the push over the line that society is looking for. The arts are the glue between the words of intention that cause true action, because nothing is more powerful than individual will. At scale, this is change. In the 1970’s music changed the world. Change is possible again.
Mural tour & film series: The Art of Beeing
USA, September 2016 — A tour of the US by artist Louis Masai. Partnering with EcoAlf, Defenders of Wildlife, Synchronicity Earth and more with one goal: to tackle the extinction crisis, one wall at a time. Check out the murals and watch the films we produced as Louis travels from New York to Detroit, California & Florida.
Mural Project & Film: ENDANGERED13
BBC, 27 June 2016— 13 urban artists team up with Human Nature to take on a 120 metre stretch of railway arches in Tower Hamlets, London to raise awareness of endangered species.
12 ways the arts can encourage climate action
The Guardian, 25 April 2016 —I join a panel of experts around from around the world to share thoughts on the most effective ways the arts can prompt climate action.
The art of changing the world - in pictures
The Guardian, 29 July 2015 — I profile artists challenging people and businesses to think about their relationship to the natural world.
Divest! A minute to hold banks to account on fossil fuels
Open Democracy, 4 November 2014 — As Campaign Director of Move Your Money, I ask if banks won't pull investment from fossil fuels, perhaps it's time to try another route?
What is environmental art?
Ecohustler, 28 May 2014 — As it becomes more pressing than ever to engage in meaningful action, what is it that will really make us change our way? Artists have long played a role as commentator and reflector of the world, as we face the biggest challenge of our time – climate change – I want to take a look at who’s saying what; and ask what art might truly have an impact on fundamental behaviour change.
What is The Story of the Line?
Abundance, 1 May 2014 — A series of animations I wrote and produced for ethical investment platform Abundance, illustrated by Matt Abiss. The Story of the Line is a simple way to understand modern day economics and the rise of a post-capitalist, distributive, regenerative system. It’s a distillation of one of the biggest shifts in human economic and social dynamics since the industrial revolution and illustrates two major forces in human economic evolution.
Chapter one: The vertical line
Chapter two: The money line
Chapter three: The energy line
Chapter four: The information line
Chapter five: Myths and the battle of the lines
Renewables: the need for human spirit (as well as facts)
A Greener Life, A Greener World, 12 February 2014 — An exploration of the UK’s ‘We Support Solar campaign’, and how it acts as a useful model of how to bring about social acceptance for renewable energy. Included in the campaign were celebrities, 300 MPs, 500 businesses, NGOs and thousands of individuals.
‘Carbon Bubbles’ visit Bank of England
A Greener Life, A Greener World, 16 December 2013 — A group of us launch 350.org campaigning in the UK with a visit to the Bank of England to warn about the risks of stranded fossil fuel assets and call for widespread divestment.
What happens when creatives and renewables collide?
A Greener Life, A Greener World, 9 December 2013 — The fossil fuel industry is fighting hard, spending more than $146 million on lobbying in 2011 in the US alone. My message to The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)? Get creative.
Screw work, let’s play (with sustainability)
A Greener Life, A Greener World, 13 March 2013 — Sustainability is boring. Yes, really. I wonder if winning the sustainability game is really about communicating play? Taking a load off, laughing, playing with making your own, working with recycled materials, coming together to talk, eating well and feeling positive about the future.
Revealed: Study finds the national media anti-renewable
Huffington Post, 5 December 2012 — An investigative report I produced: ‘How the UK national media treats renewables’, found that national media sentiment towards the renewable energy industry is negative, neglects the voice of the sector and is out of sync with wider public opinion.
Book: The Solar Century by Jeremy Leggett
Profile Books, 2009 — A book I produced together with the team at Solarcentury: ‘The past, present and world-changing future of solar energy’.
“Take your pleasure seriously”