Episode #61: Fact Checking the Norman Foster Dezeen Interview
Are there really "A lot of dangerous myths about sustainability"?
In this episode I fact check the article "There are a lot of dangerous myths" about sustainability says Norman Foster, which appeared on dezeen.com on 17th January 2023.
The architect made some controversial statements about sustainability, defending aviation, nuclear and concrete. I thought it would be useful to fact check these statements and see if there is any truth to them. So, can we actually turn seawater into jet fuel and decarbonise aviation overnight? (As he says in the interview). Listen to find out!
This episode is in no way an attack on the fine people who work at Foster & Partners or the work they do to design sustainable buildings. It is just a fact check of some of the controversial statements made by Foster himself, to help people understand the climate science.
Don’t forget, there is over 40 hours of content like this on the Green Urbanist Podcast, which you can listen to on my website or any podcast app!
What did you think of the article? Let me know in the comments.
Relevant episode for further listening:
#21: Jake Attwood-Harris (Hawkins\Brown) - Whole Life Carbon, Zero Carbon Architecture and Retrofitting for Sustainability
Relevant links and further reading
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uks-jet-zero-plan-would-allow-demand-for-flying-to-soar-70/
https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation
https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/nuclear-waste-pilesscientists-seek-best/98/i12
https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question192.htm