Paul Mobbs & MEIR:
Articles & Opinion
I often write short articles as it represents the most direct way to present the core of the issue I am working upon. More generally, I accept requests for both researched articles, opinion-style pieces, and ghost-writing, across the various themes within my research work.
This page provides access to a cross section of my past ‘short’ writing. Please note that where the link is in dark red, that article is held on another web site – and if it fails to work then that is the responsibility of the host site. Where the article link is in dark blue, that is hosted on my own web site – please contact me if you have a problem accessing the content.
In addition to this ‘published articles’ page, which lists articles published on other sites, I maintain an index of all my work-related articles for:
- 2019 & later index; and
- 2018 & before index (the articles I retained after the rebuild of my website in 2019).
Finally, my ‘longer-form’ essays/papers are posted in the Ecolonomics section.
Note: This page contains my ‘work-related’ publications. If you are looking for:
⛭ ‘Ramblinactivist’s Blog’, click here; or for
⛭ ‘The Banburyshire Rambles Journal’, click here.
Recent articles
The list of the articles is presented in reverse-chronological order:
Paul Mobbs/MEIR, January 2020 – The Land Magazine, Issue no.26:
The Invisible, and Growing Ecological Footprint of Digital Technology
The elements of our lifestyle which we most closely identify with tend to be off-limits to any critical discussion. This is one explanation as to why recent research on the impact of digital technology is missing from the popular ecological debate. But as 96% of British adults have a mobile device the footprint of digital technology can no longer be ignored. From electronic waste to carbon emissions, it’s taking on a life of its own.
To download a PDF of the article, click here.
Paul Mobbs, Mobbsey's Musings, 17th April 2018:
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: The gaping hole in the middle of the Circular Economy
Why the latest buzz-phrase in consumer sustainability – the Circular Economy – is not only failing to tackle the core problem, but why it is doomed to fail
Drill or Drop, 31st January 2018:
For all its faults, “fracking” is not the issue here…
Approaching my tenth year of research on unconventional oil and gas in Britain, it has become clear that the true struggle has little to do with regulations, or technology, or the pursuit of fossil fuels, and everything to do with the failure of our national political dialogue.
Paul Mobbs, Mobbsey’s Musings, 4th August 2017:
Methane clathrate – fossil fuel’s last desperate hope
Extreme Energy is a term which encompasses many different forms of ‘unconventional’ energy resources. From fracking, to tar sands, to some types of renewable energy which take more energy and carbon to produce than they save (mostly plant biomass) – these ‘extreme’ energy sources represent the last hope of the global energy corporations. Why this is so tells a much greater truth about the global commitment to address climate change.
Click here to download the PDF of the poster version of this article.
Paul Mobbs, The Ecologist, 24th May 2017:
Whitehall‘s fracking science failure: shale gas really is worse for climate than coal
The UK government claim that fracking is a 'clean' energy source rests on the conclusions of a single scientific paper, writes Paul Mobbs. And now that paper has been conclusively invalidated: it uses misleading figures that understate the methane emissions from fracking, and subsequent findings have left it totally discredited. Yet the paper is still being quoted to justify fracking, and the fool the public on its climate change impacts.
Click here to download the PDF of the poster version of this article.