Just spoke with a structural engineer who is working on a hempcrete project, a straw bale project and a deep retrofit. That cheered me up!

Bracing for Storm Goretti

🤢 Today in our village 👇

‘We’ve all the tools we need to solve homelessness’ The solution to the UK’s homelessness crisis already exists. It just needs political will, planning nous and determination to bring it about Excellent @russellcurtis.com via @news.architectsjournal.co.uk

Unhook ourselves from oil and gas and we unhook ourselves from dependency on dictators, autocrats and expansionist regimes all over the planet. Renewables and other low-carbon energy sources are not just good climate sense. They are also good political sense.

Although its very cold at the moment in the UK, 2025 was both the warmest (with a mean temperature of 10.09°C) and sunniest (1648.5 hours) on record. Here is a climate and weather #dataviz summary for the last year. #climatechange #globalwarming.

Yellow

If we're serious about fighting climate change, flying anywhere for £20 simply should not be an option.

My hymn of praise for e-bikes in the evangelical Christian magazine Sojourners. We've invented a bicycle without hills. What could be finer? sojo.net/magazine/jan...

Apt (again) www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT3c...

It's a good option, for some reason not widely adopted in UK. Does anyone know why?

The Utrecht morning rush hour in the snow did not disappoint!

in other news, the snowdrops are out

Cold 🥶 but sunny 🌞 day, useful solar gains keeping our house at comfy 21 degrees C without any additional heating. The same glazing will be fully shaded in summer, preventing overheating. Passivhaus and good design works in all seasons 👌

This might seem niche but it's a wonderful forensic account of one of the big ideas of public housing that didn't work out too well in practice. (Quarry Hill, Leeds, gets a mention.)

There are far, far too many deaths in bar and club fires caused by pyrotechnics. These incidents are utterly horrifying, far too frequent and should be prevented. To this list (from Ed Galea) you can now add Switzerland and Goa:

How do we minimize upfront carbon and operating emissions while improving health and comfort with the least stuff for the most people? The answer may not be “fabric first.” It may be a heat pump and a solar panel. It may be a good pair of long underwear. In 2026, I will not be so doctrinaire.

The sudden realisation that we're now closer to 2050 than 2000

🎉✨ #HappyNewYear from the Passivhaus Trust! ✨🎉 #Thankyou for being part of our #Passivhaus community - we can’t wait to continue building a greener, healthier, low-energy future with you in 2026! #Passivhaus #SustainableLiving #NewYear2026 #RetrofitRevolution #EcoFriendly #NetZero #GreenBuildings

Hoping this is the year we learn to walk* and chew gum** at the same time in making climate-safe homes. *Decarbonise heat in a way that recognises different people's needs, so it works for everyone. **Recognise that sound decisions about buildings are highly contextual. There are no silver bullets.

2025 has been a record year for solar ☀️ our 6.39kWp PV system produced nearly 7MWh of clean electricity ⚡ Consumption has gone up from the previous year mainly due to EV charging (738kWh) Here's to more clean electrons in 2026. Happy New Year!

The last dawn of the year

My site is called "carbon upfront," but none of my most popular posts have anything to do with the subject, likely because smarter people than me are doing real work on embodied carbon instead of just talking about it. In 2026, I am going to concentrate more on sufficiency vs abundance.

Fabric is still first if you want to improve comfort, health and affordability Ed. If you are only concerned about carbon sure, go ahead and sideline fabric. But you can expect to see fuel poverty, damp and mould increase. (And don't forget that leakier buildings = more generation & more cables)

This is happening, construction starting on site in spring. Suspended timber floor, prefab straw timber walls, clay plasters, crinkly tin roof

...and will be for the foreseeable...

Pre-ordered ✅

Definitely a sobering read. We all need to pay more attention in 2026

Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, or Alice In Chains.

Good day to check out some castles in the area 🏰 Grosmont // White Castle // Skenfrith

Christmas roast yea 😵

Why self-improvement starts with maintenance as.ft.com/r/03de6ceb-6...

Signed ✅

In other words, 2025 could well be the coolest year of the next 25 years www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

They are among hundreds of people who have contacted the BBC about problems with poorly installed insulation. BBC News - Our son can't come home for Christmas after insulation mould took over - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I've never heard of Kogaicho House, so thank you Lloyd for this write up

Aww, hardwood structure with straw panel walls for a robot straw panel factory, the future does not have to look as grim as sci-fi and lax 'there is no alternative' embodied carbon emission policy wants us to believe.

Winter solstice lived up to the expectation It can only get better

The story of Farage and Putin, told by British-Ukrainian soldier Shaun Pinner on a destroyed apartment block in Kyiv.

Happy Winter Solstice, longer days will slowly going to be returning ☀️🙌

Sadly a bit late for Christmas stocking, but 👉 The Good Building Book 👌 by Nick Grant & John Broome is ace and it's available to pre-order at all good book retailers. Coming out next month. @ecominimalnick.bsky.social

Average Salary vs. Home Price Why can't people afford a house anymore?

Rothko in the sky

"A society that meets its needs democratically [by insulation + electrification etc] cannot be colonised by markets or foreign powers" I've been saying this for years: the conservative parties exploit this mercilessly because the opposite works for them at the ballot box. Eloquently explained:

Schrödinger's Immigrants

Made me chuckle. But also left a horrible taste in my mouth

“A winter sunrise paints the cold, stark world with hope, as pale light breaks the dark, revealing frosty landscapes with hues of rose and gold, transforming bare branches and sleeping earth, hinting at spring's return.“

Please sign an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer and the UK broadcasters calling for a televised emergency briefing on the #climate & #nature crisis. www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... Highlights from actor Olivia Williams' powerful reading. Full version link below. #NEB2025 #TimeToStepUp

"This is national security issue. Without a living, healthy biosphere, there is no stable economy, no food..." Prof Nathalie Seddon of @ox.ac.uk on why we're facing a national emergency. Sign the open letter calling for a televised emergency briefing. www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-... #NEB2025

"You respond to an emergency with genuine action" Powerful and honest message from the recent National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social by Prof Hugh Montgomery This should be on national TV #ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUM...