‘Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?’ Not on your nelly. We’re delighted to have had so many readers make our acquaintance in 2013 – our readership has more than doubled compared with 2012 – and the Isonomia team would like start by wishing you all a very happy New Year. Like the two-faced Roman god who gives January its name, we’re looking forward to the new friends and articles which 2014 will bring; but we’re also reflecting on the past. So if you were too preoccupied with the season’s festivities last month for environmental blog reading, let’s peer into the mists of time and see what you missed.
Our most read article of the month came courtesy of Steve Watson, who profiled the creator of the concept of the waste hierarchy: Ad Lansink. Not only was Steve’s piece one of the best read articles we’ve ever had for a single month, it also achieved the hitherto unknown feat of garnering a comment from its subject matter. That’s right, Ad Lansink — in whose ‘Ladder van Lansink’ the waste hierarchy first appeared — is now numbered amongst the auld acquaintances whom we hope will join us for whatever 2014’s blogging may bring. Eric Pickles, take note….
Our second most read article of the month came from Catherine Hansen via our ongoing collaboration with EcoMENA. She revealed the troubling waste management issues behind an ostensibly innocuous middle class culinary favourite: olive oil. Catherine’s piece generated some lively debate on the comments board as to what should be done with olive oil processing wastes, and although she came in second on overall page views her profile was the most clicked on link on the website in the month.
Dominic Hogg returned to Isonomia to ask some taxing questions in response to David Cameron’s alleged desire to ‘cut all the green crap’. Dominic’s piece examined the logic and economics of green taxation, and offered the kind of clear and expert opinion which we are so pleased to provide as a counter to the confused and ill-advised media coverage of the issue. Another expert opinion came by way of debutant author Rebecca Pearson, who drew on her practical knowledge to offer seven guiding principles that organisations can use to get the most out of sustainable procurement.
Emma Gowing took the time to tell us about her glamorous experience at the award ceremony of Nesta’s Waste Reduction Challenge Prize, and her involvement supporting the project, helping the finalists to design and implement a method to measure the results of their efforts. Emma’s piece provided not only some interesting and inspiring descriptions of the finalists’ work but also a meditation on the utility of prizes as a means of stimulating progress.
Last, but by no means least, Peter Jones served up a prize blog on food waste for the annual Isonomia Christmas Special. Peter offered seasonal recommendations on how to cut down on your own household food waste in addition to exploring the work carried out by food redistribution charities and arguing for the necessity of a food waste hierarchy.
Also worthy of note is Amir Dakkak’s piece on the water crisis facing Egypt, which despite being published back in October managed to be December’s third most read article. Finally, at this time of reflection special mention must be made of Chris Sherrington, who despite a quiet December by his vociferous standards remains Isonomia’s most read author overall. Can he hold onto this title in 2014? Watch this space to find out.
So thanks to all those acquaintances, both auld and new, who helped make 2013 such a great year for Isonomia. And thanks to all those who commented on our articles; it’s something we and our authors really appreciate. Offering a platform for a variety of opinions and generating debate is what we’re all about, so if anything you’ve read here fills you with the hope of future possibilities, or makes you lament the foolishness of past, please do let us know through our comments section or even with an article of your own. We try to provide an informed but accessible viewpoint on a wide range of environment issues, so whether it’s collection vans or life cycles that are on your mind, please do get in touch.
It’s easy to shift from visitor to commentator to author, and we’re always glad to hear from you. Whether you’re from Groesbeek or Glasgow, Manchester or Madrid, with your help we will create a space where thoughts on topics from across the environment sector can be expressed and explored, enabling communication and cross fertilisation of ideas.
Your unwanted Christmas socks may have been donated to the textile bank but you can rest assured that Isonomia is the blog that never stops giving — yes it’s Christmas all year round at Isonomia, and the following are just some of the wonderful gifts we have lined up for you in January. You may have consigned your once so eagerly-thumbed wrapping paper to your locally designated paper collection receptacle, but James Fulford will be analysing the causes and implications of the declining share that paper has in our waste composition. Chris Cullen, joint author of Eunomia’s Residual Waste Infrastructure Review, will be giving us additional insights drawn from the latest issue; and we’re eagerly anticipating debuts from Sarah Ettlinger and Laurence Elliot.
As if a simple blog wasn’t enough, you can now follow us by subscribing to our Paper.Li site, where you can see Isonomia’s articles, and other interesting material, gathered together in a newspaper format. And now you can keep track of our articles via our Facebook page. We tweet about each new article, and of course at the top right of each page you can still subscribe to have each article e-mailed to you. It couldn’t be easier to follow all we have to offer.
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