Every Friday, Circulate rounds up a collection of interesting circular economy related stories and articles. This Friday, we’re talking about an Internet of Things demonstrator city, the evolving renewable energy market and the place where you can catch three fascinating talks on circular economy related issues…

Innovate UK’s Internet of Things city demonstrator project enters its final phase this month. The process will select one UK city to be a “demonstrator” of large-scale IoT deployment, where everyday objects are connected to a network in order to share their data. The proposals from cities are expected to show how IoT might benefit citizens quality of life environmentally and economically, while improving the delivery of services such as transport, energy and healthcare. The winning local authority could receive up to £10 million from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

“End users are paving a new path to renewables” according Sarah Benn Penndorf of 3Degrees writing in Clean Technica. In an interesting article on the state of renewable energy, Penndorf argues that a renewable energy tipping point has been reached where a thriving marketplace is developing. She points out that the world’s largest corporations are investing in it, while access for startups and individuals simultaneously increases. She concludes her articles by suggesting that we have reached the “tipping point” for renewable energy, in particular in relation to the way that  corporate and institutional organisations treat it.

Ongoing right now, the Disruptive Innovation Festival is a three-week, online and open access event that aims to answer the question: “the economy is changing, what do I need to know, experience and do?” The event’s first week ends today and there are already lots of things to catch up on, as well as a loaded schedule in weeks 2 and 3. In particular, we’d suggest taking a look at the three headline acts:

Robin Chase – The Collaborative Economy

Tim Brown – Think Like A Designer

L. Hunter Lovins – Natural Capitalism [recording to be made available today]

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As the global population continues to grow, the challenge of feeding the world grows with it. Internationally, the system is already strained and working ineffectively with one third of all food wasted, while an acceptable percentage of people live in food poverty conditions.

Increasingly, there are also signs that mass, intensive farming techniques are beginning to reach their limits, yield sizes are beginning to flatten out, while overuse of fertilisers is associated with soil degradation. Some scientists are now looking for the answer in the molecular structure of plants, aiming to improve the core process of photosynthesis as a mechanism for increasing crop sizes.

In terms of efficiency, the photosynthesis process doesn’t receive a high score, converting only 1% of the solar energy it receives into biomass. A recent paper has suggested a whole range of possibilities for increasing the efficiency of that process including the modification of the plant’s chlorophylls, disrupting vegetation’s proteins to create more even light absorption distribution, analysing the most effective molecular combinations to maximise photosynthesis production and several others.

While the prospect of creating more efficient and more effective plants with better photosynthesis processes is tempting, the research indicates that it will happen at some point. It’s hard not to feel that feeding the growing global population will require a mindset shift, moving away from the concept of maximising efficiencies, and towards the creation of a system where nutrients flow more effectively and much less is wasted. Ellen MacArthur synthesises a number of those points in the video below.

Source: Improving Photosynthesis May Be Our Best Bet To Feed More People

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New polling suggests the net approval rating for coal among Australians fell by 9% during the course of ‘Little Black Rock’ advertising campaign

A major advertising campaign that claimed coal was “amazing” and had “endless possibilities” appears to have proved counter-productive, a new poll suggests.

The net approval rating of coal fell by 9% after Australia’s mining industry ran the “Little Black Rock” campaign, which began in September across TV, radio, press and online, and featured a close-up of a lump of glistening coal.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Dramatic footage shows the aftermath of a burst dam in south-eastern Brazil, which has left homes and streets flooded and at least 15 people feared dead. A further 45 people are still missing following the disaster, which happened on Thursday near an iron-ore mine partly owned by Australia’s BHP Billiton

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Source: Guardian Environment

Hydroelectric power, wind energy, biomass and solar provide 100% of electricity for 1.65 million people

Austria’s largest state said Thursday that 100 percent of its electricity is now generated using renewable sources of energy.

“We have invested heavily to boost energy efficiency and to expand renewables,” said Erwin Proell, premier of 1.65m-strong Lower Austria.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Peak nuclear has passed. There’s no science to support an Australian nuclear industry, says Senator Scott Ludlam

Nuclear power has hit the headlines again. The South Australian royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle has rebooted the conversation around international spent fuel dumping at the same time the new chief scientist has thrown nuclear into the mix as part of the solution to climate change. The question of whether to “value add” our uranium exports with an enrichment and fuel fabrication industry is being considered from the prime minister’s office on down.

Related: An expanded nuclear industry in South Australia makes no economic sense | Richard Denniss

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Source: Guardian Environment

New York attorney general subpoenas Exxon and Peabody Energy, two giants of the fossil fuel industry, over claims it misled the public and investors

The New York attorney general is investigating whether ExxonMobil misled the public and investors about the dangers and potential business risks of climate change, sources familiar with the investigation said on Thursday.

The company confirmed that it had received a subpoena from Eric Schneidermann, the New York attorney general, for financial records, email and other documents related to climate change.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Forty-five people are still missing after the disaster at the BHP-owned mine in south-eastern Brazil, and video shows a village destroyed by muddy waters

A dam has burst at an iron ore mine in south-eastern Brazil, and is thought to have killed at least 15 people, submerging nearby homes and burying vehicles.

Forty-five people were still missing after the disaster in Minas Gerais state, a local union told the G1 news portal. The mine is operated by Samarco, a joint venture between the Anglo-Australian mining giant, BHP Billiton, and the Brazilian company Vale.

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Source: Guardian Environment

However, more than two-thirds of Chinese people support global deal to reduce emissions, part of marked support seen in all but one of 40 countries surveyed

Concern about climate change among people in China – the world’s biggest carbon polluter – has plummeted in the past five years, according to new research. The Chinese were the least concerned among 40 nations surveyed.

Only 18% of Chinese citizens are seriously concerned about the issue, a drop of 23 points since 2010, the US Pew Research Center report published on Thursday shows.

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Source: Guardian Environment