Reflections of a Treehugger: talking green building with Lloyd Alter

For almost two decades transatlantic commentator Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly via the pioneering green living website Treehugger.com.

Roaming cross-cultural perspectives on the built environment, sufficiency, consumption, change, the language of green building, gas stove outrage, transport, adaptation for aging populations, and plenty more.

Show Notes

For almost two decades transatlantic commentator  Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly via the pioneering green living website Treehugger.com.

The day before our interview, Lloyd and the rest of the editorial team at Treehugger were told to clear their desks, due to a change in business model that focused more on search engine algorithms, and less on the kind of nuanced, considered pieces that have made Lloyd so renowned.

We caught up with Lloyd to reflect on his time at Treehugger. We set out to talk about the state of reporting and publishing in the green building sector but the discussion ended up covering a lot of other ground, ranging from perhaps the most boneheaded culture war of all – the gas cooker variety - to the shortsighted lack of design consideration for aging populations.

Roaming cross-cultural perspectives on the built environment, sufficiency, consumption, change, the language of green building, gas stove outrage, transport, adaptation for aging populations, and plenty more.


Notes from the episode

• Lloyd Alter on Treehugger 
• Up Front Carbon, Lloyd Alter on Substack
• "Caledon homes come laden with luxury" the article about McMansions that Lloyd decries early on
• That Observer article about retrofit with our very own Sara Edmonds in it
• George Monbiot's wood-burning confessional
• Lloyd Alter on LinkedIn
• Fanchea Kelly was the lady from the CIH podcast; she's CEO Blackwood Homes and Care, a charity that deals with retrofit in terms of accessibility rather than energy efficiency
• Sanctuary magazine 
• The Heat is On, Ryan Philp's Substack
• Goldsmith Street social housing 

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What is Zero Ambitions Podcast?

Zero Ambitions is a consultancy and weekly podcast about sustainability and the built environment.

We find interesting and experienced guests who know what they're talking about, usually to discuss how we navigate the complexity of decarbonisation and sustainability in the built environment and its many related sectors.

The success of the podcast has seen it grow into a consultancy, Zero Ambitions Partners. The consultancy works with blue chip clients, public sector institutions, and niche-market innovators that operate in the built environment, advising about the development and delivery of sustainability strategy and how it should be communicated.

Hosted by Jeff Colley (Passive House Plus), Dan Hyde (Everything is User Experience) and Alex Blondin (Everything is User Experience).