In Chapter 3 of Scotland 2070, we speak enthusiastically about building homes to the Passiv House standard – and in particular, doing so using Scottish wood. The nay-sayers were quick to point out that most of our commercial forestry is fast-growing Spruce, which produces timber that they refer to disparagingly as ‘only suitable for fenceposts […]

In 1970, Ian and I were still at school. The Vietnam war was raging. The first transatlantic flight by a Boeing 747 ushered in a new era of air travel; Concorde’s first supersonic flight did not. The Beatles launched Let it Be, and split up; and against the odds, the Apollo 13 crew made it

The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World are well documented and understood. There is perhaps more debate on what we should classify as the Modern Wonders of the World.  I am keen, in complete contrast to this thinking about the Wonders of the World, to debate the ‘Oddities of the World’ instead. I am not

We are strong believers that Scotland will benefit very significantly in the next 50 years from creating a wood-based economy. Not so much because the price of wood has soared in the last six months by 22%, although that helps, nor even that the UK is (ridiculously) a major importer of wood despite having seriously

Many artists have been tempted to take their paintings down from the wall to add a few finishing touches. The same with authors to edit their books. So the question is, with hindsight, what might we have said differently in our book, Scotland 2070- Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. As three less well-known authors, we are

In our book, Scotland 2070- Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, we do not address specifically the issue of education. Not because we believe it is unimportant, quite the contrary, but because there is a risk of putting ‘the education cart’ before the ‘market horse’. The UK and the USA both share approximately 14th place in the

Our book, Scotland 2070, is a plea to pursue six big opportunities over 50 years. For those who say, “that’s all very well but what do we do now to deal with Covid?”, here is our response. “Don’t waste a crisis. Kick start major investments for these long-term goals.” First of all, how about we

I was trained to think linearly as an engineer and businessman in my early days. Later I had to make a major adjustment to the more chaotic world of entrepreneurialism and pioneering activity. This non-linear attitude was reinforced by commuting in chaotic cities such as London.  Any faith I once had in straight lines were

‘Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt’ Herbert Hoover We often find that ex-politicians and retired economists are able to give an objective and wiser perspective once free of the spin required to protect the vested interests of their main job. I like two such economists in particular, both with very