Some of the UK’s most radical thinkers in areas spanning technology, energy and transport are sharing their views this weekend at a pioneering event in Bristol.
The Radical Technology Conference at the University of Bristol, which starts this evening, will explore a more radical approach to technology and its ability to provide answers to global problems. 
Among the issues to be discussed and debated by a panel of experts are resource shortages, climate change and social unrest. Local initiatives will also be at the fore with a number of Bristol-based speakers taking part.
It will also bring together thinkers who contributed to the original Radical Technology, published in 1976, which questioned the way technology was then going. The architects, engineers, academics and sustainability experts who contributed helped shape the alternative lifestyles of today and inspired modern thinking in areas such as climate change and the role of technology.
Among the Bristol speakers are:
- Martin Fodor. Green Party councillor in Bristol, well-known local environmentalist and author of Bristol’s first recycling plan
- Wendy Stephenson, director of Bristol-based The Converging World, which invests in cooperative wind energy and eco-restoration projects in India
- Andy O’Brien, founder-director of Bristol Energy Cooperative and initiator of the pioneering solar farm in Lawrence Weston.
Also at the event, which takes place at the Bristol University Student Union on Queens Road, Clifton, will be Hugo Spower, founder of Riversimple, the Wales-based hydrogen fuel-cell car manufacturer.
He said: “The event promises to be an exciting platform for discussion and planning to help address some of the major issues facing 21st century society.
“We simply cannot leave the issue of climate change to future generations to resolve. Climate change affects us all, now, and is inextricably linked to poverty, conflict over resources, and poor health.
“Greener mobility is a global top priority, with hydrogen fuel cell cars offering great potential as a cleaner, viable alternative to the way we currently travel, without losing the freedom and enjoyment we get from personal mobility.“
Riversimple’s Rasa hydrogen car, believed to be the greenest car on the road, weighing 580kg and emitting just a spoonful of water, will be at the community energy session this evening and at the transport session on Saturday.
Programme summary:
This evening: Community Energy to the Rescue -pPresentation of locally based projects which are using community-produced energy
Saturday: Is small still beautiful? As the world moves towards its ‘planetary boundaries’ are the decentralised approaches still appropriate, or do we need large-scale industrial systems.
Sunday: Contrasting scenarios for the next 40 years – A surprise-free innovation scenario; A low-tech decentralist scenario; A rapid-transition scenario.
For more details, visit the website www.radicaltechnology.org
