ESSAY NO LONGER

ESSAY NO LONGER THE UGLY DUCKLING HOW GREEN TECHNOLOGY BECAME BEAUTIFUL WORDS: Olivia Solon ILLUSTRATION: Mario Wagner Until recently, choosing a ‘greener’ version of a product would mean compromising on usability and design in return for doing your bit for the planet. Putting up with unsightly solar panels, embarrassingly shaped electric cars and early compact fluorescent lightbulbs was a form of self-punishment for the environmentally dedicated – a bit like veganism before it became ‘plant-based nutrition’ and was endorsed by the likes of Beyoncé. In the last decade, however, green tech has undergone a swan-like transformation, with designers and creators taking as much care over the final form of products as their function. It might seem frivolous to place so much emphasis on aesthetics, but you’re not going to make the masses change their behaviour if it requires sacrificing convenience or installing an eyesore. Case in point: the thermostat. Once a deeply unsexy beige box with a calculator display, products like Nest and its smart contemporaries have made it a slick, glowing orb you control via smartphone. Not only does it look better, but it performs better, learning from your behaviour around the house to save money on heating bills. The same has happened elsewhere in the home, thanks to companies like Plumen, whose energy-saving light bulbs come in sculptural shapes that don’t need to be hidden behind a lampshade – unlike the functional prongs and spirals of earlier models. On the roof, solar tiles are now designed to be indistinguishable from materials like slate or asphalt, allowing you to reduce your household electricity bills without blighting your period architecture. Outside the home, electric vehicles have evolved from glorified golf carts into some of the sexiest cars on the road – capable of turning even the most passionate petrolheads. Take Jaguar’s I-PACE, for example, an all-electric luxury crossover that blasts from 0 to 60mph in 4.5 seconds. For those who prefer two wheels, 2018 will see the debut of the Vespa Elettrica, which retains the retro lines of the iconic Italian scooter, while introducing a completely silent all-electric motor that can travel 62 miles on one charge. Perfect for the modern mod to whom keeping a clean conscience is just as important as getting around in style. But it’s no good buying all these fancy gadgets if we don’t do something about how we source our food. Agriculture is mankind’s biggest contributor to climate change, accounting for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. As the world becomes more urbanised, it makes sense to produce food locally in indoor vertical farms. These high-tech warehouses can grow crops in a controlled environment without sunlight, soil and pesticides and with minimal environmental impact. Where green tech truly excels, however, is when it acts as sexy window dressing for deeply unsexy processes. In Copenhagen, for example, architect Bjarke Ingels is close to completing a waste-to-energy power plant in the centre of Copenhagen with a 600-metre-long ski slope on the roof – something he hopes will improve Danes’ chances at the next Winter Olympics. In the UK, a more macabre process has had a green tech makeover, too: excess heat generated by a Worcestershire crematorium – otherwise lost to the atmosphere – is now being put to new use to heat a nearby swimming pool. But perhaps the best example of green tech being creatively reimagined is the man who has built a contraption that turns dog poop into fuel for a street lamp. Quite the bright idea! 78 THE JAGUAR

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