By 2050 it is estimated that 70% of the world's population will live in cities. It's a prospect that today we cannot even imagine. So Veolia Environnement has joined forces with LSE Cities to visualise the challenges in terms of water, waste and energy use and provide future-proofed solutions.

In our imagination the 2050 city will have sustainability built in based on the circular economy. Find out how the home of the future will have nanobots to sort your waste, a self-cleaning bathroom and an ultrasonic bath.

Published on Sep 25, 2013

Empowering Innovation drives job creation.

One of the world's most influential business thinkers Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School visits the RSA to explain how countries and companies can become more successful innovators, and create new, robust sources of growth.

Speaker: Clayton M. Christensen, Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of "The Innovator's Dilemma". Discussant: Tom Hulme, Design Director at IDEO in London and Managing Director of OpenIDEO and OIEngine - IDEO's open innovation enterprises.

Chaired by Rohan Silva, entrepreneur-in-residence at Index Ventures, and former senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street.

To purchase his book from Amazon, just click on th image or visit your local bookstore. Thank you.

Robert Reich and Mark Zandi debate Glenn Hubbard and Arthur Laffer on the topic: The Rich Are Taxed Enough. Moderated by John Donvan.

How do we fix the economy? The U.S. government's budget deficit is nearing a trillion dollars for the fourth straight year and unemployment remains high. With the Bush-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of 2012, what is the best move for continued economic recovery? President Obama says we should raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 to reduce the deficit. Others say that the richest 1% already pay more than a quarter of all federal taxes and higher taxes for job creators would slow economic growth. Are the nation's wealthiest not paying their "fair share," or should tax breaks be extended for everyone in the name of job creation?

A passionate argument on behalf of the middle class, INEQUALITY FOR ALL features Robert Reich—professor, best-selling author, and Clinton cabinet member—as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. The film is an intimate portrait of a man who's overcome a great deal of personal adversity and whose lifelong goal remains protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. Published on Aug 7, 2013

Do we have enought time?  What is driving the environmental crisis?   Wild Law – In Practice aims to facilitate the transition of Earth Jurisprudence from theory into to practice. Law perpetuates the ecological crisis and needs to be radically reconfigured to facilitate a viable human presence on the Earth. Peter Burdon is a Senior Lecturer at the Adelaide Law School. His PhD was in the field of ecological law and won the Bonython Prize and a University of Adelaide Research Medal for best original thesis. Since 2005 Peter has worked with Friends of the Earth Adelaide in the Clean Futures Collective.  Published on Aug 25, 2013

Dean Karlan discusses the importance of knowing people and knowing language to change human behavior. With these findings, Dean has developed innovative mechanisms to increase savings in communities across the developing world.

Dean Karlan is a Professor of Economics at Yale University. Karlan is President of Innovations for Poverty Action, a non-profit organization

TEDxMiddlebury Published on Aug 18, 2013

Tim Jackson is the UK's first Professor of Sustainable Development and Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE) at the University of Surrey's Centre for Environmental Strategy.

Published on Mar 13, 2012

Ken Webster - Head of Learning from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (UK) introduces the concept of a circular economy. The end of the era of cheap fossil fuels and key materials, coupled with rising population and anxieties around water resources, food production and harmful wastes, demonstrates the need for rethinking our model of production and consumption, not merely patching it up. Let's re-think, re-design and build a positive future.

Published on Jan 7, 2013

With the price of resources and energy becoming increasingly volatile, can today's linear economy work in the long term?

What if we didn't buy the goods we use, but instead favoured access and performance over ownership? This short animation from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation introduced the idea, and suggests how it could work for businesses, users, and the wider economy.

A performance model is part of the solution when making the transition to a regenerative circular economy.

A mad professor (comedian Steve Punt) questions whether the way we do things now makes sense and asks us to Get Loopy...

Uploaded on Sep 1, 2010
Find out more about the circular economy here.

Follow the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on Twitter.