Postcards from the Carbonscapes.

Carbon(e)scapes: Disassembling the power of high-carbon imaginaries

Moving beyond fossil fuels requires more than replacing one technology with another. Existing infrastructures, institutions and local attachments can lock fossil fuels into low-carbon futures. Effective transition policy must therefore actively dismantle these dependencies while building alternatives that draw on local knowledge, material conditions and communities’ visions of desirable futures. Moving beyond fossil fuels requires more than technological change The transition

Sep 297 min read

Carbon(e)scapes: Disassembling the power of high-carbon imaginaries

Sep 297 min read

THESIS DEFENCE: Naima Kraushaar-Friesen

Naima Kraushaar-Friesen has defended her doctoral thesis titled "Fossilised Futures? (Dis)Embedding imaginaries of offshore oil and gas in the United Kingdom" On the morning of September 18th, I defended my doctoral thesis titled ‘Fossilised Futures? (Dis)Embedding imaginaries of offshore oil and gas in the United Kingdom’. My work was opposed by the lovely Professor Oluf Langhelle, who was raised (and continues to live) in Stavanger, the ‘oil capital’ of Norway. Oluf brought

Sep 183 min read

THESIS DEFENCE: Kosma Lechowicz

Kosma Lechowicz has defended his thesis titled "Retooling human-energy entanglements: A grounded exploration of Polish coal regions in transition". Abstract In this thesis, I take a grounded approach to investigating entanglements of people and natural resources in Polish coal regions in transition. I argue that retooling socio-material relations valued by local communities can prevent the reproduction of extractivist logics, and contribute to reconfiguring the human-energy r

Jun 102 min read

NEW PAPER: Between energy transition and industrial revival

Kraushaar‐Friesen, N., Bridge, G., & Kuchler, M. (2025). Between energy transition and industrial revival: Exploring hydrogen imaginaries in the United Kingdom and Teesside. Geo: Geography and Environment, 12(2), e70033. https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.70033 In this paper, we examine the contemporary moment of visioning low-carbon futures, focusing on two emerging hydrogen imaginaries: one at the national level of the UK and a second one at the regional level of Teesside (an ind

Oct 30, 20256 min read

NEW PAPER: Bounded imaginaries of coal

Lechowicz, K., & Kuchler, M. (2025). Bounded imaginaries of coal: Local meanings, materiality, and visions of the good life in Upper Silesia. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 8(6), 1815-1838. Abstract This paper examines local imaginaries of coal within the mining communities of Upper Silesia in southern Poland, offering a grounded perspective on how coal-shaped visions of a good life emerge from lived, material experiences. Drawing on the concept of bounded imag

Aug 13, 20252 min read

NEW PAPER: Seas of change

Kraushaar-Friesen, N., Bridge, G., & Kuchler, M. (2025). Seas of change: An evolving imaginary of offshore energy capture on the United Kingdom's Continental Shelf. Energy Research & Social Science, 120, 103889. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103889 Abstract The offshore waters surrounding the United Kingdom have been an important national space for energy capture for over six decades. Hosting oil and gas production, large-scale renewable electricity generation and

Jan 15, 20252 min read

A Visit into the Depths of England's Renowned Polyhalite Mine

Gavin Bridge and Magdalena Kuchler ready to go underground (Photo: Boulby Mine) In the picturesque landscape of North Yorkshire, England, lies an entrance to a world few see: Boulby Mine. On June 13, Professor Gavin Bridge (Durham University) and Associate Professor Magdalena Kuchler (NRHU) were granted a rare and unique opportunity to explore what was once a major potash mining operation known for being a significant source of polyhalite and rock salt. This visit offered an

Jul 6, 20242 min read