In the first edition of What On Earth! Phil and Jonathan chatted with Chris McMahon of Bristol University on the challenges of sustainability and a circular economy from an engineering perspective. Can we engineer ourselves out of the net zero challenge with continued human ingenuity? Or have we reached the peak of incremental change that has now created complex systems and processes which now heighten our circularity challenges. Learn about Jevons paradox and the multi-polar trap that explain our current challenges as society and possibly add a few titles to your reading list!

Or The Phil Westmorland Interview! Over A Barrel welcomes our new co-host Phil Westmorland. In this episode we understand what makes Phil tick; his background and work at Apollo. We explore what shaped him growing up on a chicken farm and draw parallels from these experiences to his work today as Apollo's Decarbonisation Director.
This will be the last episode under the Over A Barrel format as we seek to embrace the net zero challenge nationally across the UK and the opportunities and challenges this presents. More of that in next episode. Watch this space!

A slightly different tack in this episode where Jonathan sends us a “postcard” from FOW2023 in Aberdeen, the exhibition and conference dedicated to floating offshore wind. Hot on the heels of that iconic gathering of Offshore Europe, Jonathan attempts to unpick the challenges and opportunities ahead for the industry. He speaks to government, developers and supply chain to understand different perspectives in order to understand the opportunity and whether the stumbling block of AR5 is a bump or a hurdle in the road ahead. Thanks to Steve Jermy from Celtic Sea Power and Cornwall LEP, Simon Cheeseman from OREC, Alex Gauntt from Cierco, Graham Foster from Marine Power Systems and Nigel Robinson from Apollo.