Back in November of last year, Russell Davies initiated Lyddle End 2050, a 'speculative modelling' project. Lyddle End 2050 geniously combines model railways, the future and thinking with your hands; and I was an instant fan. In many ways, the project reminds me of Stuart's projects and Julian's thoughts on Design Fiction. Mostly though, it was just good fun. Click 'read more' to see my contribution.

1862: Alexander Parkes unveils Parkesine, the first man made plastic
1891-1960: After Rayon, Cellophane and Bakelite, twenty different polymer types are developed (pvc, pe, pa, ps, pp ...), the use of plastic skyrockets
1959: Ornette Coleman records 'Lonely Woman' on a plastic saxophone
1972: Club of Rome publishes its report 'Limits to Growth'
2000: The scientists that gave us Dolly create the first cloned pigs, a bigger scientific breakthrough than the sheep
2004: The first IGEM competition takes place at MIT, a Synthetic Biology competition for undergraduate students
2005: The UK produces 3 million tonnes of plastic waste a year, 85% of it is landfilled
2011: The Imperial College IGEM team modifies the DNA of e-coli to break down plastics, generating a small electric current. The DNA code is open source.
2015: By many considered as the last mass-produced piece of plastic, the long-awaited Availabot hits the market
2018: Environmental Health Tax is introduced globally
2032: Vincent Chappell, 21 years after taking part in Imperial College's IGEM team, finalises the design of the Chappell Plant, a power plant that converts plastic waste into electricity. The power plant makes use of a designed ecosystem that consists of children, pigs and bacteria around a big root system.
2040: The Faulkner family, a family of environmentalists from Lyddle End invests in it's first Chappell Plant. Their children live on the site as part of the ecosystem to produce electricity for the family.
2050: The Carbon-Money-Energy balance of the environmentalist group rises to unknown heights and makes them the most powerful family in the region. Due to the electricity-monopoly and dubious carbon-energy deals with the local government, the Faulkner family strengthens it's reputation as the mafia of the south...