Diary of a future urbanite?

7am The solar-powered alarm clock goes off and I untangle myself from my organic hemp bed linen and turn the clock window-wards to re-charge.

7.30am After a trip to the gym (where they’ve just installed new equipment which allows the energy from the treadmills and bike machines to power the TVs), I hop into the shower. Water is on a timer, so we don’t use too much, and is heated by solar panels on the roof that all the flats in the house have jointly bought

7.45am Breakfast is fair trade, organic and ship-imported coffee and a couple of poached eggs laid by the free-range hens in our nearby park with a slice of real bread (non of that full-of-processing-agents-and-hideous-additives excuse for bread they used to sell in plastic in supermarkets).

8am Put out the recycling. Waste-bins are now banned, as all packaging is now biodegradable or recyclable - and recycled of course. I walk to the tube station and cross over the road past a sea of cyclists and the odd electric car. The air-conditioned tube is powered by renewable energy.

ILLUSTRATION: Joanna Moore

8:30am Arrive at my desk (made of condensed, recycled cardboard) and switch on my new, fully recyclable, recycled and super-energy efficient computer. Solar panels on the office building power a portion of our electricity.

10am Client meeting. I get there by jumping in an electric cab. The city now boasts electric car recharging points on most streets. When I arrive, I am offered some delicious nibbles made by one of the ‘fresh-but-fast’ food kiosks or cafes, now dotted around town that home-make all their goods using local ingredients, and to strict salt, fat and sugar limits.

1pm Lunch. Up to the roof with colleagues. Most big companies have sky-farm shops from the produce they grow on their roofs and living walls, which means you can buy fresh veg and fruit to take home, or have for lunch. Obviously the produce is limited, but almost every flat-roofed building in town has a sky-farm and all the councils grow crops in their parks too, so it’s not hard to come by well-priced, fresh fruit, veg and honey around town.

5.30pm Head to the pub. All alcohol must pass strict tests so that we’re not filling ourselves up with chemicals when we drink. Mixers go through the same process. The hangovers aren’t much better, but at least our bodies are less likely to develop some nasty condition from artificial additives that used to float around in food and drink. They’ll only serve up nuts and crisps loose now, to avoid waste. It’s much nicer, nibbling out of a bowl anyway.

7pm Nip into the local shop on the way home with some containers to stock up, waste-free, on various store-cupboard items. Arrive home and cook on the electric oven. Gas became so expensive and totally unsustainable, so everyone has made the switch to electric. The entire grid now runs off renewable energies - wind, water and solar power. I pick some herbs from my window box to garnish the food and tuck in. Then, I settle down for the evening in front of my computer-that’s-also-a-telly-that’s-also-a-stereo-and-loads-of-other-things-too, to watch a film I missed last Saturday. A good day - done.