Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
When I describe the schools that barefoot rural children once attended, in the USA of 1900 or the Ireland of the 1950s, everyone assumes their education would be pathetic — the “three Rs,” … This belief … crumbles the instant one reads descriptions of schools from a century ago
When the economy is way too big, the stresses and strains are too much for a liberal democracy to handle. That leaves the steady state economy, at an optimal level, as the greatest hope for maintaining the ideals of liberal democracy.
Overall, the message of this book is that transitioning from the chemical-intensive approach to farming that has come to be called “conventional” to ways of doing things that try to sequester carbon in soil and regenerate the health of the soil, while making a living, can be done and is being done by these people who have this in common: they care.
This article, the first of two, addresses from a personal perspective some of the difficulties and dilemmas that can be encountered when trying to communicate something of today’s planetary emergency, as well as possible sources of solace and yes, even hope, when doing so.
We are showing why a new generation of farmers is turning away from conventional farming and choosing to work with nature to create resilient farming systems that do not rely on chemical inputs, heavy mechanisation and monocrops.
From rural towns to bustling cities, pioneering enterprises are challenging conventional notions of ownership, governance, and economic exchange. These trailblazers are reimagining fundamental structures and forging pathways to shared prosperity.
Numerous prominent petroleum geologists have been warning for years about the resources limitations of oil both in the U.S. and globally. It’s now looking like the wolf is nearing the door.
Our goal is to develop a more complete perspective: to see things through a long lens from a more external point of view. For me, what emerges is a sense that modernity is dangerous and unhinged.
Scientists from the Ecological Restoration Laboratory at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and farmers from the area are promoting a comprehensive restoration program to conserve this group of chinampas and all the living things that depend on it.
Lack of attention to the psychological and cultural dimension of systems is widespread – but inner factors are fundamental to global crises and the approaches we require.
In 2023, wind and solar combined added more new energy to the global mix than any other source, for the first time in history, according to Carbon Brief analysis of newly released data. Nevertheless, record global demand for energy saw coal and oil use also reaching new highs last year, the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 finds.
Dave Darby of Stroud Commons and Lowimpact.org talks with Rosie Bristow and Nick Evans of Fantasy Fibre Mill, working to resurrect the flax / linen industry in the UK, as a commons.
