Randy White

Ten ways to Twitter our way to hyper-local sustainability

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Recently, we have had amazing breakthroughs in human communications. We have broken the four-minute mile, and the real-time web of living in the moment has arrived. You can now be instantly witnessed around the world by anyone with a modern communications device. There are useful applications for this technology that can be immediately applied to community-building.

The economics of decline

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Proponents of technofixes for the crisis of industrial society are fond of insisting that today’s complex technologies are “more efficient” or “more economical” than the alternatives. Behind that claim lies a series of assumptions that are likely to turn out severely misguided as the age of cheap abundant energy comes to an end.

The gentle art of non-gardening

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The most amazing aspect of it, and I don’t know why, is that this “wild” lettuce is ready to eat before the lettuce that I plant early in the cold frame, coddled with compost and protected with a plastic cover on cold nights. The “wild” lettuce grows faster. If I had any brains, I would quit the cold-frame lettuce, but so far I just don’t have enough faith in nature to do it.

Energy conservation key to R.I.’s economic future

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Contrary to what many now believe, Rhode Island’s relative prospects are excellent. This is because the primary challenge to America’s economic recovery is likely to be the cost of energy. As recovery spurs rising energy consumption, prices will increase, perhaps dramatically. Since energy underpins all economic activity, those regions capable of operating in an energy-constrained environment will have relatively bright futures. Rhode Island, which already uses less energy per person than any other state, is particularly well-suited to meet the challenge.