Where There’s Smoke
The fires raging on moorland outside Manchester have fallen off the front pages of the national press. But they tell a vital story of climate change, land management, and our broken economic system.
Margaret Welsh
Peak Oil Review 9th July 2018
Oil prices traded in a narrow range last week, between $73-$74 a barrel in New York, and $77-78 in London. A surprise increase in the US crude stocks balanced off the uncertainties of the US-China trade war that began on Friday.
We Can’t Do It Ourselves
Individuals do make choices, but these are facilitated and constrained by the society in which they live. Therefore, it may be more useful to question the system that requires many of us to travel and consume energy as we do.
Can Nuclear Power Extend the Economic Expansion?
Rhodes argues that the only realistic – and the most ethical – way forward is a gradual progression on the path we are already taking, and that means an “all energy sources except coal and oil” strategy.
Making, Adapting, Sharing: Fabricating Open-Source Agricultural Tools
This is a story about people who build their own machines. It’s a story about people who, due to necessity and/or conscious choice, do not buy commercial equipment to work their lands or animals, but who invent, create and adapt machines to their specific needs: for harvesting legumes, for hammering poles, for hitching tools onto tractors.
The Problem with the Human Development Index in an Era of Ecological Breakdown
HDI was invented in 1990 as an antidote to the GDP-based conception of development. It was considered progressive for its time, but it is clear now that it did not go quite far enough. Nearly 30 years on, it’s time for a better measure – one that will aid rather than hinder us in our efforts to build a more ecological model of development.
Citizen-Led Community Center Springs to Life in Montreal
Bâtiment 7 opened to the public in May of this year, still entirely staffed by volunteers. The large complex houses a bicycle workshop, a car repair garage, a woodworking workshop, a co-op grocery store, a library and event space, a bar and a tiny microbrewery — and that’s just the ground floor.
Building Off an Industrial Hemp Variety Trial with One Acre Exchange
In 2018, we are excited to design, develop, and pilot the model for a seed-to-fabric supply chain for industrial hemp fiber to be shared with the larger industrial hemp and fiber movement.
We’ve Entered the Era of ‘Fire Tsunamis’
Life in the Rocky Mountains is frequently extreme as blizzards, baking sun, and fires alternate with the seasons. But fire tsunamis? Those aren’t normal. On Thursday, one observer described a “tsunami” of flames overnight at the Spring Creek fire near La Veta in the south-central part of the state. And you can’t stop tsunamis.
The Punishment of Nemesis
Certain stories recur in the history of humanity – and one of the most dramatic and traumatic is that of hubris. Hubris is a drama brought about by actions motivated by excessive pride – for example the overestimation by leaders – and the society or institutions in their charge – of their power.
The Migrant Quilt: Re-Stitching the Fabric of Community
Women on the border often have a different take on immigration issues: more of a ‘tend and befriend’ approach, a kind of common sense, needle-to-fabric mend. The responses of women to the Migrant Quilt exhibit define the soft heart of what it means to be human.
The Push to Turn Church Land into Farmland
In a sign that this movement is starting to gather steam, Parish, Kashem, and other members of a diverse array of religious communities gathered earlier this year at what is believed to be the first event focused on connecting farmers with land, in service to their communities.
