Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
It was probably inevitable that last week’s discussion of the way that contemporary science is offering itself up as a sacrifice on the altar of corporate greed and institutional arrogance would field me a flurry of responses that insisted that I must hate science.
In Extraenvironmentalist #72 we discuss appropriate technology with John Michael Greer as he describes the ideas in his new book, then, we talk to Jessica Kellner about her book Housing Reclaimed: Sustainable Homes for Next to Nothing and the people across the United States who are building their homes out of salvaged materials for hardly any money.
The village of Gaviotas, situated in the llanos region of Colombia, is cited as one of the premier examples of the development and implementation of place-based, appropriate technology.
One hydropower configuration that deserves considerable attention is a water turbine directly powering machinery, without the intermediate step of generating electricity. The implementation of this form of direct hydropower doubles the effectiveness of a small scale electric hydropower installation. This advantage can be used to increase the energy production of an existing water power site. It also means that more potential water power sites become available, and that relatively small streams and rivers can be shared by several hydropower units. Because of its higher efficiency a direct hydropower system is also cheaper.
It is difficult to say whether our eating habits are driven by changes in the food system or vice versa.
In Extraenvironmentalist #58 our correspondent Kevin joins us to cover permaculture approaches to our global challenges.
