Solutions & sustainability – Oct 8
The futureproofers
Rural communities best equipped to cope with climate change: UN report
World Resources 2008: Roots of Resilience – Growing the Wealth of the Poor
Natural healing
Food
Peak textiles – Oct 7
Make Your Own Homemade Natural Dyes
Woody Harrelson’s view of hemp farming: strong fibres, and cuts pesticides
From Recycled Scraps To Museum-Quality Quilts
A nutting expedition
Those of us lucky enough to have grown up on self-subsistent farms were not surprised to learn in our schooling years that the literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was full of references to “nutting expeditions.” That might seem a strange phrase for the very pleasant pastime of going to the fields and woods to gather nuts in the autumn but the Victorians knew that “expedition” is exactly the right word. One does not simply pick up nuts from under trees. That is a small part of a grand adventure of discovery, especially for hickory nuts, my very favorite of all wild foods
In defense of the family farm
I have in mind… the one example known to me of an American community of small family farmers who have not only survived but thrived during some very difficult years: I mean the Amish. I do not recommend, of course, that all farmers should become Amish, nor do I want to suggest that the Amish are perfect people or that their way of life is perfect. What I want to recommend are some Amish principles
Food & agriculture – Oct 5
Eating local tests comfort zones
Why my (farmer) dad’s going green
Britain on a plate – class & diet
Could quotas keep fish on the menu?
Zimbabwe on the brink of new crisis as food runs out
How to create change In your community: finding or forming a local group
When we live locally and strengthen our communities, we become stronger and better able to adapt to changes in the economy, climate, and energy availability. But we discuss much about how to go about this. So… how do you create change in your community? And how do you form a group of people who can tackle these community needs?
Dysfunction – Oct 2
‘Car sleepers’ the new US homeless
More Americans on food stamps but say it’s not enough
Million more suffer fuel poverty
Food & agriculture – Oct 1
Food shortage catastrophe creeping up on the world
Dr. Abby Gold on Local Foods and Food Deserts in North Dakota and Minnesota (audio)
A School Garden Brings Learning to Life (video and audio)
Food & agriculture – Sept 30
Meat must be rationed to four portions a week, says report on climate change
Real food makes a comeback: You may now kiss your local farmer
Farming interns sow their sustainable oats
Feast to celebrate the traditional harvest on the Vancouver coast
Getting the most out of a farm or garden tractor
Whether you have an old farm tractor or a new garden tractor, consider this partial listing of PTO-driven tools it can power: mowers, tillers, binders, seed harvesters, saws, hedge trimmers, electric generators… By using your tractor fully as a power source, you save the cost of all the motors these tools would individually require.
Review: Depletion and Abundance by Sharon Astyk
Why are so few peak oil authors women? There’s been much debate about this, and no one has yet arrived at a definitive answer. But whatever the reason, Sharon Astyk has established herself as a true rarity within the peak oil community by virtue of being a woman who has chosen to write about peak oil. The perspective that she offers is thus both uncommon and vital.
A crash course
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has earnestly explained this past week that bad lending practices are the No. 1 cause of the collapse of the U.S. financial system. What would he prefer to have as the primary cause of the collapse of the U.S. financial system?
