Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
As I sip my morning espresso, I have a brief moment of longing for an earlier time when I could make my stovetop coffee quickly on a gas burner. It takes a lot longer using this electric one. Little did we know that gas was right behind oil in peaking. Fortunately we finally have plenty of solar-produced electricity and, once again, access to coffee. So it’s a minor inconvenience, but just another reminder of things we used to take for granted.
Scenario 2020: The Future of Food in Mendocino County
In “eat local” movement, Cuba is years ahead
Feeding the world sustainably demands new approach to farming and food
Michael Pollan On Vilsack, Agriculture — And Food
As peak oil arrives, and many Americans turn to wood fuel for heating and cooking, how can we mitigate the problems of particulate pollution and deforestation? Let’s talk about ways to get the appropriate information, skills, and technologies out to the public.
Yesterday morning, Eli put on snowpants and boots before he went outside. This was a big accomplishment for him – for years we’ve been struggling to balance his need to be outside in all sorts of weather with the fact that he really doesn’t like socks, shoes or shirts that much. In June, this is no problem, but as the world gets colder, each year we have to struggle with the “Eli, you have to be dressed before you go out, and yes, you actually have to keep the clothes on.”
John Michael Greer has written a fascinating and engaging, but also contradictory and perplexing account of how he sees the industrial age ending. His primary thesis is that collapse will not come as a sudden, abrupt End Of Days or Die Off scenario.
Energy, Climate Change, and Complexity in Healthcare
A Resilient Suburbia 4: Accounting for the Value of Decentralization
The Final Garnaut Report; A Radical Critique of its Energy Assumptions
When electricity becomes too expensive, unreliable, or rationed, many people will very likely turn to wood to meet their heating and cooking needs. This strategy is valid and sensible for many reasons, and probably necessary in some parts of the country, but I think we should also examine the downside of using wood as a primary fuel source, and examine ways to mitigate the problems associated with burning wood.
‘Dig for Victory’ garden – rediscovering WW2 efforts in the UK
Ugly fruit and veg make a comeback
NYT: The protein pyramid
The Southern Willamette bean and grain project (regional food in Oregon)
Obama will act quickly on climate change: adviser
Japan CO2 hits record
Under a Sooty Exterior, A Green China Emerges
Temperature set to rise by 6C, energy agency warns
Does Natural-Gas Drilling Endanger Water Supplies?
How design must change in a warming, oil-scarce world
Urban design revolution in Philadelphia!
Edmonton to develop strategy reducing energy consumption
Green spaces promote good health, says study
A Splash of Green for the Rust Belt
Green-collar army recruits for the solar boom
COM-BAT spy plane takes to the skies
New Research Suggests LED Lighting May Put A Serious Wrinkle in Big-Bucks Botox Biz
The ethics of ethanol
Letter to Oregon Department of Planning and Development: “There is a dangerous disconnect between land use planning and development on one hand and population-based health on the other that can be remedied by recognizing and utilizing the specialized expertise Public Health provides. … Biology dictates that human health simply cannot be sustained in an unhealthy environment, and the use of our land – in urban, suburban, exurban, rural and frontier settings alike – is one of the most powerful determinants of our environmental health.” (Comment from a planner: “challenging comments… I’ve never seen anything like it before.”)
