The Story of Electronics
Consumerism, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor April 27, 2011
Why ‘designed for the dump’ is toxic for people and the planet.
Further Watching:
Comments (3)A Solar Powered Life, Part VI – The Ideological Debate
Consumerism, Economics, Energy Systems, Global Dimming, Global Warming/Climate Change, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Chris McLeod April 21, 2011
The series, A Solar Powered Life, is intended for those that have an interest in the generation and storage of electricity using solar panels. I’ve tried to write the series in such a way that it is accessible for everybody and not just for those that are technically minded. By the end of the series, if people have followed all of the parts, then they should walk away with a fair understanding of how a small scale independent solar power system works (in the real world), what components are required, and, even more importantly, why those components are required. This is pretty handy information.
I’m certainly not pushing products on anyone and solar power is certainly not for everybody. I also have no affiliations with any company or group etc. I am also discussing the limitations of solar electricity generation.
However, in discussing solar power, it is impossible to not touch upon current issues relating to energy in general. These issues impact all of us to a greater or lesser extent. There are many people that for a variety of reasons are highly sensitive to these issues and are highly critical of solar power. In fact it would be fair to say that some of the comments that I have received on the above-mentioned series are ideologically driven.
Comments (58)Let No Man Say It Cannot Be Done
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, People Systems, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Earth Policy Institute April 20, 2011
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
We need an economy for the twenty-first century, one that is in sync with the earth and its natural support systems, not one that is destroying them. The fossil fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy that evolved in western industrial societies is no longer a viable model—not for the countries that shaped it or for those that are emulating them. In short, we need to build a new economy, one powered with carbon-free sources of energy—wind, solar, and geothermal—one that has a diversified transport system and that reuses and recycles everything. We can change course and move onto a path of sustainable progress, but it will take a massive mobilization—at wartime speed.
Whenever I begin to feel overwhelmed by the scale and urgency of the changes we need to make, I reread the economic history of U.S. involvement in World War II because it is such an inspiring study in rapid mobilization. Initially, the United States resisted involvement in the war and responded only after it was directly attacked at Pearl Harbor. But respond it did. After an all-out commitment, the U.S. engagement helped turn the tide of war, leading the Allied Forces to victory within three-and-a-half years.
Comments (5)A Solar Powered Life, Part V – Living Within Your Means
Consumerism, Energy Systems, peak oil — by Chris McLeod April 16, 2011
Editor’s Note: This is Part V of a series. To see all parts, click here.
Mick Jagger sang “I can’t get no satisfaction”, and that’s exactly what will happen if you use more than you produce in any renewable self sufficient system. It’s exactly the same for both energy or food as anyone who has worked towards self-sufficiency quickly realises. I know that even with my extensive and diverse orchard, a dozen vegetable beds and nine chickens, I wouldn’t want to have to eat only things produced on my farm as I’d eventually starve.
With a self-sufficient renewable energy system though you have no option but to live within your production means or somehow increase your production of energy. Living within your means may be something as simple as only running lights and a refrigerator rather than, say, having a computer running 24/7 for entertainment. You do get free power from the sun, wind or water but perhaps it’s not as much, or not delivered in the way that you are used to and it requires you to ultimately adapt your expectations.
Comments (26)Fukushima Nuclear Crisis – Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold
Consumerism, Energy Systems, Health & Disease, Nuclear, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by I-SIS April 14, 2011
Fukushima is just one among many similar disasters waiting to happen worldwide; governments and regulators have systematically downplayed the risks and hidden the real costs of nuclear power; there is no place for nuclear in a truly green energy portfolio; furthermore, there is a lot we can do to put the nuclear genie back into the bottle.
A fully referenced and illustrated version of this report is posted on ISIS members website and is available for download here.
Nuclear crisis following earthquake & tsunami
On Friday 11 March 2011, Japan was hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake followed by a gigantic tsunami. The official toll by 6 April was 12 468 dead, and more than 15 000 missing [1], hundreds of thousands lost their homes, millions are still either without electricity or affected by shortages of electricity [2]; and most worrying of all, a nuclear disaster with no end in sight. The earthquake and tsunami were unstoppable, but was the nuclear disaster waiting to happen, and could it have been avoided?
Comments (6)Why You Should Grow and Produce Your Own Food
Consumerism, Project Positions — by Elisabeth Fekonia
There is a definite trend for people to question the quality of shop bought food — that is, food grown with chemical inputs. Younger mothers of small children, in particular, are getting very conscious of the chemical residues, low nutritional status and additives in our modern ‘food’. There certainly is a growing realization out there that only organic food should be put on the dinner table to ensure that children will grow up strong, healthy, smart so they can reach their full potential.
Comments (4)Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Anton Lo April 12, 2011
People who are self-proclaimed "die-hard capitalists" seem to have a very simplistic idea of how capitalism actually works in the real world. They tend to dismiss valid, factual criticisms of the system as temporary problems in a system which will go on to benefit all. Any initial suffering caused by capitalism, they argue, will eventually be made up for exponentially as the poor gradually and unfailingly grow richer. The (minor) failings of capitalism are just the reality of living in an imperfect world. After all, they argue, what is the alternative? Socialism, which has never worked? Communism, which is a proven failure (as if these are the only options)?
Comments (16)Earth Policy Institute Video Asks “How Many Failing States Will It Take?”
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Nuclear, Population, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor April 8, 2011
Watch the full episode.
In this PBS-produced video, with actor and philanthropist Matt Damon narrating, Lester Brown gives a good overview of some of the current issues we face as a race. He connects the dots between the world’s rapidly melting glaciers, extreme weather events, and resource depletion, etc., and what it will mean to world food harvests, and the economic and social implications of wealthier countries outbidding poorer nation states for a share of these diminishing harvests, and water and energy supplies. Two of the key words he uses are ‘failing states’, a relatively new term that is quickly gaining in ‘popularity’ as we watch the present chain reaction of events occurring today.
Lester asks the question "How many failing states will it take before we see civilization itself fail?"
Comments (4)Modernism & Disconnection from Life
Building, Consumerism, Eco-Villages, Land, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Oyvind Holmstad April 6, 2011
Norway is said to be a social democratic country, which means a 50 – 50 percent mixture of socialism and capitalism. The catch is that in the end there is no difference between these two ideologies. It is like mixing water with water — no matter how well you blend them, or in what ratio, the finished product is modernism. A separation of function (and people) is one of, or maybe even the most important dogma of, modernism, with devastating consequences for human life. This separation was common in the former USSR, and is common in today’s USA.
Here we can see the radical nature of Berry’s vision. Our entire economy, our very culture of work, leisure, and home is constructed around the idea of easy mobility and the disintegration of various aspects of our lives. We live in one place, work in another, shop in another, worship in another, and take our leisure somewhere else. According to Berry, an integrated life, a life of integrity, is one characterized by membership in a community in which one lives, works, worships, and conducts the vast majority of other human activities. The choice is stark: “If we do not live where we work, and when we work, we are wasting our lives, and our work too.” - Wendell Berry and the New Urbanism: Agrarian Remedies, Urban Prospects
The artificial separation of houses and work creates intolerable rifts in people’s inner lives. - Christopher Alexander
Isolation Street
The Green Thing
Consumerism, Society — by Jim Knowles April 4, 2011
In the line at the store the cashier told the old woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
That’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.
Comments (14)Letters from Slovakia – a Homeless Camp Goes Permaculture
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Consumerism, Demonstration Sites, Eco-Villages, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 31, 2011
Already doing what it can to operate along sustainable lines, a homeless camp in Slovakia is looking for a permaculture makeover and evolution.
In little more than eight years, more than 800 homeless people have come and gone through this little site. For some it was temporary salvation, giving them a roof over their heads just when they needed it most, for others it meant even more — redirecting their life from its downward, sometimes criminal trajectory, to give them a sense of self-worth, a new skill-set and positive purpose.
Comments (5)Nuclear Energy: A Resource for an Insane Society
Consumerism, Nuclear, peak oil — by Anton Lo March 28, 2011
Bill Mollison groups the earth’s resources into five categories. These resources are:
- Those which increase by modest use. For example, green browse that is uneaten by deer may become hard and unpalatable.
- Those unaffected by use. Some examples are a view or a good climate, hydroelectric power.
- Those which disappear or degrade if not used. An example is an unharvested crop of an annual.
- Those reduced by use. Some examples are a fish or game stock unwisely used, clay deposits, coal and oil.
- Those which pollute or destroy other resources if used. Examples include radioactives, super highways, large buildings.
Click for more…
A Solar Powered Life, Part IV – The Dirty Little Secret
Consumerism, Energy Systems — by Chris McLeod
Editor’s Note: This is Part IV of a series. To see all parts, click here.
Have you ever wondered why you don’t see many electrically powered motor vehicles on the roads, despite all the recent hype? Well, it’s because electricity has a dirty little secret: We have the technology to generate massive amounts of electricity, however storing those massive amounts of electricity for later use has been something of a problem that hasn’t yet been solved.
Comments (14)What To Do With Nuclear Boy?
Consumerism, Economics, Global Warming/Climate Change, Nuclear, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 24, 2011
Given recent events in Japan, I wanted to broach the somewhat controversial topic of nuclear fission power plants, and the following video (thanks Thomas) — making the Fukushima nuclear situation a little easier for even little Japanese children to comprehend — makes a good lead-in to the topic.
At time of writing, water and food options are shrinking for residents of Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan, whilst the short, medium and long term consequences of this nuclear incident are a topic of much speculation. My heart goes out to the people of Japan, and particularly those in the Fukushima Prefecture.
There are several schools of thought on nuclear. Here’s a sampling. You may wish to add others:
Comments (38)Can the United States Feed China?
Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Population, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Earth Policy Institute
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
In 1994, I wrote an article in World Watch magazine entitled “Who Will Feed China?” that was later expanded into a book of the same title. When the article was published in late August, the press conference generated only moderate coverage. But when it was reprinted that weekend on the front of the Washington Post’s Outlook section with the title “How China Could Starve the World,” it unleashed a political firestorm in Beijing.
The response began with a press conference at the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday morning, where Deputy Minister Wan Baorui denounced the study. Advancing technology, he said, would enable the Chinese people to feed themselves. This was followed by a government-orchestrated stream of articles that challenged my findings.
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