October 8th, 2009
Food and Cities
An excellent video from the TED series.
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Growing Food, Permaculture, Transport, Videos
July 28th, 2009
The bold plan for electric cars
So how would you run a whole country without oil?
The bold plan for electric cars… is coming to country near you soon (or should that be not soon enough).
Fascinating, enlightening and though-provoking speech made at a TED conference by Shai Agassi about electric cars. He took apart the usual issues (physical and monetary) and developed a new way of thinking. It’s a way that reduces any countries dependency on oil dramatically and reduces vehicle-attributed carbon emissions to zero.
We need to get to zero emissions before the world ends
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July 24th, 2009
Life’s twists and turns
A couple of days ago, my mum-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. She’d had breast cancer 4.5 years ago and had been fine since then, but a persistent pain in her back gave her doctor cause for concern and she had a blood test and eventually a scan. She has some breast cancer cells in her bones.
Naturally, we are devastated with this news and are keen to hear of the treatment regime the hospital will put in place for her.
Although nothing is certain, we (and the doctors) are fairly sure they knew what caused the original cancer (all to do with an HRT treatment given in the 1970’s, but that’s another story). More
July 23rd, 2009
Thoreau on conformity
An extract from ‘Walden – a life in the woods‘ by Henry David Thoreau:
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” By doing these things, men may find happiness and self-fulfillment.” More
May 14th, 2009
The ‘Natural’ Tiny House Top 10
The wonderful people at ‘Natural Homes’ blog (naturalhomes.org), have compiled their ‘Natural’ Tiny House Top 10, featured some of the nicest, cutest and most environmentally friendly little houses around. Enjoy…
No. 1 Glass bottles, collected from a dump, were included in the cob walls of this tiny house in Romania. The large south facing window was a gift from friends who had thermopane windows installed. The two smaller windows facing east and west are actually car windshields. The walls are finished with coloured clay, which gives a very beautiful effect. The house can be seen on the natural homes map here. This is the owner’s web site where you can read about green architecture and see a lovely collection of cob seats and other tiny houses by Casa Verde. More
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Building
April 9th, 2009
Wooden Bowls and the Heritage Crafts Association
I’ve been interested in ‘hand-made’ products for ages, especially wooden stuff. A couple of years ago, I got a pair of wooden plates made by a chap called Tony Wrench (who infamously lives in a hand-built roundhouse in Wales and has been the subject of a lengthy planning battle – but he won! http://www.thatroundhouse.info).
The plates are great – we use them almost every day to eat our dinner off. They stand the test of time and probably look better as they get used and abused. They keep food warmer as they are more insulating than ceramic plates and are very tactile to hold/use. Apart from a twice yearly oiling (I use Walnut Oil), they can take all the abuse you can throw at them – just don’t leave them soaking in water for too long.
About a year ago, though some connection or other, I came across a website for a guy called ‘Robin Wood‘ (no really, that’s his name). He lives in Derbyshire and uses a foot-powered lathe to make wooden plates and bowls. The type that really intrigued me was called a ‘porringer’ – best described as a sort of breakfast or desert bowl with wings! The bowl is turned with an extended lip, most of which is then axed off to leave the ‘wings’ which form perfect handles, meaning you can hold the bowl in one hand on the base and your thumb resting on one of the wings to counter balance it.
The Poringer, hand made by Robin Wood
A porringer became top of my birthday present list, and as you can see above, I love eating my morning porridge from it!
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February 19th, 2009
Vegans, Iraq & Human Sheilds
Way back in February 2007, I attended a meeting of Birmingham Vegetarians and Vegans. The guest speaker was a lady called Helen Asea, who, in 2004 had travelled to Iraq to become a ‘human shield’.
Thinking that this could be an interesting talk, I recorded it on my second-hand (ebay bargain) minidisc recorder and have finally got round to editing it and uploading it for everyone to enjoy as a PodCast!
February 9th, 2009
Where does the wood for wood burning stoves come from?
There is something very special about wood-burning stoves – mention them in conversation and people tend to ‘ohh’ and ‘ahh’ as they dream up romantic images of cuddling up by their warmth and glow on a cold, dark wintery night.
I know someone who distributes wood-burning stoves here in the UK. Over the past six months, they have had a surge of interest and sales due in the main part to the rising price of gas, and partly because burning wood in a proper wood-burning stove is seen as environmentally ‘right on’.
Orion Stove from ACR Heat Products
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November 26th, 2008
Rethinking Economics
Most adults in the UK, and I guess the ‘developed’ world are aware of the economic recession that is in progress, along with some of the unprecedented actions that governments are taking to ease us out of this situation (but hopefully not back into the one that created the problem in the first place).
David Korten
David Korten, a psychologist, presents a different view on economics, specifically in relation to ‘Peak Oil’ (ie the fact that oil production has or is about to peak, and from this point onwards oil will become increasingly more expensive). More
August 7th, 2008
Foraging for Wild Edible Plants – Print Your Own Pocket Handbook
If you’re anything like me, do you walk through the lanes, pathways and woods and see the lush green growth that nature has provided, and wonder what plants you can eat or might be useful in some other way? The answer comes in the form of this handy and inexpensive downloadable guide that you can print yourself – The Handy Foraging Companion and Hedgerow Herbal from ‘Judy of the Woods‘.
Just £3.95 
This latest version of The Handy Foraging Companion And Hedgerow Herbal comes in a portable post card size. The downloadable and easy to print feature-laden guide contains a list of over 350 edible plants in a handy format, as well as detailed illustrated profiles on over 50 common edible plants of Britain and Northern Europe. More
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