These are a few stories we found this week that may be of interest to institute regulars. If you have a news tip, please send it to lowtechinstitute@gmail.com.
Low Tech News
If we all swapped beans for beef, we’d be close to 2020 US emission goals – TH
Patagonia launches new Workwear line made with innovative hemp fabric – TH
Gardening Calendar (Australian Temperate Climate) – August – Deep Green Permaculture
Urban Homesteading: How to Get Started – PRI
Rainwater Catchment Systems – PRI
Chicken Tractors for Sustainable Poultry – PRI
Permaculture as Philosophy: How to Apply ‘Turning Problems into Solutions’ in Real Life – PRI
Climate change is turning cities into harsh, sweltering hotspots – G
Searching for Solutions to Climate Change Risks in the Peruvian Andes – Savage Minds
Terra Preta in the Amazon – PRI
Earthbag/Scoria Bag Building Online Workshop – NBB
1722 – Together Resilient – Permaculture Podcast
Teaching the Carbon Cycle – Resilience
Mother Earth News Homestead Fairs – NBB
Raising Shiitake Mushrooms: An Inexpensive Delicacy – PRI
[Episode #49] – Climate Science Part 5 – Business As Usual – Energy Transition Show
Earthbag Earthship Videos and Workshop – NBB
How borrowing could become the new buying – and help save the planet – E
Environmental News
GE Eucalyptus and Pine Monocrops Get Visited by ELF Chile – EF!
So Why is This Forest So Important? Resisting the Logging of Białowieża – EF!
Indigenous Blockade Halts Deforestation in Winnipeg, Canada – EF!
The Pacific Northwest’s fiery week warns of hotter times to come – G
Don’t look now, but the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is the biggest yet – G
Europe Swelters Under a Heat Wave Called ‘Lucifer’ – NYT
California’s New ‘Cap-and-Trade’ Scheme to Cut Emissions – Resilience
Greenland, the land of ice and snow, is burning – G
Students, Cities and States Take the Climate Fight to Court – NYT
Research News
Cats, dogs responsible for up to 30% of meat environmental impact in US – TH
How BP is detracting renewable energy in its Statistical Review – At the Edge of Time
Storing clean energy in salt isn’t as crazy as it sounds – G
Learning new tricks from sea sponges, nature’s most unlikely civil engineers – The Conversation
What Changes In Birthing Mean For Evolution – NPR
Early modern humans consumed more plants than Neanderthals but ate very little fish – Science Daily
Humans First Modified Tropical Forests 45,000 Years Ago – Archaeology
Scientists Examine Corn’s High-Altitude History – Archaeology
Tracing the links between basic research and real-world applications – The Conversation
Climate change is already shifting the timing of European floods, study says – Carbon Brief
Op-Ed¹
Environmental Regulation In Republican Administrations – The Trickster, The Gipper and The Trumpster (Part 1) (Part 2)– Civil Notion
Choosing Your Ride – Resilience
What’s Really Driving the Global Economic Crisis is Net Energy Decline – Resilience
If we keep subsidizing wind, will the cost of wind energy go down? – The Conversation
Let Forest Fires Burn? What the Black-Backed Woodpecker Knows – NYT
More on why bikes are better than electric cars for our cities and suburbs – TH
Can Buddhist Practices Help Us Overcome The Biological Pull Of Dissatisfaction? – NPR
This Hawaiian island is the future of energy – G
The problem with Net Zero: The grid is not a bank – TH
Climate gloom and doom? Bring it on. But we need stories about taking action, too – The Conversation
Source Abbreviations
E – The Ecologist
EF! – Earth First! Newswire
G – Grist
MJ – Mother Jones
NBB — Natural Building Blog
NPR – National Public Radio
NYT – New York Times
PRI – Permaculture Research Institute
TH – TreeHugger
V – Vice
VM – Vice: Motherboard
Disclaimer: The news stories and posts linked above are not meant as an endorsement of the information presented. They are provided as they may be of interest to our readers and further our aims of solutions for a post-fossil-fuel world. We strive to provide fact-based information. If you feel that political views are being presented in a partisan fashion, we are happy to provide equal time to opposing view points as long as they are derived from verifiable data and facts.
¹Opinion pieces represent the independent thought of their authors and may or may not represent the position of the Low Technology Institute.