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
Boston Museum Tries New System for Protecting Artwork: A Dog’s Nose – NYT
It’s Not Just A Cold, It’s ‘Sickness Behavior’ – NPR
[Episode #60] – Demand Flexibility – Energy Transition Show
1801 – Wilson Alvarez on Biomimicry, Landcare, and The Reintegration Project – Permaculture Podcast
Hay-boxes and tea cozies – Restoring Mayberry
Bedazzled by Energy Efficiency – Low-Tech Magazine
How to avoid using paper towels – TH
Environmental News
Florida Is Exempted From Coastal Drilling. Other States Ask, ‘Why Not Us?’ – NYT
New Report Shows Weather Disasters In 2017 Cost More Than $300 Billion – NPR
Scotland bans plastic-handled cotton buds – TH
China is planting 16.3 million acres of forest this year – TH
That Recent Brutally Cold Weather? It’s Getting Rarer. – NYT
Pennsylvania Halts Construction of Mariner East 2 Pipeline – EF!
A deadly mudslide flowed through Southern California’s wildfire-blackened land – G
Mexico: Communities Organize Against Forest Pillaging in Michoacán – EF!
The Interior Department Has Cleared the Way for Energy Developers to Destroy Natural Habitats – MJ
New York City is taking BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell to court – G
Trump admin lets Florida opt out of controversial offshore drilling plans – G
Is warming in the Arctic behind this year’s crazy winter weather? – C
Research News
Government Scientists Say A Controversial Pesticide Is Killing Endangered Salmon – NPR
New algae fuel cell packs a punch – TH
Climate Change Is Altering Lakes and Streams, Study Suggests – NYT
El Niño causes West Antarctica’s ice shelves to gain height yet lose mass – CB
Low-Carbon Sources Generated more UK Electricity than Fossil Fuels in 2017 – CB
This Weed Killer Is Wreaking Havoc on America’s Crops – MJ
Op-Ed¹
Malthus was Real – The Great Change
Hawaii’s existential choice: Tourism, food and survival – Resource Insights
How to waste energy, New York Style – TH
The unbearable cheapness of capitalism – An Outside Chance
Source Abbreviations
CB – Carbon Brief
C – The Conversation
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
R – Resilience
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.