Education

-Scientists Reveals Secrets Of Drought Resistance
-Speaker says water limitations not recognized
-A Drought-Stricken Land Offers Help With Water
-A Victory for the 'Water Underground'
-EROWI - energy return of water invested

On a stretch of desert near the U.S.-Mexico border, the only eatery on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation opened last spring to a full house. The Desert Rain Café brightened a space in a small shopping complex, drawing dozens of curious customers who filled patio tables by noon. Its menu, local by design, featured ingredients from the café’s own farm: desert squash enchiladas, mesquite-flour muffins, hummus made from tepary beans. The café recently extended its hours to take advantage of its booming business.

-Changing a City: Inside Portland's 80 Percent by 2050 Target
-Zone5 Podcast #1 with Albert Bates and #2 with Noel Carillo
-Urban Permaculture in Clacton-on-Sea
-Toward an Ethic of Place: Experiments in Regional Governance

One of the best things about being invited to present at conferences and events is that I get to meet the other speakers, and usually talk with them in at least a semi-relaxed setting. Generally speaking, at a good conference I can count on meeting at least a few people who I’ve never heard of, but should have, at least one person who I regard with a measure of awe (sometimes even more), and a whole lot of just plain interesting people doing important work.

I have been following with interest the discussions surrounding Alex Steffen’s piece at WorldChanging in which he critiques Transition. I am honoured that someone so widely respected as a writer on sustainability issues saw fit to engage in discussions around Transition, but, as a critique of Transition, it leaves a lot to be desired.

When I published the previous article about the ever-more-dire forecasts of ocean level rise, little did I know that I was blundering into the midst of a "climate change debate."...

-How to celebrate British apples
-Putting Up Produce: Yes, You Can
-From farm to table, a link to the past

-Neri Oxman: Design is Truly Alive
-The launch of the economical environmentalist
-Where Home Is, The Heart Isn't
-PopTech's America Reimagined: Bringing Brains Together at the Coolest Conference You've Never Heard Of

I start with a basic truth. A persistent pattern of violence against people, community, and nature is inherent in the institutional structure of our existing economy. You don’t treat a cancer with Band-Aids, and we can’t resolve our current economic crisis with marginal regulatory adjustments. It is time to rethink and restructure.

One feature of this year’s ASPO conference that I most enjoyed was the contradiction amongst presentations. Marcio Mello gave an animated talk on Sunday night about the pre-salt formations off the coast of Brazil quoting that there are upwards of 500 billion barrels of oil available, an extravagant estimate that peak oilers are unused to hearing. Monday morning two talks on natural gas were juxtaposed in tone and content, one claiming that natural gas is the “American Treasure” and the other claiming that shale gas is marginally profitable, let alone a “treasure.”

-Biofuel Displacing Food Crops May Have Bigger Carbon Impact Than Thought
-Biofuels rather than electric cars to meet renewables target
-Tanzania Suspends Biofuels Investments
-Who says it's green to burn woodchips?
-Carbon advantage of biofuels may be overstated

Where will you go when the sewers clog up? Where will you go when the porcelain finally cracks? Where will you go when the Toilet Duck quacks its last?