Overshoot day August 20: will “economic” reality meet resource reality?

Let us look at overshoot day from the point of view of economics. By economics I mean the technology of keeping track of housekeeping with resources and keeping track of material obligations to those around us.  Economics does not need to be restricted to counting with money. Other measures can be used. And it is fascinating to try it. In this case we can consider that a Nation has its own household that it needs to keep fed and housed, and has its natural resources to do it. We start with a situation however where many nations are living over their means. […]

Swedish Foundation postulates fees as cure for externalization of P and N

Inorganic phosphorus in the form of the phosphate PO3-4  is required for all known forms of life, playing a major role in biological molecules such as DNA and RNA where it forms part of the structural framework of these molecules. For humans it is essential in food and  Sweden imports some 730,000 tons of fertilizer a year, Read more about Swedish Foundation postulates fees as cure for externalization of P and N[…]

New course in sustainable living 27 – 30 Sep.

People seek a sense of connectedness to nature. Many want to live in a way that is light on the earth and does not require huge amounts of debt and energy to function.  They want to invest in a way of life that they can believe in, economically and morally.  Since the 1980’s, systems ecologist Read more about New course in sustainable living 27 – 30 Sep.[…]

At Last! Dirt the movie…

Anyone intereted in understanding the complexities of sustainable  world food and water situation should watch this film. It carefull goes over the importance of theat which we give a negative namen to – dirt that may well be the most important piece of technology we have available to us! Follow this link here for a fuller explanation

The world may be smaller than you think. This is why we need to invest in securing land.

There are total 14.8 billion hectares of land on the surface of the Earth Only about 30% is inhabitable There are 6.8 billion people on the planet That gives 0,65 hectare per person to live on 10% of land is arable (of that only a quarter is cultivated today) That gives about 0.2 hectare per Read more about The world may be smaller than you think. This is why we need to invest in securing land.[…]

Beta site for teachers launched

A new site, in beta format, has just launched to support maths and science teachers who want to convey a deeper understanding for sustainability to their students. The  site just now offers a few open-ended  problems for sutdents to practice their calculation and estimation skills on with problems around: How much land is available to Read more about Beta site for teachers launched[…]

There is an evolutionary biology story of stuff – are you ready to hear it?

You would think that with signals everywhere about how world energy production has peaked, there would be more rational discussion generally about how to prepare for the future. In some ways, our way of living is ridiculously wasteful of energy. At least ten litres of fuel are used to get the 50 litres of petrol Read more about There is an evolutionary biology story of stuff – are you ready to hear it?[…]

BOOK REVIEW Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen

THANKS TO ARCHIE DUNCANSSON FOR THIS REVIEW reproduced by permission Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen, December 2009. In Storms of My Grandchildren, James Hansen, 68 years old and one of the world’s leading climate scientists,  gives us the results of his lifelong work to understand the climate changes that are now  occurring, and Read more about BOOK REVIEW Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen[…]