In the run-up to Christmas (or for non-Christians, the winter holiday period, if you prefer) I’m going to try to spread a little love with a series of articles looking at the growing polarisation of society along the left-right spectrum. I want to persuade as many of you as possible that positioning yourself on this spectrum is damaging to interpersonal relations, to communities, to political progress, probably to your mental health and definitely to the ambience of family gatherings – and to invite you to step off it. In this series I’m going to cover: The meaning of the terms left and right ..read more

Our network members Ben and Lorraine of Forest Crafts are hoping to find one or two people to help them develop a new business involving market gardening, working horses and working alongside volunteers. It’s a great opportunity for the right person / people. Over to Ben for more info: As we start to think about our plans for 2022 we are looking for someone (or two) to join us as partners in our New Market Garden enterprise. We have the land, facilities, a lot of equipment and some know how and experience – what we are lacking is time. We are experienced WWOOF and HELPX hosts and usually welco ..read more

In the run-up to Christmas (or for non-Christians, the winter holiday period, if you prefer) I’m going to try to spread a little love with a series of articles looking at the growing polarisation of society along the left-right spectrum. I want to persuade as many of you as possible that positioning yourself on this spectrum is damaging to interpersonal relations, to communities, to political progress, probably to your mental health and definitely to the ambience of family gatherings – and to invite you to step off it. In this series I’m going to cover: The meaning of the terms left and right ..read more

Over five weeks we’ve published a range of Stay Grounded factsheets about various kinds of techno-greenwashing provided by the aviation industry. No. 1 covered the promise of improved efficiency; no. 2, electric flight; no. 3 the promise of hydrogen flight; no. 4 the promise of biofuels; and this final one is about the potential for synthetic electro-fuels, or e-fuels. Alternative jet fuels or so-called “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” (SAF) are liquid hydrocarbon fuels that can be used with existing aircraft in place of kerosene produced from fossil fuels. The industry’s premise of the sustainabi ..read more

In the run-up to Christmas (or for non-Christians, the winter holiday period, if you prefer) I’m going to try to spread a little love with a series of articles looking at the growing polarisation of society along the left-right spectrum. I want to persuade as many of you as possible that positioning yourself on this spectrum is damaging to interpersonal relations, to communities, to political progress, probably to your mental health and definitely to the ambience of family gatherings – and to invite you to step off it. In this series I’m going to cover: The meaning of the terms left and right ..read more

Over five weeks we’re publishing a range of Stay Grounded factsheets about various kinds of techno-greenwashing provided by the aviation industry. No. 1 covered the promise of improved efficiency; no. 2, electric flight; no. 3 the promise of hydrogen flight; and this one is about the promise of biofuels. Alternative jet fuels or so-called “Sustainable Aviation Fuels” (SAF) are liquid hydrocarbon fuels that can be used with existing aircraft in place of kerosene produced from fossil fuels. The industry’s premise of the sustainability of these fuels is to create the fuel using CO2 taken from the ..read more

The Systems Change Alliance share our view at Lowimpact.org that the climate change problem can’t be solved within the current economic system, which requires and generates perpetual growth and wealth concentration. Here, Roar Bjonnes explains that it’s capitalism’s growth imperative that renders it forever unsustainable. With COP26 over, a leaked report from the IPCC (The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) states that the only way to avoid climate collapse is to end capitalism’s perpetual economic growth model. In a recent article co-authored by journalists and climate ..read more

We’d like to bring the Landworkers’ Alliance to your attention if you don’t know them already. They’re a wonderful organisation that could do with your support. You could help them in a small way by purchasing their beautiful 2022 calendar, or if you have a shop, ordering in bulk at a discount to sell on. For the year following COP26 this calendar showcases twelve practices and activities that are part of the solution for cooling the planet and building the world we know is possible. From Agroforestry to Seed Saving, Soil Health to Coppicing, there’s a range of stories, all beautifully told by ..read more

Over five weeks we’re publishing a range of Stay Grounded factsheets about various kinds of techno-greenwashing provided by the aviation industry. No. 1 covered the promise of improved efficiency; no. 2, electric flight, and this one covers the promise of hydrogen flight. There are plans to use hydrogen as a power source for aircraft instead of kerosene. It could either be burned in a jet engine or used to feed a fuel cell to generate electricity to power a propeller. It is produced from other energy sources, has a significant energy loss during the process and is usually stored in liquid form ..read more

At Lowimpact.org, we’ve been banging on about something called ‘mutual credit’ for about 3 or 4 years now – constantly trying to think of ways to explain it that can be grasped really quickly. We think it really is a world-changing idea – in that it can help keep wealth in communities, keep small businesses alive, and reduce the need for banks or interest. Bad for giant corporations and good for small businesses, in other words. Now I’m using ‘mutual credit’ as an umbrella term to describe a range of different tools – some of which will apply more to small businesses, some to local authorities ..read more