Man versus nature

May 3, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Environmentalism, History

“The object of the present volume is: to indicate the character and, approximately, the extent of the changes produced by human action in the physical conditions of the globe we inhabit; to point out the dangers of imprudence and the necessity of caution in all operations which, on a large scale, interfere with the spontaneous arrangements of the organic or the inorganic world; to suggest the possibility and the importance of the restoration of disturbed harmonies and the material improvement of waste and exhausted regions; and, incidentally, to illustrate the doctrine, that man is, in both kind and degree, a power of a higher order than any of the other forms of animated life, which, like him, are nourished at the table of bounteous nature.”

Quoted from: Man and nature – physical geography as modified by human action (1864). Full text online.
Found at: The evolution of the conservation movement, 1850-1920.

Construction and Farming in the 21th Century

May 3, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Construction, DIY, Farming

Lifetrac

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Kicking the habit: the Oil Depletion Protocol

May 3, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Energy, Low-tech solutions

“By agreeing to reduce oil imports and exports by a specified amount each year, about 2.6 percent, signatory nations will help mitigate the negative consequences of an over-reliance on cheap oil and help prepare for a global decline in the world’s oil supply.

The premise of the Protocol is inherently straightforward: oil importing nations would agree to reduce their imports by an agreed-upon yearly percentage, referred to as the World Oil Depletion Rate, while oil producing nations would agree to reduce their rate of production by their National Depletion Rate.

This simple and sensible formula will produce, in effect, a global rationing system. If the entire world adopted the Protocol, global consumption of oil would decline by almost 3 percent per annum, thus stabilizing prices, preserving the resource base, and reducing competition for remaining supplies.”

The Oil Depletion Protocol (via).

Redefining Wildernis

April 25, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Photography

Migrating back

By mikel uribetxeberria at a new f*cking wilderness. Via Pruned. More.

Economy = Energy

April 23, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Economy, Energy

“The world economy will contract for at least the next 50 years as oil production declines since oil is such an important proportion of world energy use and oil energy facilitates the production of other energy forms (e.g. coal mining, solar, wind). There may be some local and temporary economic growth in regions with local concentrations of available energy but, on the whole, contraction will be the rule”. Read.

Hybrid windmill

April 23, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: History, Obsolete technology, Steam, Wind Power, Windmills

Hybrid windmill

Corn-grinding windmill, equipped with an auxiliary steam engine (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, circa 1900). Source: “Geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland“.