Solar Concentration for Craft Practice

August 12, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Random, Solar

“This research indicates the technical capabilities of using a 40 cm2 Fresnel lens to heat, melt and vitrify a variety of materials and suggests future applications of this technology including the ability to digitise the process. This material processing technique offers an alternative to heat matter and is significant in geographical locations with ample sunlight, offering a cost-effective option to traditional heating methods and allows directional heating, which local craftspeople can exploit to their creative advantage.” [Read more…]

Damaged Earth Catalog

July 29, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Random

“We are humans and might as well get used to it. So far, remotely done power and glory—as via government, big business, formal education, church—has succeeded to the point where gross profits obscure actual loss. In response to this dilemma and to these losses a realm of intimate, community power is developing—power of communities to conduct their own education, find their own inspiration, shape their own environment, and share their knowledge with others. Practices that aid this process are sought and promoted by the DAMAGED EARTH CATALOG.”

–> Damaged Earth Catalog. [Read more…]

Does the circular economy fuel the throwaway society?

July 28, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Random, Recycling

Quoted from: Figge, Frank, et al. “Does the circular economy fuel the throwaway society? The role of opportunity costs for products that lose value over time.” Journal of Cleaner Production (2022): 133207. Image: Horse Power by Stuart Taylor. Credit: JulieMay54 – CC BY-SA 4.0.

Extending the lifetime of products and using resources circularly are two popular strategies to increase the efficiency of resource use. Both strategies are usually assumed to contribute to the eco-efficiency of resource use independently… We find that in a perfectly circular economy, consumers are incentivized to discard their products more quickly than in a perfectly linear economy. A direct consequence of our finding is that extending product use is in direct conflict with closing resource loops in the circular economy… The article highlights the risk that closing resource loops and moving to a more circular economy incentivizes more unsustainable behavior. [Read more…]

Trail Marker Trees

June 13, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Navigation, Random

Trail Marker Trees were an ancient form of land and water navigational aids, as well as a marking system to denote areas of significant importance such as ceremonial sites. These trees were used by many, if not all, of the Native American tribes and later by fur traders and early pioneers. The Trail Marker Trees differed in their appearance and formation from tribe to tribe and from region to region. Examples of these trees have been found all across the United States and throughout Canada.

One unique characteristic of the trail marker tree is a horizontal bend several feet off the ground, which makes it visible at greater distances, even in snow. Researcher Dennis Downes was first introduced to the Trail Marker Trees as a young boy and was influenced by his own Native American relative. Mr. Downes has spent nearly thirty years of his adult life in the field locating, documenting, and educating others about these historical icons. See and read more on his website: Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society. There’s also a Wikipedia page on the topic.

Via Roel Roscam Abbing. Image: Trail Marker Tree in White County, IN known as ‘Grandfather’. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Reconstrained Design & Locally Produced Gravity Batteries

May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Energy storage, Gravity Powered Machines, Random

The Reconstrained Design Group at the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute in Portugal “challenges the dominance of the grid system through developing functional prototypes that operate outside of its control”.

Solutions include gravity batteries to provide night-time storage from solar or wind power using the natural phenomenon of gravity in vertiginous regions. The uniqueness of this battery is its ability to be built, installed and maintained by local communities using local materials and techniques and to not rely on any external help or funding. It uses basic physics principles to provide an easily achievable and efficient way to store energy without conventional battery systems.”

Also check out their manifesto and publications.

Carbolytics: The Environmental Impact of Data Collection Practices

May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Internet, Random

“Carbolytics is a project at the intersection of art and research that aims to raise awareness and call for action on the environmental impact of pervasive surveillance within the advertising technology ecosystem (AdTech), as well as to provide a new perspective to address the social and environmental costs of opaque data collection practices. Online tracking is the act of collecting data from online user activity, such as reading the news, purchasing items, interacting on social media or simply doing an online search. It is known that tracking and recording users’ behaviour has become a major business model in the last decade.”

“However, even though the societal and ethical consequences of abusive online surveillance practices have been a subject of public debate at least since Snowden’s revelations in 2013, the energy and environmental costs of such processes have been kept away from the public eye. The global data collection apparatus is a complex techno maze that needs vast amounts of resources to exist and operate, yet companies rarely disclose information on the environmental footprint of such operations. Moreover, part of the energy costs of data collection practices is inflicted upon the user, who also involuntarily assumes a portion of its environmental footprint. Although this is a critical aspect of surveillance, there’s an alarming lack of social, political, corporate and governmental will for accountability, thus a call for action is urgent.”

More: Carbolytics. A project by Joana Moll commissioned by Aksioma in collaboration with Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and in partnership with The Weizenbaum Insitute + Sónar +D.