“Boat mills: water powered, floating factories” at Low-tech Magazine. Some extra images below:
Ship mills
November 17, 2010 by Filed Under: Boats, Obsolete technology, Shipping, Water powered machines, Water wheels
Designed For The Dump
“The Story of Electronics: Why ‘Designed for the Dump’ is Toxic for People and the Planet” (video). Related:
- The monster footprint of digital technology – how much energy does it take to manufacture electronics?
- iFixit – repair manuals online
Practical Conservation Handbooks: More Excellent DIY Resources
November 9, 2010 by Filed Under: Books & Reference, DIY
The British charity BTCV has an interesting collection of practical handbooks online. They all concern traditional practices and give a wealth of how-to details, including many drawings. Update December 2: BTCV has taken the books offline.
Related resources:
Leaf Blowers Must Die
November 5, 2010 by Filed Under: Gardening, Inventions that should never have made it but unfortunately they did, Kill this machine
“No Tech Magazine editor kills idiot with leaf blower“. One day, maybe even this autumn, the headline will link to a real news article. There might be more killings: “No object better exemplifies the worst of civilization than the leaf blower. Even the most grievous machines of mechanized death humankind has inflicted upon itself pale compared to the cosmic insult with which leaf blowers slur humanity.” Read.
Fertilizer Trees
“Presenting the antithesis to the high-tech, high-cost and genetically-modified industrial vision sometimes pushed on Africa, Science Daily reports on the potential of evergreen agriculture and the use of fertilizer trees to increase food production, in a low-cost and environmentally more sustainable way”, writes Matthew McDermott at Treehugger.
Pedal Powered FlatBed Truck
October 30, 2010 by Filed Under: Bicycles, Bikes, Cargo, Human power, Low-tech solutions, Pedal power, Quadricycles, Travel
“Originally designed to serve the load carrying requirements of the Tri-Sled factory, the FlatBed Truck is a high-bulk load carrier. We use one of these for getting around our local industrial estate, transporting frames and fairings to our powder-coating and painting contractors, or picking up steel and other oversized materials.”
“The FlatBed Truck is far more convenient than carting large items to and from a car or van. With this maneuverable vehicle, you can simple roll straight in and out of your business or factory. It even serves as a handy rolling work bench for working outside on sunny days.”
“The FlatBed Truck is also incredibly easy to store. Just flip it up on its end when not in use, and use the rear rolling wheels to move it against a wall or into a small space. The rolling wheels also serve as a back bump stop.” Trisled FlatBed Truck.
