In the 1850s and 60s transit companies used horses to pull railcars on San Francisco streets. When the beasts gave way to progress in the form of cable cars and electric streetcars, the companies sought to dump the obsolete rolling stock. The Market Street Railway Company even placed a newspaper advertisement offering horse cars for $20 (without seats only $10). The result: Carville & Carzonia.
Who needs a Prius?
April 8, 2009 by Filed Under: Cars, DIY, Low-tech cars, Travel
Source: Popular Science, May 1960
Technofix
“Why has energy conservation through lifestyle change – arguably the single easiest and most cost effective option we have on hand in dealing with the end of the age of cheap oil – been entirely off the political and cultural radar screens since the end of the 1970s, so much so that most of those who have noticed that we’re running out of cheap abundant energy have framed the issue entirely in terms of finding some technical gimmick that will let us keep on living the way we live now?” Read.
Stop recycling. Start repairing.
April 3, 2009 by Filed Under: Low-tech solutions, Recycling, Repair
A rising tide of ocean debris
April 2, 2009 by Filed Under: Trash
The Marine Debris Index presents state-by-state and country-by-country data about marine debris collected and tallied by volunteers around the world on one day each September at the International Coastal Cleanup. Almost 7 million pounds of trash (3 million kg) was collected. (via). Related: fishing for litter – the dustcarts of the sea.
The battle of the bowlturners
March 25, 2009 by Filed Under: Hand tools, Lathes, Low-tech solutions
Man versus machine (video). Traditional bowl turner Robin Wood on his foot powered lathe races a friend on an electric lathe to see who can make a bowl fastest. Related: the museum of old techniques.
