Andrew Simms at the LSE

The NEF's Policy Director and Head of Climate Change and Energy, Andrew Simms gave an interesting speech at the LSE last Thursday:

No Poo

(image from instructables.com)

What kind of shampoo do you use everyday? Regular shampoo contains chemicals that will harm both the user and the environment. Try no poo, it's natural, it's sustainable and less expensive then regular shampoos and you only need natural ingredients like baking soda and vinegar.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/

http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=365

Truth about food...?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nxcf3

Botany of desire

APPLE = SWEETNESS
POTATO = CONTROL
CANABIS = INTOXICATION
TULIP = BEAUTY

http://www.pbs.org/thebotanyofdesire/

The ever growing hamster

The New Economics Foundation has published a new report arguing that economical "growth isn't possible". Their intention with the video above is to confront people with the meaning and logical conclusion of the promise of endless economic growth. As economists and politicians express their relief that the economy has grown by 0.1% in the last month, the NEF warns that we should be wary of celebrating rising GDP.

"We are using a hamster to illustrate what would happen if there were no limits to growth because they double in size each week before reaching maturity at around 6 weeks. But if a hamster grew at the same rate until its first birthday, we'd be looking at a nine billion tonne hamster, which ate more than a years worth of world maize production every day. There are reasons in nature, why things dont grow indefinitely. As things are in nature, sooner or later, so they must be in the economy. As economic growth rises, we are pushing the planet ever closer to, and beyond some very real environmental limits. With every doubling in the global economy we use the equivalent in resources of all of the previous doublings combined."

Flooded London: Maps and Visuals

Scene of the movie "The Flood" (2007) by Tony Mitchell

What would London look like if sea levels rose further? There are a numer of maps in the web which let you imagine in what extent different areas of London would/will be affected by the flood. Not all maps show the scenario of the Thames Barrier breaking and releasing tidal waters to the city centre which would have an even more dramatic impact.

Maps:

Environment Agency Flood Map
Type in your postcode and see if you were affected by the flood. 

A Google Maps Overlay


Global Warming Art Sea Level Explorer 

Ecosia: The eco-friendly search engine

Ecosia is a environmental-friendly search engine that saves the rainforest while your're searching the web. At least 80% of their search income goes to a rainforest protection program run by WWF, which uses this money for the sustainable protection of rainforests in the Juruena National Park in Brazil.

It saves 2m² of rainforest with each web search you do. Their search results are as good as Google or Yahoo. So far (28.1.2010) Ecosia has saved 18,795,321 m² (22,479,204 yd²) of rainforest. They're not running any servers powered by alternative energy yet though. None the less I suggest you make it your browser's default start page!

SlowFood-youth movement

The Youth Food Movement is a network of young farmers, cooks, artisans, activists and students that are actively changing the future of food and farming. With the goal of bringing more food that is good clean and fair, to their communities, they realigning local and regional food systems with the principles of justice and sustainability.

Building on the strong foundations of Slow Food, the Youth Food Movement provides shared platforms for communication, knowledge exchange, support for local action and leadership development. Day by day this network works to connect like minds, projects and activism with similar goals and shared philosophy.

Individually we can change communities; together we can change the world.

Already, Youth Food Movement members are:

• Starting farms based on traditional methods and sustainable practices
• Demanding food justice and equal access to good food for their neighbors
• Starting farmer’s markets and gardens on campuses
• Organizing Eat – Ins - protest potlucks where good, clean, and fair food is prepared and shared in public spaces
• Changing school cafeteria sourcing practices to local, sustainable products
• Confronting agribusiness and demanding they change their production methods and workplace standards
• And many more…

http://www.youthfoodmovement.org/

Urban tactics and self-organisation

As mentioned yesterday by Kathrin Bohm of Public Works, here is the information related to Atelier d'architecture autogérée, of which Doina Petrescu (the external examiner for the MA Design and Environment) is a member: "Atelier d'architecture autogérée / studio for self-managed architecture (aaa) is a collective platform which conducts explorations, actions and research concerning urban mutations and cultural, social and political emerging practices in the contemporary city.

aaa acts through ‘urban tactics’, encouraging the participation of inhabitants at the self-management of disused urban spaces, overpassing contradictions and stereotypes by proposing nomad and reversible projects, initiating interstitial practices which explore the potential of contemporary city ( in terms of population, mobility, temporality).

It is by micro-political acting that we want to participate in making the city more ecological and more democratic, to make the space of proximity less dependent on top-down processes and more accessible to its users. The ‘self-managed architecture’ is an architecture of relationships, processes and agencies of persons, desires, skills and know-hows. Such an architecture does not correspond to a liberal practice but asks for new forms of association and collaboration, based on exchange and reciprocity and involving all those interested (individuals, organisations, institutions), whatever is their scale.

Our architecture is at the same time political and poetic as it aims above all to ‘create relationships between worlds’."

Eco life style

In December I went around in Brick lane and there was a ECO fair.
Here are some of the product I saw..

ECO Nuts for your laundry

It is made from the sun dried fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi tree and its Fair Trade. The shells of these nuts contain saponin, a natural detergent, which gets sudsy in water. Since Eco Nuts doesn’t leave any residue, you can actually skip the rinse cycle and save gallons of water, energy and money. As you can see its sell in recycle packag The seller said those shells is odorless and foamless, you can use it over times till the shell dissolve totally. I didn't buy them as I still have half box of family pack of washing powder.

Moroccan Rhassoul Clay wash for hair and body

It has a powerful negative charge and acts as a detoxifying agent. It come as power and you just need to add water before use.
Its 100% pure clay minerals and full biodegradable.
I bought that for 5pounds 100g and I am using it as facial wash and its better then what I except.

Natural Deodorant

Its the raw natural look crystal like deodorant which made from alum mineral salts.
Non-aerosol, no Aluminum Chlorhydrate, non-staining unisex formula and not tested on animals.

Also...

Recycle Knitting Kit

Its using those normal supermarket plastic bags and cut them into a long strip and use those strips instead of wool.

Brainstorming in Studio

As promised, here are the photos of our very productive brainstorming day in studio.
Hope you enjoy them!!!

This is how we started off.....













... and this is how it looked in the end!

Economics of climate change

Nicholas Stern, Chairman of the the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE, and author of the Stern Review, has argued that it is far more responsible to look at ways to invest in moving toward a low-carbon economy now, rather than wait to deal with the effects of climate change in the future.

He makes this argument through an economic analysis of the costs of investing in reducing carbon emissions, compared to dealing with the costs of floods, famine, water shortages, refugee crises and other hazards stemming from climate change. A webcast of his presentation for the session, 'Business as usual is not sustainable,' at the U.S. Climate Action conference is available here.

On a related note, the LSE hosts a number of events related to sustainability and climate change. There are 'Sustainability in Practice' lectures taking place this spring 2010, and there are also podcasts of past talks on the LSE events archive.

Sound Of Soil: Alunda Church Choir plays the soil of northern Uppland

“The vinyl is dead. Good. Now listen to the beautiful noise of the earth. In this performance Alunda Church Choir, conducted by Cantor Jan Hällgren, plays the soil of northern Uppland (in Sweden)."

Introducing: the terrafon, a large version of the horn gramophone, amplifying the sounds in the track it ploughs. What I like in particular about Olle Cornéer und Martin Lübcke's work with the title "Harvest" is the participation of local ensembles "playing" their soils, the analogue approach and the use of soil as a media: putting the soil on the level with vinyl discs to which one can listen to. These performances offer a complete new experience of soils. I have never had the chance to listen to soil before! Check also Diego Stocco's similar but more digitised work on music from Sand or from a Tree.

SUSTAINABLE BRIXTON - nurture sustainable living

This is a social network about Brixton created to get directly to the people and bring them to the field without many particular interactions that take forever and that bounce you to other pages where you have to manage ever lasting copy-pasting. It is structured with an interactive map that links you to the websites of the activities displayed.
Also you will find an audio guide that you can download and take it with you as you visit the town and you can play it on your mobile phone, iPod or whatever else is your device that you always bring with you.
The guide introduces you to some of the projects and activities in Brixton that help nurturing sustainable living. You will also find some comments from the people who are directly involved in these activities.
Don't forget to get the printable map of the tour as you decide to have this experience.

Here is the link to the web page: http://sustainablebrixton.ning.com/

Advertising campaigns raising the awareness of environmental issues

These campaigns represent the connections between human activities and the effects on the natural environment.

“If we don't stop global warming, nature will” (by WWF for a living planet)

Devices making energy use visible_2

This is designed to make householders aware of their energy consumptionon a daily basis.

This clock visualises the daily energy rhythms of thehousehold and reminds householders of the ordinary kitchen clockin its form, place and use. the clock indicates electrical use of its environmentin real time.

Devices raising awareness of energy use :Wilting Flower"

This flower wilts as you consume power. It allows consumers not onlyto be conscious of their energy consumption, but also to realise theimpacts their energy use has on the environment.

A British designer has come up with the Wilting Flower as a way to raise awareness of home energy consumption. The device is shaped like a flower that provides a visible reminder of how much energy is being used at the moment. When low amounts of energy are being consumed, the flower stands tall and blooms open. Flick on more lights and turn on the TV or video game and the flower wilts and closes up.The prototype is expected to cost about $90 when it comes to the market. So why would someone buy this novelty device when a simple energy monitor would do the exact same thing? Designer Carl Smith, who came up with the Wilting Flower, told the Daily Mail that he hopes people will become attached to the flower and keep it in bloom by changing their energy consumption habits. Other products display energy use on small LCD units which are not as attractive, he says.A wireless connector is connected to the household electricity supply and when more appliances are turned on, the amount of current drawn increases and is relayed back to the Wilting Flower. When the flower displays a blue and greenish light, that means power usage is low. Purple is a bad sign and an indication that the flower is about to wilt and it's time to turn off some of those appliances.

Devices making energy use visible_1

Electronic Cord, designed to make electricity visible.

With regards to saving electricity consumption, it is important to be aware of the use of electricity. Generally, energy is invisible so consumers are unconcious in using energy.

This type device allows householders to realise they are using energy.

*Source_Visual voltage exhibition at design vlaanderen, brussels

Visual voltage is an exhibition which explores the use of energy through smart design.the show is meant to give insight into electricity, energy consumption and environmental issues.the projects on show are all developed by swedish designers and artists, expressing their creative roles as a means to generate awareness and debates on essential issues such as sustainability and energy consumption, shedding new light on how we use electricity.

Contaminated:The New Science of Food

There are currently over 786 million hungry people on planet Earth. And while few would deny that world hunger is one of the most important issues facing mankind today, if the solution is left to companies like Monsanto, Aventis, Dow, and DuPont, we may face even greater challenges to the security of our global ecosystem.


With the second Green Revolution well under way, the world's food supply is slowly being transformed by a radically improvised agricultural paradigm. Genetically engineered crops have been introduced into the market without the rigorous testing that many scientists feel is required. The history is instructive:

In 1986, US biotech companies began testing the first genetically engineered food products. In 1993, the FDA declared that GM food was "not inherently dangerous", which gave a green light to biotech corporations who had been developing GM seeds. One year later, the first GM food product, Flavr Savr tomato, was released to enthusiastic US consumers.

But, in Europe, GM food did not win such easy converts. Groups like Greepeace and Friends of the Earth protested the new "Frankenfoods," galvanizing a broad level of public outrage and the eventual policy mandate requiring all modified produce to be clearly labelled.

Despite the highly publicized battle over genetically engineered food, many people are still unaware that many of the products they consume on a daily basis contain genetically modified. In Contaminated, Fritjof Capra, Paul Hawken and Vandana Shiva explain the evolution of the new biotech agribusiness and its potential dangers to the sustainability of the global food supply.

Resilience Takes Form -- A Handbook for Transition

Something strange has happened over in old Blighty. I'm not sure if the Utopian dreams of the 1960's are making a comeback or if a new movement, one grounded in reality but focused on our future, has taken shape. No matter how cynical you are, you can't ignore one of the fastest growing grassroots movements in the UK -- The Transition Network.

In 2006 a founding member of this network, Rob Hopkins, had begun working on an idea in Totnes, a sleepy town in the West of England. From the land of Cornish pasties and clotted cream a community-led initiative began to focus on a duel issues of climate change and the realities of a post peak oil society.

It seems crazy, but by galvanizing the community Rob and a highly networked team developed what is now called the Transition model, the 12 steps or initiatives to transition as described in his book The Transition Handbook. Totnes has become the accidental epicenter of a quiet revolution.

The key components of the Transition model are that groups involved in each of the 12 transition initiatives that focus on the various sectors of local communities. The groups plan awareness programs, include screening movies followed by talks by experts about climate change. Round two they stimulate a local movement by organizing networking events and developing groups focus on different themes deemed important to their local community. Then they produce a 'Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP)' that reflects the views and inputs from many local stake holders. Then it gets really interesting -- the town collectively finds ways to power down.

It was at this point I went crazy researching, and began writing what I thought was going to be an insightful piece about the movement, where it's going and what it means -- then I found this online video... ...what better than an English poet with a wry sense of humor to explain this fascinating phenomenon.



I recommend you watch the video and make up your own mind. As you watch, just remember that there are many new towns, villages and hamlets are self-organizing under these ideals. They are looking inward to ask themselves what will their future look like based on their needs -- not just some generic government white paper. Take note. This movement could be coming to a town near you.

Amphibious Homes

Leave it to the Dutch to come up with “amphibious houses” – a concept that makes sense in a landscape where solid ground is yearly sinking. Residents and planners are looking into the future with concern over flooding and heavy rain, an issue that will be compounded by rising water levels from global warming.

In response to this problem, the field of maritime architecture is gaining momentum. One notable architect, Koen Olthuis, has created some astoundingly beautiful water dwellings. What differentiates these from standard houseboats is a patented technology which allows the foundation of the construction to be transformed into a float. A foam core is encased in concrete, with steel cables securing it against the pull of potential currents.

Olthius’ company is looking not only at individual residences, but at creating maritime settlements, which is easily done, since his designs are linkable, “like LEGO blocks.” In the bottom image, one such settlement is pictured from an aerial perpective, giving a sense of the layout of these swimming developments.
The reassurance offered to residents in knowing that their homes will respond to rising water by floating on the surface is invaluable. Such technologies will obviously be relevant and necessary in many other parts of the world as demands for space drive people towards the coast, and climate change creates unpredictable scenarios for those who take up residence there.

Amphibious Homes

The Dutch have fought their marshy surroundings with clever engineering since the country’s inception, and we’ve seen some impressive “floating architecture” from DuraVermeer and WaterStudio. Now that global warming is fanning the flame: melting ice-caps and raising sea levels, more and more Dutch designers are getting into amphibious architecture. Builder Hans van de Beek’s amphibious houses are an obvious yet genius solution to rising water levels. He explains; “They are pretty much just regular houses, the only difference is that when the water rises, they rise.”

Unlike the houseboats that line many Dutch canals or the floating villages of Asia, these homes are being built on solid ground — but they also are designed to float on flood water. Each house is made of lightweight wood, and the concrete base is hollow, giving it ship-like buoyancy. With no foundations anchored in the earth, the structure rests on the ground and is fastened to 15-foot-long mooring posts with sliding rings, allowing it to float upwards in times of flood. All the electrical cables, water and sewage flow through flexible pipes inside the mooring piles.

What a great example of turning architectural lemons into lemonade, and being responsive and accepting of environmental contexts.

New York's Battery Park

The design’s elements articulate the new curvilinear park geometry. The elliptical Kiosks are derived from a series of arcs and made of certified sustainably-harvested hardwood. The Benches were designed to hold up to the punishing wear and tear of relaxing New Yorkers with an absolutely minimal use of material.

The shell like glass house with white wall interior which provide a clean surface for projection. and interactive digital media. The spiral structure create a walk through as driving under water experience. The use of smart glass panels can allow the projection happen during sunny day time.

LENAPE,MANHATTAN

This garden landscape is located on a rare patch of open, south-facing land in the middle of Manhattan. The triangular piece of land is in front of Hudson Guild, a vital community center that was established in 1895 and currently serves the 2,000 residents of the surrounding New York Public Housing Authority’s Robert Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea Houses. The garden includes the native edible plants and mounded plantings of beans, corn, and squash—also known as the “three sisters”—that the Lenape people would have eaten for millenia in that very location. It provides a view back to their lives and how they lived off the land on the island they knew as Mannahatta at the time that the first European, Henry Hudson, visited in 1609. Unlike the other Edible Estates gardens, which are very much about the present, this garden is a meditation on the historical facts of and future possibilities for our occupation of the island.

The Lenape garden is surrounded by detailed signage that tells the story of each plant, the food it produces, how the Lenape used it in their diet, and the natural history of the site. It is not intended to feed the current local residents, but rather to provide visible evidence of both the general fact that our food comes out of the dirt and specific examples of the sources of food for the previous residents of the island. It is a demonstration garden, part experimental laboratory and part educational display. Visiting students and those from the nearby children’s center use the garden and its central gathering circle for activities and workshops dealing with the history, ecology, food, plants, animals, energy, and other aspects of the immediate natural environment.

The residents of Elliott-Chelsea Houses, members of the Hudson Guild community, visiting students, and the general public become more aware of organic growing cycles as they watch the garden evolve through the seasons and years. They become aware of the natural and cultural history of the island they live on by observing food growing on plants that existed in Manhattan soil before it was the city we know today. This garden landscape may also serve as a model for small-scale urban edible landscapes and as a possible prototype for modest green spaces at similar housing sites across the city.

ST. ANN'S ALLOTMENTS

STAA runs a Community Orchard on a collection of plots on the St Ann's Allotments. It is a lively hub of educational and community life centered on local children and families.

It was set up in September 2001 on several overgrown allotments. The plots – which include mature fruit trees, a pond and a stream - were cleared and planted up by volunteers, schools and community groups.

The Orchard provides a safe, natural and exciting place for people to learn and explore. Much of our work focuses on children varying in age from nurseries to secondary schools. Educational activities include gardening, construction, management of the environment and arts and crafts. Occasionally the site provides a learning space for gardeners on-site too. We run free sessions such as tree pruning and other horticultural skills.

The Community Orchard is also a place where we hold regular Activity Days and other open events. At these we focus on looking after the site, providing informal activities (especially for children) and seasonal events such as the annual Apple Day celebrations and our Winter Extravaganza. It's a great opportunity for the public to come and explore the orchard, to try new skills, and to sample some of our food and drink around the fire.

EDIBLE ESTATES regional prototype garden

The Edible Estate was established on a highly visible triangular lawn in front of the Brookwood Estate. This rare green space is fenced off and was previously unused.

Twenty-four units at Brookwood and another sixteen in Lancaster House (another council estate) all face the triangle. Placing the garden here meant that everyone would be watching: the local gardeners would perform for their neighbors. In the centre of the dense city, the production of food would become a public spectacle.

Initially many residents were sceptical about the prospects of such a garden in this location, and they feared it would be vandalized. But there is a school across the street, which insures a steady flow of children past the garden. It was the children of the council estates who were the most excited about the garden and eager to get their hands in the dirt over the course of the three days of planting.

This garden is intended as a new model for urban agriculture. It is not a true community garden (or “allotment,” as the popular practice is referred to in Britain) with separate private plots for each gardener. It is one holistic design that also integrates spaces where people may gather; a pleasure garden made up entirely of edibles. Those who tend it will eat from it.