Yes, all of them! I thought I'd draw your attention to this succinct BBC article by John Sloman on economic growth; what's it for? and the meaning of GDP. It's a reasonable explanation, you can see that, and a graceful walk around to see what it looks like from the other side and, in conclusion, even the economist can't state for sure if it's necessary - it may be necessary but certainly not sufficient. We're going to hell in a shopping cart. ~ BBC Magazine: Why Do We Need Growth? Prof. John Sloman

I told you so! In a previous journal about wasted fruit left to rot or being chucked away in gardens all over our country, I mentioned there must be a scheme whereby sane people who don't mind their apples and pears having spots, or being funny shapes, and not coming double wrapped in plastic could make good use of all these unwanted autumnal windfalls. Well there is! And it's in Sheffield. It's a project called Abundance - what a perfect name - and I've provided a link to a website below - and what a superb looking website it is too. The Abundance group was featured last evening on the inspirational Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage. What especially intrigued me was the use of a small, manual apple press to make fresh jui...

Are you interested in the environment?  Would you like to become involved in an ecological project AND live and work in warm and sunny Andalucia? Then we want to hear from you! Ecoforest is a Vegan permaculture project seeking new members and investors, especially those who would like to live in Spain for several weeks/months at a time or run retreats/courses or help with the running  and  promotion of this Project. Please contact me for further information at DrGinaShaw@aol.com

In the light (or should that be dark) of peak oil and global warming, it is (or was) my stated intention to convert from petrol to bio-diesel. Clearly, I'm not afraid to smell of chips or doughnuts as I make my way around town. Trouble is, I bumped into a chap called Steve who runs Gaspower UK Ltd, a Devon-based firm who carry out LPG (liquid petroleum gas) conversions. Naturally, he warned me of the dangers of bio-diesel (proven carcinogen) and suggested I look at LPG - promoting it as the hands-down winner - environmentally and economically. Please let me know if you know better, different or can advise this confused motorist... traydio pod on LPG transition motoring group on CopperStrings

On 10th September 2008 at Maidstone Crown Court a ruling was given which favoured the planet and the natural world including humankind. Six Greenpeace activists were cleared of causing around £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station. Their defence argument was that their occupation of the power station prevented property damage (caused by climate change). This is a pioneering case in which preventing such property damage has been used as part of a “lawful excuse” in legal defence. The Schumacher College, in Devon UK,  is welcoming five legal experts on the growing and topical legal specialism of Earth Jurisprudence or wild law, to consider how the legal system and other forms of governance may be harnessed to pro...

(image: fancy looking science graphic; suitably cryptic and impressive) I'm making an audio pod "What would you do if I gave you a God particle?" and have been asking people in Exeter city centre if they know what the large hadron collider is. It is of course that European scientific experiment which could have destroyed the planet yesterday (or was that just a ruse to get the attention of the world's media?). Fact is, we're still here. But did they - the scientists involved - manage to re-create the moment after the Big Bang? Was it worth the £2.5 billion investment and if I gave you a God Particle for Christmas, would you know what to do with it? Personally, I think it's a disgrace. An indefensible and immoral waste of cash, reso...

Should we ever look back on the the 20th century as that quaint time when we flew all over the world in climate-changing aeroplanes, I hope - by then - we'll have found a new way to experience that very positive aspect of travel - the mind-broadening bit that comes from finding oneself in a very different culture. I've been lucky enough to visit some extraordinary places, and on many an occasion, delighted in the ordinariness of daily life in another part of the world that's very different - or even only slightly different - from my own. I really hope my kids will be able to get some sense of what life is like on the other side of the world and enjoy that we're-all-the-same-underneath-it-all connection with other folks, without ruining...

I took the puppy out this morning, across the fields, and down by the river because she's a lab and labs have an affinity for water. It was raining too, she didn't mind that either and if you don't go out because it's raining right now in England, when do you go out? So we went. On the way home along the road I found a bucket of apples on a low wall tucked beneath a hedge. There was a rain-soaked, hand-written sign beside it saying, COOKING APPLES, HELP YOURSELF. Please, do not take bucket! They were all shapes , sizes, and shades of green. Knobbly, flecked, some with spots and some with marks where they'd touch against a twig or another fruit while growing, but all firm and perfectly fit for consumption. I f...

Trehalose has been around since the beginning of time and is so intricately woven into the fabric of life itself that it may yet become one of the great discoveries of our time. When you see the dry arid desert landscapes it seems that the place is bereft of life. Little do we know that when the rains fall, sometimes years later, the desert springs to life and the seemingly dead wilderness becomes a vast array for plants and flowers with the brightest of colours and shapes. The seeds of life lay dormant in the sand and rocks for years, sometimes 50 years or more, until the rains come. The mystery of how fragile seeds can last so long in the extremes of heat and cold and extreme dryness has now begun to be understood. Trehalose seems ...

If you've seen my recent output (see esp. traydio), you'll see a Derrick Jensen theme emerging. Basically, I'm staggered and inspired by his work in equal measure. There are many references to his work across the web, but one notable link is via the 'Americans who tell truth' site, which features the delightful portraits of Robert Shetterly. This wonderful, beautiful site describes Derrick Jensen as "a leading voice of cultural dissent. He explores the nature of injustice, how civilizations devastate the natural world, and how human beings retreat into denial at the destruction of the planet. His work examines the central question, 'If the destruction of the natural world isn’t making us happy, then why are we doing it?' " ...