North America is in just beginning to adopt floating solar technology. The US Department of Energy has been promoting the technology, but we need more project developers who can further the technology and partnerships required. Asia is much farther along with installing floating solar than we are. Floating solar is a key technology for producingContinue reading “Floating Solar and Nature Towns”
Category Archives: Development
Our food system is getting more fragile
The Central Texas food system is just 1% self-sufficient (i.e. locally supplied), and Winter Storm Uri exposed new fragilities. Supply chains for grocery stores, dependent on faraway producers, had bare shelves – if they were even open are getting more fragile. Trucks could not get through the icy streets to replenish supplies. At the endContinue reading “Our food system is getting more fragile”
We are all on microgrids now.
Winter Storm Uri revealed uncomfortable truths about the infrastructure of Central Texas. We discovered that we all live on microgrids.
New water grid risks exposed
Winter storm Uri – aka Snovid – revealed a new risk to residential water supplies in Central Texas: Our water lines, whether on private property or the city’s, are not buried deeply enough to withstand extended freezing weather.
USDA Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG)
What: USDA’s Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) provides matching funds grants (i.e. 50% reimbursement) for adding value to farm commodities. How much: Maximum $75,000 USDA award for planning projects (desk studies only) for a budget maximum of $150,000 When: Applications due March 22, 2021. Awards announced September 31, 2021. Duration: 10-12 months Planning grants areContinue reading “USDA Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG)”
Homesteading Realities
The realities of homesteading can quickly get lost in the romance of living in harmony with the land. Many of us yearn for a nurturing lifestyle that is low-budget but that makes us happy, healthy and in community with our friends and the earth. What are the options?
The Beauty of Walkable Places
What’s so great about walkable places? Walkable places give you better health and a lower cost of living. Freedom from your car means lower gas and maintenance bills, and more free time. Truly walkable places are mixed-use areas, generally with narrower lots, that feature shops and services along with residential housing. Ideally, they also offerContinue reading “The Beauty of Walkable Places”
Is Density Still OK?
Higher density means true walkability. It’s also the best way to ensure high quality of life, with good health and thriving nature nearby.
Coronavirus: Out of the Wilderness, Into Humans
We are destroying wilderness around the world as the human population expands and our systems of inequality drive people ever farther into previously unexplored areas in their efforts to survive. In this Guardian article, disease ecologist Thomas Gillespie of Emory University says, “I am not at all surprised about the coronavirus outbreak. The majority ofContinue reading “Coronavirus: Out of the Wilderness, Into Humans”
8 Emerging Lessons: From the Pandemic to Climate Action
Your behaviour changes the system. We have real choices to make and collective action can be amongst the best. We now have to reimagine our civilization over the coming decades.
