This is not "socialism" – Semantic arguments are both catastrophically boring, and necessary. What does "socialism" mean? Is the Wikipedia socialist? Is the Internet inherently socialist? Do the ideas associated with "socialism" even have meaning when considered in the context of informational goods that once produced, are non-rivalrous and non-excludable? Why are so many people unwilling (unable?) to try and understand what a speaker or writer actually means, instead tending to just attach all their own cultural baggage to the words they use. All important words subtly change their meaning… (tagged: economicscapitalismpoliticsinternetsocialismcopyrighttechnologylessig )
bikewise – Hooray!!! Somebody implemented basically exactly what I wanted in a bicycle issue reporting system, and licensed under Creative Commons to boot! It lets you report hazards, crashes, and thefts, register your bike, subscribe by e-mail or RSS to changes in your area, etc. Absolutely fantastic, clean, and easy to use. I'll populate it single handedly for Pasadena if I have to! (tagged: bicycletransportationmapswikigoogleplanningpolicy )
These little woodland houses make me think of witches. In a good way.
On a somewhat related unusual housing note, it looks like Garbage Warrior, a movie about Michael Reynolds and his Earthships has finally made its way to Netflix. They’re not biodegradable, but we do have to do something with all those tires!
High Plains Aquifer Dwindles The fossil waters underlying the Great Plains, left over from the Pleistocene, are giving out. We done sucked 'em dry. Any hydrologist could have told you it was in the works. We'll see the end of fossil ground water pumping in the 21st century, whether we like it or not.
Communicating sustainability: lessons from public health Some lessons from public health for sustainability and climate campaigners. Our choices are largely not our own -- context and norms are far more powerful forces for behavioral change than abstract attitudes. Most people just stick with the default settings. We need to change the default settings.
Every drone strike in Pakistan visualised A simple but effective visualization of all the drone strikes in Pakistan, from 2004 to the present. 3100+ people dead, 1.5% of them "high value" targets. More than 75% alleged combatants (males of plausibly military age... 14+ years old) or "other". 5% children. 17% "civilians".
The Water Footprint of Crops A fairly exhaustive accounting of the water embodied in various crop products in a 2011 paper by Mekonnen and Hoekstra. For each kg of rice, 14,000 liters of water. For each kg of beans, 5000 liters of water. Wow.
The NYT on Green Muni Utility Efforts A piece largely referencing Boulder, talking about cities trying to wrest control of their electricity systems from major utilities. At this point I think I'll probably find any media coverage of this process hopelessly one dimensional, but still, it's nice to know they care.
There is a cobwood roundhouse in wales, http://www.thatroundhouse.info/ , that may not be as pretty, but is equally low impact and cool.
These little woodland houses make me think of witches. In a good way.
On a somewhat related unusual housing note, it looks like Garbage Warrior, a movie about Michael Reynolds and his Earthships has finally made its way to Netflix. They’re not biodegradable, but we do have to do something with all those tires!