Nature has provided humans with over 300,000 species we can eat. Today, we get the majority of our calories from just a dozen plants. This monoculture approach to agriculture suffers from issues like the threat of a major collapse of food systems in case of the rise of a disease targeting one of these few species. But that is a theoretical threat. The unavoidable question is whether these few plants can feed the expanding population on the … [Read more...]
Words From the Poet Laureate: A Letter From Orpheus
Today we have a deeply touching short story, "A Letter From Orpheus," from David Tucker, the Poet Laureate of the Quantum Revolution. A Vermont-based poet, David is an insightful commentator on our internal and external cultural, spiritual and political milieu.
A Letter From Orpheus
After the poetry reading our three cars drove the Vermont forest...almost dark. At the reading there were words. Lots of words but very little music … [Read more...]Scientists discover another cause of bee deaths, and it’s really bad news
So what is with all the dying bees? Scientists have been trying to discover this for years. Meanwhile, bees keep dropping like... well, you know. Is it mites? Pesticides? Cell phone towers? What is really at the root? Turns out the real issue is really scary, because it is more complex and pervasive than thought. Scientists had struggled to find the trigger for so-called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that has wiped out an estimated 10 million … [Read more...]
What Do You Think To The Prospect Of Eating Insects?
By 2050, the UN expects that there will be almost 10 billion people on the Earth. This poses some serious practical questions, not least among which is how we'll put food into 2.5 billion or so extra tummies (especially given that we don't adequately fill all of the 7-plus billion we already have). If you're yet to hear alarming phrases like "food security" and "sustainable intensification" you've probably been living under a rock. Which is apt, … [Read more...]
Crops Can Be Made Self-Fertilizing With Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria, Making Artificial Fertilizer Unnecessary
A second Green Revolution? Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen that is necessary for plants to grow. Problem is, only a few plants like legumes (peas, beans, lentils) can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to get their nitrogen from the soil, and there's not enough of it everywhere. That's … [Read more...]
Black Magic House Built Quicker Than You Can Say “Abracadabra”
Located on the edge of a forest near Budapest, the prefabricated Black Magic House by T2.a Architects is, as its name suggests, both black and a house. The "magic" part? The home's basic structure was built in just two days, and the entire process – from sending off the digital plans to receiving the prefab parts and completing the structure – took only a week. Black Magic House is constructed from inexpensive building materials, in this case … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Prevent Food Waste at Home
Watch Your Trash
For one week, take note of what's in your trash. Don't just look at it, but analyze everything that goes in the bin or down the disposal. (If you're really serious, you might jot down your observations in a notebook.) Then adjust your habits. If you threw away half a box of stale cereal, either buy a smaller box or store cereal in an airtight container immediately after opening. If week-old leftovers are … [Read more...]Quote of the Day: 8/13/13 – H.G. Wells
"We do not want dictators, we do not want oligarchic parties or class rule, we want a widespread world intelligence conscious of itself. To work out a way to that world brain organization is therefore our primary need in this age of imperative construction." - H.G. Wells … [Read more...]
Cactus Needles Inspire New Method Of Cleaning Oil From Water
Tiny spikes of copper, inspired by cactus thorns, have the ability to remove micro-droplets of oil in water, according to Chinese researchers, and could lead to more effective cleanups of oil spills. The researchers, who noted that the cone-shaped spines of cactus can harvest water from the air and move it to their base due to surface tension and the shape of the spines, emulated that natural design function in a new development using artificial … [Read more...]
10 Ways To Make Positive Change In The World
1. Join or launch a gift economy Gift economies enable people to exchange goods, services and favours without any need for cash payment. One of the best initiatives is freecycle, a global online gifting website based on the idea that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Why throw things into landfill sites when other people in your local area could make use of them? The chances are there is already a group in your town, but if not, creating … [Read more...]
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