tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.comments2023-09-25T13:50:52.743+01:00100 monkeysadrienne campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-89865256400767162672012-01-17T09:53:34.661+00:002012-01-17T09:53:34.661+00:00What a great experiment - enjoy blogging it for us...What a great experiment - enjoy blogging it for us, warts and all!PennyWalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17349150347713135136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-91956243627240331842011-12-30T18:00:30.462+00:002011-12-30T18:00:30.462+00:00Thanks for your comment. Indeed, I am encouraging ...Thanks for your comment. Indeed, I am encouraging my children to develop 'post carbon skills' ie practical things that people actually needs such as cooking, mending, plumbing as well as communications skills such as facilitation. <br /><br />Storing food needn't be expensive if you build stores up gradually, just adding one new thing at every shop. <br /><br />All the best xadrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-82410824476639242992011-12-29T23:56:53.215+00:002011-12-29T23:56:53.215+00:00Hi Adrienne,
I'm totally with you on this. O...Hi Adrienne,<br /><br />I'm totally with you on this. On the matter of being considered selfish, I would suggest that everybody has something to offer, it needn't be stores of food but skills like mending something or teaching something. Those of us with food stores (however small to start with) are a position to barter for other things which we do not have.<br /><br />It can be very expensive of course, I tend to use the local cash and carry because I'm unaware of any co-op schemes like yours, but it sounds like a terrific idea to club together, again, a community-spirited act.<br /><br />Eco xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-47522253221542795402011-12-23T17:39:00.004+00:002011-12-23T17:39:00.004+00:00Hi Adrienne,
This has echoes of the Andy Wightman...Hi Adrienne,<br /><br />This has echoes of the Andy Wightman quote in Catriona Ross's Missive From The Dark Side (on the Transition Network social Reporters' project}: <br /><br />“How is it that the Russian Mafia can buy as much land as they want in Scotland and hold it secretly in offshore tax havens in the Caribbean but a group of enterprising people in rural Scotland who are looking for land to make a home for themselves and their families cannot?"<br /><br />Different territories, mutating forms of the same underlying oppression.<br /><br />I look forward to that future you're talking about here in Suffolk too...<br /><br />all best Solstice wishes,<br />MarkMark Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08225616694537327344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-20516484254355580312011-10-28T16:39:15.450+01:002011-10-28T16:39:15.450+01:00Perhaps you can show him http://www.thestar.com/bu...Perhaps you can show him http://www.thestar.com/business/article/911071--oilsands-giant-suncor-fined-for-dumping-pollution-into-alberta-river<br /><br />and <br /><br />http://www.myessentia.com/blog/blog/2010/09/10/suncor-charged-over-oilsands-runoff-executive-uses-bad-hockey-analogy/<br /><br />and<br /><br />http://ooshew.com/blog/oil-giant-suncor-fined-275000/<br /><br />That's if he already hasn't made up his mind!Rev. Peter Doodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15095282505667909048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-56396172781612255642011-09-17T08:04:31.592+01:002011-09-17T08:04:31.592+01:00sorry Mark, the world now knows! Yes, it's dam...sorry Mark, the world now knows! Yes, it's damson jam, probably the best jam I've tasted, after blackcurrant and raspberry. Do you know you can make a delicious 'fridge jam' out of the autumn raspberries that are so abundant now, just by squishing them in a jar with sugar in the fridge - it keeps for a week or so... Just off to scrump some russet apples off an abandoned tree. Have fun! Winter will be here only too soon...adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-43630443406630177682011-09-16T13:32:56.550+01:002011-09-16T13:32:56.550+01:00Sounds like you're going great guns on preserv...Sounds like you're going great guns on preserving food, Adrienne. My mouth is watering after reading this! Is it damson jam you're talking about here on hot toast on a cold day, or another way of preserving them?<br /><br />Yesterday I collected damsons from a neighbours house - it really does take time, doesn't it? I kept picking and shaking them into a tray and it seemed to take ages to fill.<br /><br />Now for the second step, compotes, jams. I'm waiting for Charlotte to return for that, she's better at it than me. But don't tell anyone!Mark Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08225616694537327344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-48775602537631030992011-09-11T11:34:38.059+01:002011-09-11T11:34:38.059+01:00If your diploma is not accredited Adrianne, then t...If your diploma is not accredited Adrianne, then those that are tasked with the job are certainly missing something. <br /><br />I found it imspirational; thank you so much for letting us see it.Rev. Peter Doodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15095282505667909048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-8301577047267197922011-08-07T08:37:37.876+01:002011-08-07T08:37:37.876+01:00I will never, EVER look at a caterpillar in the sa...I will never, EVER look at a caterpillar in the same way again Adrienne!!Rev. Peter Doodeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15095282505667909048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-59703623095717094532011-07-19T12:12:58.823+01:002011-07-19T12:12:58.823+01:00Hi Pupak. If that's the case, that person (you...Hi Pupak. If that's the case, that person (you?) should put the maximum pressure on the local authority to provide them with land, and failing that perhaps link up with a farmer or a group or someone with land to work in exchange for food. Or move to somewhere with land. We've got to learn to follow our instincts in these things and be prepared to be brave. It could become an urgent issue.adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-18807724617640912072011-07-19T12:06:03.794+01:002011-07-19T12:06:03.794+01:00Thanks Adrienne for this piece. when I read it th...Thanks Adrienne for this piece. when I read it this question immediately arise:<br /><br />How about those who want to grow but don't have access to land?<br /><br />but it is an old and well argued problem.<br /><br />happy growing,<br /><br />Pupakensouledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09057393190316631947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-24168772012803919852011-07-18T16:39:38.693+01:002011-07-18T16:39:38.693+01:00lovely to hear from you, Mark. yes, bulk buying is...lovely to hear from you, Mark. yes, bulk buying is so much cheaper than supermarkets and I do feel secure when there's four months' worth of food in, on and under the cupboards!adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-26030659446692401782011-07-18T15:25:28.481+01:002011-07-18T15:25:28.481+01:00Spot on Adrienne and definitely not mad (probably ...Spot on Adrienne and definitely not mad (probably a bit before your time, though). I love those big sacks of grains and pulses. We joined a buying group here in the Waveney Valley recently - our first order of Suma millet and rice flakes has kept us going for several months already and was probably half the shop price. I don't know, those large sacks, they do give a sense of security (dare I use that word?), don't they..?Mark Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08225616694537327344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-91024532598125588162011-07-15T22:07:18.390+01:002011-07-15T22:07:18.390+01:00Interesting idea Ollie, can you give an example re...Interesting idea Ollie, can you give an example relating to food storing?adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-14135746701405506342011-07-14T18:01:49.464+01:002011-07-14T18:01:49.464+01:00nice piece. kind of a squirrel instinct :-)
the s...nice piece. kind of a squirrel instinct :-)<br /><br />the second of the 7 Japanese 'Wastes' or Muda, is "inventory". That is holding materials, work in progress or finished goods, without adding any value.<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_(Japanese_term)<br /><br />one might chose to do this when you could not rely on obtaining the goods later when you wanted them.<br /><br />any comments?Olly Daveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17910973731987555473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-33143130340773727842011-05-17T13:06:39.675+01:002011-05-17T13:06:39.675+01:00My comments seemed to be on and then off again. He...My comments seemed to be on and then off again. Here it is once more.<br /><br />We are indeed entitled to our view points. However, you do comment in a very public way on environmental agendas what you feel others should be doing. I don't necessarily agree with what you and Transition Town say on a number of topics and am voicing one alternative view point. (rather than simply ignoring TT which is what is seems most Lewisians do). <br /><br />I’m not saying you are trying to make poor people poorer. You might want to read that bit again. What I said as that those investing in solar would benefit from what is effectively a regressive form of taxation. Those who can’t afford panels will end up subsidising those who can.<br /><br />The essence of my difference (and my biggest disappointment) with transition town is the limitations of its vision. My worry is that all of the main initiatives really only speak to a very narrow strata of the community (private schooling, attacks on cheap goods, expensive energy investments, buy local tokens mainly fort he purchase of luxury goods). All of the big initiatives seem to appeal (in the short and medium term) to people who are better off in some way. Its more complicated than just the financial but that is part of it. Allied to this there seems to be a somewhat sanctimonious castigation of those who don't engage. I know people don’t always have to be made comfortable but this is often troubling. <br /><br />Its rather obvious to say that environmental issues are complex and often TT solutions seem to be about people feeling good rather than thinking through how to make a real difference and engage more broadly. You don’t have to agree with that (clearly you don’t) but others may legitimately question the worth of TT activities and question the amount of time and money that goes into some of them. Many seem of questionable value to put it mildly.<br /><br />You seem a bit troubled by my writing too. I wonder if this reflects an unwillingness in some areas of environmental activism to challenge a few sacred cows. <br /><br />For what it is worth my real desire is for you (and others in TT) to raise your game a bit rather than all this head-scratching about why people don’t use the Lewes pound or borrow 10 grand to buy solar panels or whatever.John McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714734967194631258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-17730856745277591832011-05-12T13:24:27.396+01:002011-05-12T13:24:27.396+01:00We are indeed entitled to our view points. However...We are indeed entitled to our view points. However, you do comment in a very public way on environmental agendas what you feel others should be doing. I don't necessarily agree with what you and Transition Town say on a number of topics and am voicing one alternative view point. (rather than tosimply ignoring TT which is what is seems most Lewisians do). <br /><br />The essence of my difference (and my biggest disappointment) with transition town is the limitations of its vision. My worry is that all of the main initiatives really only speak to a very narrow strata of the community (private schooling, attacks on cheap goods, expensive energy investments etc). All of the big initiatives seem to appeal (in the short and medium term) to people who are better off in some way. Its more complicated than just the financial but that is part of it. Allied to this there seems to be a somewhat sanctimonious castigation of those who don't engage. I know people don’t always have to be made comfortable but this is often troubling.<br /><br />Its rather obvious to say that environmental issues are complex and often TT solutions seem to be about people feeling good rather than thinking through how to make a real difference and engage more broadly. You don’t have to agree with that (clearly you don’t) but others may legitimately question the worth of TT activities and question the amount of time and money that goes into some of them. <br /><br />You seem a bit troubled by my writing too. I wonder if this reflects an unwillingness in some areas of environmental activism to challenge a few sacred cows. (One of your other commenters actually said that ditching the Lewes pound would be immoral! ) <br /><br />For what it is worth my real desire is for you (and others in TT) to raise your game a bit rather than all this head-scratching about why people don’t use the Lewes pound or borrow 10 grand to buy solar panels or whatever.John McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714734967194631258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-85787746569852467072011-05-06T15:57:57.080+01:002011-05-06T15:57:57.080+01:00Hi John
I agree, the transition will probably be m...Hi John<br />I agree, the transition will probably be more like a rocky road at best. As a scientist with strong awareness of the possible nightmare scenarios, I personally see transition more like a preferred narrative - not as the ultimate solution. Monbiot refers to this in yesterday's interesting piece. http://www.monbiot.com/2011/05/05/our-crushing-dilemmas/<br /><br />I've never looked to the collapse of capitalism as a solution to all our ills - that would be naive. But I (and many other sensible people) do see some reordering of the financial system as inevitable and to be accepted rather than resisted.<br /><br />And anyone who knows me would laugh at the idea that I'm a rich person trying to make poor people poorer. Unless you're talking about the majority of the world, which is then true of all of us.<br /><br />I'm still not sure what your point is and why what I write gets up your nose so much - surely we're all entitled to our own points of view and to grow our vegetables without fear of attack?adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-67830504232302609242011-05-05T14:24:39.175+01:002011-05-05T14:24:39.175+01:00I am saying that there will be no Transition (othe...I am saying that there will be no Transition (other than one from oil to coal) and that the primary dangers of climate change come from a surfeit of fossil fuels rather than an absence of them.<br /><br />The problem with the TT ideology is I think that your solutions are a bit mixed up. The fall of capitalism as a result of resource issuse is not going to happen any time soon. The trouble with Transition initiatives is that they often make most sense in this rather questionable version of the future (e.g. the Lewes Pound, Solar power, a land based economy). I'm afraid this often comes off as rich people telling poor people to make sacrifices.John McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714734967194631258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-92051043996034546922011-05-03T20:00:52.227+01:002011-05-03T20:00:52.227+01:00...Or rather, are you saying that there is no need......Or rather, are you saying that there is no need for transition and that we're all going to muddle through fine. Or that there is a problem and that I haven't identified it correctly?adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-84404511677628663092011-05-03T19:56:04.956+01:002011-05-03T19:56:04.956+01:00I read Monbiot's article with interest and ten...I read Monbiot's article with interest and tend to agree with him on this issue - none of the scenarios is pretty. Economic collapse could lead to chaos or a fascist state; it's not something I'd welcome. That's why I prefer the idea of seeking a managed community-level transition. I repeat, I'd really like to hear what your solution would be.adrienne campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12328146492829739122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-71620491823777560022011-05-03T13:34:55.143+01:002011-05-03T13:34:55.143+01:00This is not really intended as a comment on your a...This is not really intended as a comment on your article but as a more general comment on your stance. You've probably come across this article by George Monbiot from yesterday. I think he is basically calling into question your whole model of the collapse of capitalism as a result of declining resources (something like the point I made to you recently. <br /><br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/02/environmental-fixes-all-greens-lostJohn McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714734967194631258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-39075731114050339622011-04-20T17:35:33.164+01:002011-04-20T17:35:33.164+01:00I can never understand how it is possible to make ...I can never understand how it is possible to make a sensible argument for Nuclear being a part of our energy future. Quite aside from its poor safety record, it takes at least 10 years to commission, build and get a nuclear power station on stream, which is then subject to the issues of uranium being becoming scarcer and hence more expensive.<br /><br />As John mentioned our energy problems are rather imminent, with a large 'energy gap' between supply and demand starting to emerge in the next few years. So investing all of our resources in an energy source 10 years away, that isn't going to solve the problems for very long doesn't seem like the wisest of plans. <br /><br />In terms of renewables, the UK has the potential to meet all of its electricity needs through renewables, but to realise this fast enough is going to need as much investment in as many different types of renewables as we possibly can. Solar PV is an important part of this as it is currently one of the more developed technologies. All of the others also deserve our attention as well, such as tidal stream and wave energy. <br /><br />I think that the problem is so huge that we need to take every chance we can get, providing that it is going to continue to be of use in the future (unlike nuclear and unconventional Fossil Fuels).Kerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00764619334916067561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-69467482574924318652011-04-20T09:32:39.973+01:002011-04-20T09:32:39.973+01:00John, you seem to be misunderstanding the purpose ...John, you seem to be misunderstanding the purpose of FiTs. They're not intended to subsidise PV generation in order to make it viable. They're intended to kick-start an industry. <br /><br />Once the industry is up and running, scale and competition should bring down installation costs. FiTs will then be reduced for new installs, and the industry will find ways to capitalise new installs. This government's Green Deal should help with that capitalisation.<br /><br />In Germany FiTs have been so productive that 17GW of capacity is in place, including 7GW last year. FiTs on other technologies are lower there, and now that their solar industry clearly dwarves ours, it's unsurprising that Germany thinks FiTs have done the job well and can be scaled back.<br /><br />Here, we've also seen higher uptake than anticipated. So, our government is reviewing the tariffs, with a view to reducing them for larger schemes. I'd like to tariffs protected for community schemes, where the return on investment is spread across the community. So, I'd argue that the thresholds should be related not to the size of the scheme, but the personal investment.Ian Eiloarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09077214178991724266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890197202528203849.post-44806018987480711272011-04-19T17:16:27.159+01:002011-04-19T17:16:27.159+01:00Just as a final note. This site has some interesti...Just as a final note. This site has some interesting figures on Solar production.<br /><br />I read the main conclusions seem to be as follows.<br /><br />http://lightbucket.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/a-second-look-at-solar-power-on-roofspace/<br /><br />Solar can potentially meet (indeed exceed) UK electricity needs in summer (if panel coverage is 100% but is miles away in winter (only a 5th).<br /><br />Its also a long, long way from being cost effective compared with other sources which was one of my original contentions.<br /><br />Have a lovely time patting yourselves on the back tonight. I still can't help feeling that the claims are somewhat over optimistic.John McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16714734967194631258noreply@blogger.com