Thorne Webb Dreyer, Editor
RECENT POSTS
Tag Archives: Sustainability
One Family Is Changing the Face of Christmas
Colin Beavan plays with his daughter Isabellaat Washington Square Park near their home.Photo: Paul Dunn/YES! MagazineChristmas with No PresentsBy Colin Beavan / November 26, 2008 One family’s daring experiment: Christmas without all the stuff. If Christmas is about presents, then … Continue reading
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
Ecological Food For Thought … The Progress Of DestructionBy Jim Otterstrom / September 2, 2008 A friend once sent me a link to a composite photo of the nighttime lights of North America as seen from space. She found the … Continue reading
We Should All Follow Our Hearts and Minds
The old future’s gone: Progressive strategy amid cascading crisesby Robert Jensen / August 15, 2008 “The old future’s gone,” John Gorka sings. “We can’t get to there from here.”1 That insight from Gorka,2 one of my favorite singer/songwriters chronicling the … Continue reading
From Garbage to Gas Tank: Trash as Biofuel
Good for Something?With national gas prices topping $4 per gallon, bioethanol from alternative sources — including trash — is becoming increasingly feasible. Now companies say garbage-based fuel could be commercially viable within two years. Photo from Getty Images.Trash talk that … Continue reading
FILM : Michael Reynolds: "We Shoot from the Hip"
Refuse-nik: Michael Reynolds’ home in Taos, New Mexico, where he built a community of ‘earthships’ out of waste materialsEarthship Enterprise: The Ultimate Eco-Houseby Rob Sharp They are eco-friendly, bizarre-looking bolt holes, and have earned the name “earth ships” for the … Continue reading
The Sustainability Folks Are Our Comrades
SustainabilityBy Paul Spencer / July 17, 2008 Here is a diary that was posted on Open Left by Syrith last year. (Some data in my comments were under-stated, and I have better information now.) It is well-said, but, unfortunately, it … Continue reading
The Earth: Love It or Lose It, Part V
Two Potential Components of MicrogenerationBy Paul Spencer / The Rag Blog / July 7, 2008 Microgeneration may or may not present much of a solution for our increasing energy deficit; but it’s still fun, and it’s not counter-productive as a … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Alternative Energy, Environment, Solar Energy, Sustainability
Leave a comment
The Earth : Love It Or Lose It, Solar Energy Dept.
Photovoltaic electrical generation array.Solar Power to the RescueBy Paul Spencer / The Rag Blog / June 26, 2008 Paul Spencer is a former Austin activist and staff member of sixties/seventies underground newsppaper The Rag, who has been running for president … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Alternative Energy, Ecology, Economy, Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainability
Leave a comment
Inside the Solar-Hydrogen House : No More Power Bills–Ever
Power Plant: Computers, inverters and other controls help Strizki harvest as much as 90 kilowatt-hours of electricity on a sunny June day. Photo by David Biello / Scientific American.A New Jersey resident generates and stores allthe power he needs with … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Alternative Energy, Architecture, Energy, Engineering, Sustainability
Leave a comment
Mesmo’s Desert Digest : Seed and Ceremony
Petroglyphs from Willow Springs in northern Arizona. These engravings, made by Hopi Indians during ritual pilgrimages, depict the individual clan symbols of the pilgrims. Not all North American rock art is shamanistic in origin. This is especially true of rock … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Agriculture, Austin, Environment, Native Americans, Peace Movement, Sixties, Spirituality, Sustainability
3 Comments
Mesmo’s Desert Digest : From Austin to Crazy Horse
Mesmo’s desert homeboy. [This is the first installment of a regular feature coming from The Rag Blog’s new desert correspondent, Gerry, aka Mesmo. First: Getting to know you.] Hello all, I am Gerry, aka Mesmo, a septuagenarian desert rat from … Continue reading
Posted in Rag Bloggers
Tagged Austin, Music, Native Americans, Nature, Peace Movement, SDS, Spirituality, Sustainability
1 Comment
The Earth : Love it or Lose it, Part III
The following from the Eurupean Tribune is long, but very informative. There is some doubt as to the leap from capacity (energy developed under ‘standard conditions’) to portion of power available over time, but it’s probably a good ball-park estimate. … Continue reading
