Info, news & debate
Low-impact living
Earth Overshoot day and the importance of low impact living
Today (August 2nd) is Earth Overshoot day. Not heard of this? It means that between January 1st and August 2nd our use of Earth’s resources is equivalent to what it can regenerate in a year. Our demand on nature exceed it’s biocapacity. Sadly, since 1971 this date has crept forward as we continue to live …
Surviving the Future 2023: deep dive for anyone concerned about what’s coming
In these tumultuous times, it’s good to pull back and think together — to share conversation — curated by experts and in the company of some of the most compelling people who have been thinking about these issues for a long time.
Can running be low-impact?
Ultra-runner Damian Hall tells Low-Impact how his sport can be sustainable and low-impact.
Fighting our food waste habit
How improving our food waste habit can save us money and reduce our carbon footprint.
How to ripen your Halloween pumpkins
Getting your pumpkins ripe and ready for Halloween!
The transport challenge – beyond electric cars
With the sale of new petrol and diesel cars set to be banned in the UK by 2030 the electric car market is ready to skyrocket, but does replacing like-with-like go far enough? Joel Rawson looks at the benefits and impacts of electric vehicles and asks how we can go beyond electric cars.
How much trouble are humans really in, and what can we do about it?
I’m inviting you to come on a journey with me. In an attempt to answer the question above, I’m going to research and write a series of blog articles (including interviews with key people), from which I’ll produce a book, and re-structure the Lowimpact website, including our message.
Badly performing heat pumps?
John Cantor from HeatPumps.co.uk asks the question: Are some heat pumps performing as badly as various recent stories have been reporting?
Some unusual finds in your garden
Unusual finds in your garden to support skincare
Reflections on building the ‘Commons’ economy
Lowimpact has been around since 2001, and we’ve provided lots of ways to help people live more sustainably. We’re going to also be focusing on how to build the ‘commons’ economy in future, as a viable alternative to the status quo.
We’re taking on a paid intern: you, maybe?
We’re looking for a paid intern. Contact us if you think this might be you, and please do pass it on to anyone you think might be a likely candidate. We initially have up to £600 per month available for the right person, depending on how much time you can put in – and there will be opportunities for you and others to bring in more income to pay for more work for you to do.
How not to build a movement, as demonstrated by Chris Saltmarsh
We thought you might like this extraordinary defence of Deep Adaptation by Matthew Slater. Last year, he and Extinction Rebellion co-founder Skeena Rathor, authored a chapter in Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos; last month it was reviewed by newcomer Chris Saltmarsh, the champion of Jeremy Corbyn’s Green New Deal proposals and author of ‘Burnt’.
Where are we headed? (‘physics doesn’t negotiate’): Shaun Chamberlin
At Lowimpact we’re interviewing people who are working to build a new kind of world. We want to promote what they’re doing, and find ways to work together. Today I’m talking with Shaun Chamberlin.
What kind of work do we want to do? Is working with our hands passé?
There’s an approach to life that sees craft jobs, or smallholding and food production, including baking, brewing and beekeeping, as well as any kind of job that involves manual work and dexterity as somehow retrograde and passé, and that ‘work’ now means mainly putting on a suit and travelling to an office to do something-or-other …
John Thackara: What does the future hold for humanity?
This is part 1 of a conversation with John Thackara – senior fellow of the Royal College of Art, visiting professor at Tongji University, Shanghai, founder and director of the Doors of Perception sustainable design conferences, and author of many books, including How to Thrive in the Next Economy.
Help Lowimpact.org become a wiki, to provide more (and more relevant) information for visitors
We’ve been liaising with Simon Grant, of the P2P Foundation Wiki, and making plans for turning Lowimpact.org into a wiki. We already have a network of specialists who provide information for our topics and respond to visitors’ queries. We want to expand this network, as well as the number of topics we cover.
Post-covid: ‘getting back to normal’ is not just a bad idea – it’s suicidal
There’s been a lot of talk about ‘thanking’ coronavirus for giving us the breathing space to re-evaluate, and for giving nature some breathing space too. This isn’t one of those articles. I don’t find it compassionate to thank a virus that’s killing thousands of people, and closing millions of small businesses, allowing Amazon to hoover …
Coming together to build a new economy: Matthew Slater, barefoot economist and Credit Commons co-designer, Part 2
In part 1 I described why a resilient economy needs be to separate from the failing capitalist juggernaut and that we need to start by finding new economic partners from without the Market.
Starting from scratch: Matthew Slater, barefoot economist and Credit Commons co-designer, Part 1
Donald Trump recently derided Greta Thunberg and everyone pleading with government to heed environmental science as ‘doomsayers’. The more imminent peak oil or environmental collapse appear, the more intransigent our political system seems to be. Whatever the reasons for this, responsible citizens can only accomplish so much while the political and economic winds are blowing …
11 days left to support a collaborative new online ethical lifestyle toolkit
We hear from our friends at the Permaculture Association about a new ethical lifestyle toolkit in the making alongside Ethical Consumer, and how you can help make it a reality by supporting their Crowdfunder campaign ahead of 26 January. We’re particularly excited about this one! It’s over to Jemma to tell us more…