Info, news & debate
Recent Posts
Matthew Slater’s review of recent money news
The Credit Commons protocol was written by Matthew Slater. It’s the ‘language’ that allows groups all over the world to connect and interact. It’s a bit like the rules of chess – it doesn’t matter what kind of chess pieces or board people are using, as long as they abide by the universally-accepted rules of chess, they can play together.
Tulips, chill and climate change
Tulip bulbs are back in garden centres – read about how climate change, and the chill in the air, can affect tulips. Get hints and tips to help you make the best of this garden favourite.
Join ‘Way Out Economics’ for a new economic system
Bristol Pay and the Credit Commons Society have joined forces to organise a gathering of practitioners, thought leaders and funders focused on nurturing a new economic system. The event will be hybrid, with the ‘in real life’ element being in Bristol.
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?
Would sociocracy work for your organisation?
This is part 2 of an interview with Ted Rau, co-founder of Sociocracy For All. Part 1 (‘What is sociocracy’) is here. Now we’re talking about whether sociocracy might be a good idea for your organisation / business.
Some unusual finds in your garden
Unusual finds in your garden to support skincare
What is sociocracy? With Ted Rau of Sociocracy For All
Here I’m talking with Ted Rau, one of the co-founders of of Sociocracy For All, and leader of the general circle for that organisation.
How To make cider vinegar
To make cider vinegar we need to start with a fully fermented dry cider with a minimum 5% alcohol content. Sulphur dioxide should not have been added for storage, because this will inhibit the conversion to acetic acid.
How perpetual GDP growth is killing fishing
Stephen Coghlan, associate professor of freshwater fisheries ecology at the University of Maine, and Maine chapter director for the Center for the Advancement of the Steady-state Economy, explains how the quest for perpetual GDP growth is damaging fish and fishing.
Why eat raw foods?
A fast synopsis and gentle reminder of the power and necessity of incorporating raw foods in your diet for health and vibrancy…
Designing your garden for extreme heat
Many perennials, shrubs and trees – particularly newly planted – are going to struggle in the kind of conditions we’re faced with as I write – record high temperatures after months of low rainfall. What can we do to help them?
How to spread the idea of (much) more radical change?
We need system change, no less (i.e. system replacement, rather than trying to tweak this fundamentally damaging system). Here, I want to talk more about how I came to this conclusion, and what the route to radical change might be.
Painting with limewash paint
Using, creating and choosing limewash for your home.
Can governments solve the climate problem?
Short answer: no, because governments are fixated on maximising GDP growth, which is the root cause of the climate crisis, and which far outweighs any (rare) beneficial legislation that they might introduce.
Consider gifting land to the Ecological Land Coop to support agroecological farming
At Low impact we love to hear about our companion organizations’ successes, this reblog from the ecological land coop describes why we are celebrating. The ecological land coop have been inspired to try a new approach in their campaign to reawaken our rural economies after they were gifted land by two very noble ecologically minded farmers in Wales…
New tools and ideas for building the commons economy
The Commons economy is not, like capitalism, built around the private ownership of the means of production – but neither is it, like socialism, built on the state ownership of those means. It’s about reinstating the commons, that have been gradually enclosed over the centuries, first by the state and more recently by capitalists.
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.
Communicating about degrowth, with Mark Burton of Steady-state Manchester
Constant GDP growth causes ecological damage – there’s the constant expansion in the use of energy and materials, and the by-products of their use.
Grace Rachmany: comparing ideas for a moneyless economy, Part 2
Part 2 of an interview with Grace Rachmany, of DAO Leadership and Voice of Humanity. She has some very interesting ideas around currency design and building a new economy based on community / reputation. As with all our interviewees, we think you’ll be interested in her ideas, and what she’s up to.
Is it time to rethink the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?
Time to rethink the UN’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals’: the concepts of ‘development’ and ‘progress’ based on eternal GDP growth are flawed.