everth's blog

This is your chance to get involved in helping Wilderland, one of New Zealand’s longest running sustainable educational communities! www.wilderland.org.nz/help.html

Wilderland is to be demolished by court order of the Thames Coromandel Distric Council, court date is for The court date is set for 15 November 2010.

Wilderland on Facebook: Facebook campaign

Monbiot has delivered a rather dark assessment of the process of climate change mitigation politics.

The process is dead he summarizes.

This article by Charles H. Smith is a worthy read.

It exposes the "Walmart" (For NZ read: Warehouse) style economics and their killer effect on local economies.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug10/walmart-plantation08-10.html

Worth a read!

Thomas

I found this interesting paper by Richard Smith.

Beyond growth or beyond capitalism?
Richard Smith

NH3 or Ammonia has been used as a high energy density fuel for a long time. NASA even used it in its X15 rocket plane. NH3 can be used in modified petrol or diesel engines and probably jet engines.

NH3 has a reasonable energy density when compared to Diesel or Petrol fuel and can be safely transported and handled. It is today cheaper than gasoline or diesel at about $400 US / ton.

When spilled its no issue as NH3 in 20% dilution is used as one of the main fertilizers world wide.

Need to clean the kitchen? NH3 in appropriate solution is a great household cleaner.

An open letter to Hon. Gerry Brownlee, Minister for Energy and Resources.

Dear Hon Gerry Brownlee!

I just read Monbiot's latest article in the Guardian.

I think its a masterpiece:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/dec/14/climate-ch...

I recommend it. It defines so well where we stand in this GW debate and it looks at the turning point of humanity with clarity.

Thomas

Green Blog: “Transition Towns” Reloaded

An article written for the Coromandel Town Chronicle. September 09

A year ago, amidst the phenomenal rise of oil and gas prices, the “Transition Town” concept was introduced to Coromandel by the national co-ordinator of the movement, James Samuel from Waiheke, to a packed Hauraki House Theatre. With Oil then trading at just about US$150 per barrel and fuel prices breaching the pain level, the spectre of the world’s coming predicaments had left the realm of “maybe” and had become palpable to everyone. The world economy, until then still growing at exponential levels but fiscally leveraged to braking point, was soon after running head-long into a wall. Trillions in paper assets, mortgages, retirement funds and real estate values evaporated in giant fireworks throughout the world when it became clear that the future could be leveraged no further like a bottomless ATM machine to fund the largesse of the present. Many New Zealanders too lost some of their retirement savings when NZ’s most leveraged of the so called “Finance Companies” collapsed.

I have embarked upon converting an old (1991) Toyota Starlet to an electric neighbourhood vehicle.

My common daily driving needs in Coromandel rarely exceed 40Km. And that is often broken in two or three journeys with times at my home office in between. So a short-range electric vehicle will be a perfect solution for me.