Circular economy: ancient populations pioneered the idea of recycling waste

The circular economy is typically seen as the progressive alternative to our wasteful linear economy, where raw materials are used to make the products that feed today’s rampant consumerist hunger, which are then thrown away. The idea of the circular economy only took off in the 1980s, but this doesn’t mean that the practices at the core of a circular economy, such as repairing, recycling, refurbishing, or repurposing, are equally novel. All of these strategies have the aim of keeping materials in use – whether as objects or as their raw components – for as long as possible. And all are hardly revolutionary.

The repurposing of objects and materials may be as old as tool use itself. In Palaeolithic times, smaller flint tools were made from old hand-axes. People in the Neolithic period had no problem reusing standing stones to construct their tombs, such as seen in Locmariaquer in France. Even ceramics, made from clay and therefore available in abundance, were frequently recycled. Old pottery was often ground down to powder and used in the clay for new pots. On Minoan Crete, this ceramic powder, known as grog, was also used to manufacture the mudbricks from which houses were built.

Read the story from The Conversation by the Assistant Professor from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Maikel Kuijpers - “Circular economy: ancient populations pioneered the idea of recycling waste.”

The Real Question for Agricultural Sustainability

Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fiber, or other plant/animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, human communities, public health and animal welfare.

The United States, for the geographical nerds out there, is surrounded and protected by two massive bodies of water: The Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Very strategic and the core for the Manifest Destiny of the 19th century.

The essence of agricultural beauty, resources and overall protection from land invasion by a neighboring nation was the main idea for the Manifest Destiny. This article is not to litigate the main purpose of that 19th century idea, but to rather bring to light one of the main pillars for that manifestation: agriculture and crops.

Read Ahmed Maneeb’s story on The Startup - “The Real Question for Agricultural Sustainability.”

Nature Inspires Climate-Friendly Architecture

Scientists who invent things often look to nature for inspiration. Their goal is to mimic biological systems in order to create new consumer products, or improve existing ones. The 1941 introduction of Velcro, for example, grew out of a Swiss engineer’s curiosity about why Burdock seeds clung to his coat — and that of his dog — when they were walking through the woods. Today, responding to the growing urgency of climate change, researchers are turning to biology for ideas to reduce emissions and save energy.

The pinecone - looking to nature for climate answers 

Cordt Zollfrank, a chemist, forest scientist and materials researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), thinks he’s found one potential source that could turn energy-sapping buildings into energy-saving ones: tree cones.

Cones produced by such trees as pines, spruce, hemlock and fir respond naturally to different degrees of humidity by opening and closing, without consuming any electrical energy in doing so. Designing window blinds based on their mechanical properties that could open and close in response to moisture — but use no energy in the process — could conserve a lot of energy. 

Many buildings (as well as homes) use motorized blinds or shades that run on plug-in electricity or batteries.

Read the Nexus Media story by Marlene Simons - “Nature Inspires Climate-Friendly Architecture.”

Industry Lawsuits Try to Paint Environmental Activism as Illegal Racket

On a bright afternoon in May 2016, two men in a silver SUV pulled into Kelly Martin's driveway. One of them, tall and beefy with a crew cut, walked up to her front door.

Amy Moas, a forest campaigner with Greenpeace, was named
as a defendant in the RICO lawsuit brought against the group
by Resolute Forest Products.

"The guy said, 'Is Joshua Martin home?' and I said, 'No, who are you?" recalled Kelly. "He said, 'I'm with a company that's talking to current and former employees of ForestEthics, and I'm wondering if he still works there’."

Joshua had left ForestEthics, renamed Stand last year, to run the Environmental Paper Network. Kelly asked to see the stranger's ID and to snap a picture on her phone. Instead, the man retreated to the SUV and "they literally peeled out of the driveway.”

Around the same time, Aaron Sanger, another former employee of Stand, also received a visit from two men asking similar questions. So did others, some of them former employees of Greenpeace.

Then, on the last day of that month, Greenpeace and Stand were hit with an unusual lawsuit brought by Resolute Forest Products, one of Canada's largest logging and paper companies, that could cost the groups hundreds of millions of dollars if Resolute wins.

Read the Inside Climate News story by Nicholas Kusnetz  - “Industry Lawsuits Try to Paint Environmental Activism as Illegal Racket.”

Richard Heinberg writes about 'Our Renewable Future'

R

ichard Heinberg, one of the world’s premiere energy analysts, recently wrote an excellent essay called ‘Our Renewable Future’ which he has now published as a Simplicity Institute Report.

It’s a fascinating discussion that reviews the current state of our energy predicament and reminds us that how we use energy is as important as how we get it.

Heinberg says: “People who pay attention to energy and climate issues are regularly treated to two competing depictions of society’s energy options.

“On one hand, the fossil fuel industry claims that its products deliver unique economic benefits, and that giving up coal, oil, and natural gas in favour of renewable energy sources like solar and wind will entail sacrifice and suffering.

“Saving the climate may not be worth the trouble, they say, unless we can find affordable ways to capture and sequester carbon as we continue burning fossil fuels.”

The complete report can be found here: “Our renewable future”.