Esra Froese's Blog (5)

I see myself as an educated person, I don't know what I would be doing, but I would be living as much off the grid as possible, growing my own food, making my own electricity, etc. I would have lots of land, far away from an urban center, because that is where infighting over food and fuel would occur. I would also move a lot, to different places, based on my own desires and food requirements.

Michael Pawlyn is taking a cradle to cradle approach to making off-the-grid structures. Using materials like ETFE, recycled cardboard and salt, he is making water-generating greenhouses in the Sahara, evaporating, hence desalinating, the water. The water grows plants in the shade of solar panels, and the excess water is used to revitalize the surrounding area. There is also a plan to build a restaurant in the middle of a roundabout in London, using kitchen waste to (eventually) feed the animals… Continue

We're eating boiled potatoes, venison, carrots and fresh herbs. The potatoes are the last from the root cellar, they were grown in the community garden the previous summer. The venison was taken from an area of forest densely populated with deer, in late November. The deer was specifically chosen, an older buck that we had seen in years past. He was about five, past reproductive prime, to maximize the possible size of the population the next season. The fresh herbs and carrots were grown in the… Continue

Canada, while having food shortages internally, imports everything we need in excess. We have lots of livestock, canola, potatoes and grains, but fresh vegetables are rarely available in many cities because the climate isn't quite right. Tomatoes come from California, bananas from Mexico, and so on. Solutions as seen in dry, sunny places, using greenhouses to evaporate seawater, purifying it and growing plants in the moist environment of the greenhouse. In cooler climates in… Continue

PAUL POLAK-#5

THINK LIKE A CHILD

I think that children can solve some of the worlds most pressing problems. Many children have wild dreams of inventions that could make their own lives easier. The ideas are not quite done, but they are good, optimistic ideas.