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On your trike!
Tim Dowling, Guardian
They’re touted as an eco-friendly alternative to the family car. But how practical is the new breed of three-wheeler?
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I never thought I would need a lesson on how to ride a tricycle. I graduated from three wheels to two nearly 40 years ago – how hard could it be to go back? And yet here I am, slowly pedalling in a cautious circle outside my own front door.
“When you turn, make sure the weight is on the inside please,” says Andrea Casalotti of Velorution, the London distributor of Christiania trikes. Tricycles of one form or another have been used as delivery vehicles in Europe and the UK since Victorian times. More recently they have become a popular form of urban transport on the continent, and it’s hoped they could take off as an eco-friendly rival to the family car in Britain. The machine I’m riding comes from Denmark, where it has been a standard mode of travel for 30 years, but for the initiate there’s a lot to learn.
The main innovation with the modern trike is that the two wheels are at the front rather than the back, on either side of a box containing a seat (and a seatbelt) for children.
(23 April 2009)
Ditching shampoo a dirty little beauty secret
Melissa Dahl, MSNBC
An underground, eco-friendly hair trend finds followers and fights frizzies
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Andrea Lynch can’t exactly remember the last time she shampooed her hair. Maybe it was last summer? No, more like September. She thinks.
For most Americans, the idea of skipping shampoo for even a day is enough to make us feel a little itchy. But some hair stylists and dermatologists say going a few extra days between shampoos — or ditching the stuff entirely — could actually benefit your tresses.
It’s a bit counterintuitive, but those who’ve tried it are quick to brag about the improved condition of their hair. “I’m thrilled with it; my hair’s very shiny and it’s just thick,” says 34-year-old Lynch, who lives in South Vienna, Ohio.
(23 April 2009)
Again the theme – consumerism is counter-productive. -BA
Studying open air museums for insights
Thomas Christiansen, Energy Bulletin
In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Energy decline and resilience
As the energy inputs need to keep to our economy running at speed grow dearer, we will prioritise, we will economise, we will rely on the new sources of power and the old. We will develop new technologies and processes. We will stop engaging in newly uneconomic activities. We will stop engaging in wasteful activities, of which there are too many to mention. All of these measures will keep the economy running at some speed, but the question is, at the core of the system, will it be sufficient? At the margins, as we adjust, there will be many locally contained system failures. These will bring hardship to the people of various nations, geographies and cities. The question of coping and resilience in the medium term will come down to many factors.
Many have suggested that traditional trade skills such as farming, carpentry, cobbling, sewing, weaving, animal husbandry and gardening, just to name a few, will be in high demand. I my view, this will not be universal. It will depend upon where you live and the personal level of economic dislocation. In areas especially hard hit by energy decline, these skills will be in high demand. In areas that avoid severe systemic dislocation, the need for these skills will be confined to people most personally affected.
The history of man is a series of conspiracies to win from nature some advantage without paying for it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Learning from the past
Open air museums offer a multitude of insights. They reconstruct small economic systems of the 17th, 18th or 19th centuries. At a macro level, what strikes me is that those systems were surprisingly complex and relied on dozens of different trades to function properly. On a micro level, each trade required a multitude of skills that are far from trivial. In fact, one could argue that it is the skills required for modern life which are trivial. German TV put an urban family from Berlin in a typical Black Forrest farm house as of 1902 for six months. They filmed their experience and produced the miniseries “” Schwarzwaldhaus 1902, which won a number of awards. The family put in a very good effort and adjusted to a number of hardships. To me, the sobering outcome was that they would have had to mortgage the farm in the first winter to buy food.
Museum villages or open air museums often have rotating exhibits and courses where different trade skills are showcased and visitors can try their hand. The museums often also sell products made on site. In short, they offer a vivid experience that gives important perspectives on the mostly forgotten skills. To quote Teddy Roosevelt: “I believe that the more you know about the past, the better you are prepared for the future.“
Does it mean we are going there again? In my view, probably not. Humanities’ brief stint with fossil fuels has allowed us to amass enough knowledge to avoid going back in time. But this knowledge, coupled with fossil fuel depletion and climate change also means that the future certainly will not look like our present either. We will have to use all our collective smarts and efforts, along with a solid perspective on our past, to navigate the upcoming rapids.
To locate open air museums:
Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Wikipedia List of European Open Air Museums (in German)
Wikipedia Open Air Museums
(22 April 2009)
As a long-time historical “reenactor” and living history museum volunteer, I have often thought it would be good to link these groups up with Transition initiatives’ “reskilling” efforts. -KS
UPDATE (Apr 25) John O. Anderson (editor of Unconventional Ideas) writes:
I think that article is right on target, but as a traditional museum docent, I would add enclosed museum with exhibits including information about tools, shelter, food, basketry, etc., can provide equally valid insights to assist us in the future.
