"We call it a fence..."
tag > Regenerative
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Something is deeply wrong with how humans relate to nature
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New research aims to uncover long-term effects of glyphosate spraying on forests
Forests are complex ecosystems and dumping glyphosate on them has far-reaching impacts — some known, but most not. A forest serves many needs, glyphosate prioritizes one: commercial logging.
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The Honest Weather Prediction Service
An engraving from 15th century Germany of witches bringing down the rain Want: A weather prediction service that publicly states it is using Astrology, the I Ching and other divination techniques, to predict the weather. As an added bonus, it tells you about the implications of today's weather for your personal fortune. It would be about as effective as current weather prediction services, just far more fun and honest.
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Things Are So Bad In California That Farmers Are Employing "Water Witches"
"While water witching (dowsing) sounds a bit odd, a German study conducted in the 1990s spanned a decade that paired geologists and dowsers in Africa to drill for water and see how accurate they were. In Sri Lanka alone, drill teams drilled 691 wells under the guidance of dowsers and discovered water 96% of the time. "
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The biomass distribution on Earth
This cool paper estimates the total biomass on earth. Animals constitute 2Gt of carbon. (1 Gt=1e15 g) This is mostly marine arthropods (1 Gt) and fish (0.7 Gt). Humans just 0.06 Gt. For comparison, plants are 450 Gt.
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What does a 21st century version of Animism look like?
Animism is the world's oldest religion, starting in the Paleolithic age. Its view is that all phenomena have agency, that there exists no distinction between the spiritual & material, and that sentience exists not only in humans, but also in animals, plants, rocks, rivers, etc.
Beyond the naive & outdated interpretations of Animism as "primitive" superstition, one can think of it as one of humanities oldest still active cultural lineages. Beyond the spiritual domain, Animism has highly relevant views on socio-political, ecological & technological issues
In a sense, one can think of Animism as a *holistic framework* which elegantly encompasses ecology, culture, art, politics, technology, science & spirit. It is age old & battle proven yet still alive & in flux. Animism is not a belief system, but a world view and a value system.
Among the many positive and highly practical affordances that Animism offers us today, here are a few: It addresses the "people-in-nature" (opposite the current "people-VS-nature") question heads-on, which is critical in times of climate change & mass species extinction.
Animism is fundamentally *process-oriented* & *relations-oriented* (VS our current cult-like obsession with consumption & dead artefacts). Looking at human-environment interactions as processes and relationships is indeed the way to get out of the "people.VS.nature" trap.
And finally, by re-enchanting our worldview, Animism invites us to feel deeply at home in our own skin & reality - and not live in an constant state of alienation and fear of the "other", which results in our current pathological need to control, model & predict everything.
To conclude, i like to invite you to earnestly meditate on this: Fairies, Ents, Elfs, Gnoms, Jinns and Water Spirits are real! As real as the spirit in plants, animals & humans. Animism has much to offer for the 21st century. Let's embrace it & re-enchant our world.
Related: Animism: a belief among indigenous people, young children, or all religious people!
#Culture #Religion #Philosophy #Regenerative #Magic #Comment #History #Ideas
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Unboxing the Toolkit - survey/reflection on design toolkits by @shannonmattern
"Technosolutionist libertarianism is rooted in an assumption that kits and skills are more reliable than other people".
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Nixie system uses drones for more efficient water sampling
Municipalities regularly have to check for pollution in local waterways, often utilizing crews of workers in boats. The new Nixie system is intended to make things much quicker, simpler and ultimately cheaper, using a water-sampling drone instead.
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"A holistic approach to computing & sustainability inspired from permaculture"
