Ed Dowding

Networked intelligence

Two more quotes from Forty days of Rain

It takes no great skill to decode the world system today. A tiny percentage of the population is immensely wealthy, some are well off, a lot are just getting by, a lot more are suffering. We call it capitalism, but within it lies buried residual patterns of feudalism and older hierarchies, basic injustices framing the ...

You can not EARN more than about £1m / year. Tops.

Another great chunk from Forty Signs of Rain, by Kim Stanley Robinson. “The average surplus value created by American workers is thirty-three dollars an hour.” Anna said, “I wonder how they define surplus value.” “Profit,” Frank said. Edgardo shook his head. “You can cook the books and get rid of profit, but the surplus value, ...

A contract with our children.

99% of what follows is from Fifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson. It is a great book, much like all his others. I have only edited it in places to make it easier to read out of context. I think it makes a magnificent start.   If the scientific community were to propose a ...

Euro, systems, design..

Design to an ideology and it will fail. Design for people and it will thrive.

Permaculture principles

It seems this list can bring wisdom and insight to pretty much everything we do. Apart from the more specific ones (like ‘keep water high on the land’, but maybe just try to metaphor these as taoist haikus to trigger bewildering insights.) Relative Location Components placed in a system are viewed relatively, not in isolation. ...

Toy Story

Real democracy is rising on the horizon

The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.What is needed is a democratic alternative to the political-state system. This alternative must be built by people’s assemblies across the country, to facilitate a new constitution guaranteeing: full social and political participation a new and ...

Top 5 reasons NOT to buy organic

1. It’s too expensive (and I’ve got a family to feed.) There are two separate issues here: Is it too expensive – or does your regular shop charge too much for it? Is it too expensive – or is the other food too cheap? (Or more to the point: are you just paying the extra ...

How we feed ourselves

You may have seen a recent report saying that going meat free one day per week saves more greenhouse gas emissions than eating a fully local diet. It seems kind of dubious, doesn’t it? You’re telling me that shipping grains and fruit half way around the world has less environmental impact than raising it locally? ...

Amon Tobin visual

I would love to see this. UNfortunately it’s sold out.

A 10% strike by the 99%?

This is a work in progress. I first wrote it after Copenhagen failed to agree anything, and am in the process of updating and amending for the Occupy movement. Please get in touch if interested. Problem Sigh. Where to begin? Broadly speaking, however.. Most of our critical anatomy was never designed for the world we ...

How to make legal documents interesting

http://www.legislation.gov.uk Ok.. maybe it’s not interesting, but it’s certainly a big step towards better.

I love the Soil Association, I really do – you will rarely meet a finer bunch of sensible, noble, inspired, and passionate people than at a Soil Association conference. But boy-oh-boy has the organisation been holding them back! The Soil Association’s position and principles have been well intentioned, but the way they’ve gone about their ...

WeFirst Manifesto – Ten Core Beliefs

An inter-dependent, global community requires an expanded definition of self-interest. The future of profit is purpose. Technology is teaching us to be human again. Consumers want a better world, not just better widgets. Brands must become architects of community. Brands must become day traders in social emotion. The evolution of revolution is contribution. We cannot ...

Give And Take: a proposal for ad-hoc micro-volunteering

This was my hastily written (5 min) idea suggestion to www.seedhack.com last night: Just come from a meeting with many amazing businesses, most of whom have small tasks which they’d like completing. And they have supporters who really want to give them help. But managing the relationship takes time end effort. Maybe we can help ...

The Food Movement: getting better or worse?

Both. As food growers, sellers and eaters, we’re moving in two directions at once. The number of hungry people has soared to nearly 1 billion, despite strong global harvests. And for even more people, sustenance has become a health hazard—with the US diet implicated in four out of our top ten deadly diseases. Power over ...

UK’s first local electronic currency

This is a MAJOR step in the 21st century! The Brixton Pound was London’s first ever local currency. Now it is set to be the UK’s first independent e-currency. Visitors to independent shops will soon be able to “Pay-by-Text” using their mobile bones. thanks to a new electronic payment system called Monea. The new system, ...

(e) book publishing tools

FastPencilL Self-publish and sell your book or ebook with just a few clicks Lulu.com: now doing ebooks as well as printed ones.

Amen

The most rational way to feed ourselves is as locally as possible. This means fresh, nutritious, sustainably-produced food. Such a food system also creates jobs, livelihoods, and a strong local economy; more people know each other, education and health standards rise, crime falls, wildlife flourishes, and people are more fulfilled. Not A Supermarket