Ed Dowding

Blogging from the Soil Association conference

I’m going to be blogging from the Soil Association Annual Conference on Wednesday and Thursday this week. This years theme is Food and the Big Society (pun quite possibly intended, I’m not sure), addressing the vital role that food can play in making us healthier, more connected to our communities, reducing our carbon footprint, and ...

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name? Hopefully quite a lot, because I just stumbled across this, and I like the sound of it. DOWDING: The given name is a derivative of the Olde English verb “dugan”, to be of use, avail, and was developed from an earlier byname or nickname, such as “the useful or helpful one”. ...

It’s spring. Plant something. Feel good.

Two lovely services I’ve written about before in various places, but mainly here. Click the images for their links.

When is food security going to become an issue for you, too?

A polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, covering 426 miles, animal researchers were astonished to discover. And the scientists studying bears around the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska and Canada, claim this endurance feat could be a result of climate change. “This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through ...

Pay more for your food

I suspect a few people reading this may have seen a new series about farming which started on BBC2 today, which is about making a successful business from a smallholding. Over the next few weeks I’m going to write about what this means, and why so many good, organic farmers find it such a struggle ...

How to make your savings work harder

We’re all looking for ways to “do our bit” with less effort, hence the popularity of such simple actions like taking your own bags, buying organic, eating less meat, cycling more and so on. If you have any financial savings, here’s a few simple things you can do which only take 20 minutes to do ...

Fish, Forests, and the 21st Century commons

An extract from a letter I’ve just written to my MP, George Freeman, the PPS to Gregory Barker as Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change. In the meantime I wonder if I might press home one or two contemporary issues? Firstly you are no doubt aware of the “Hugh’s Fish Fight” campaign. ...

Superstruct future forecasting game

I can’t believe I’ve only just heard of this. Superstruct is a forecasting game designed to anticipate new ways of being / doing this human being thing on planet Earth. It was massively multiplayer and played by more than 7000 people from September – November, 2008. The Institute for the Future published the results. Some ...

Gaming for a better world.

It’s all just a game, really, this whole life business. We’re in it for a good time, to be fulfilled, amused, creative, challenged, active, careful, and much more. In games we often perform better if the pressure is off. So too in life. Relaxing into it and knowing that one way or another it’s pretty ...

Reasons to be cheerful: Peak Phosphorous

Graphs like this make me very happy because they hint that thing might all work out OK. via Peak Phosphorus: the sequel to Peak Oil. I’m sure you know that phosphorous is one of the critical components to the most abundantly used fertilisers. I’m sure you’ll also know that it’s what causing algal blooms, feeding ...

Give me half a chance and I’d be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle

In man’s evolution he has created the cities and the motor traffic rumble, but give me half a chance and I’d be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle. Quite a fun little thing from the Darwin pages at the Open University which allows you to take a photo and see yourself as ...

Time to use those ‘insurance files’ on Rupert Murdoch?

Julian Assange Says He Has ‘Insurance Files’ on Rupert Murdoch. If he does, now seems like a good time to use them: The BBC have just revealed that Ofcom thinks there are big problems with Murdoch’s BSkyB power grab. Their report says the Competition Commission needs to be involved. But Jeremy Hunt is refusing to ...

Today's hero: Mark Kennedy

The trial of six green campaigners has collapsed after an undercover policeman who had infiltrated their group offered to give evidence on their behalf. via BBC News – Trial collapses after undercover officer changes sides. What a dude! Goes in to find out if anything bad is going on, does his job, a few protests ...

EU organic food push

The European Union (EU) is co-funding a $2.8m (£1.8m) publicity campaign to convince UK residents that organic food is good. According to the industry body, the Organic Trade Board (OTB), the aim is to democratise organic foods and make people aware of their benefits. In other words, the OTB wants people to buy more organic ...

First petrol, then energy – now food prices skyrocket

Growing populations, rising affluence in Brazil, Russia, India and China, and crop failures caused by extreme weather have pushed up the prices of wheat, sugar, cotton and many other household staples. So far, bread, breakfast cereals and clothing have become more expensive – but the full effects of the cost of raw materials have not ...

Twixtmas

Twixtmas is a brilliant opportunity. A significant part of the population is on holiday and has free quality time to do something. Twixtmas.

The Search for Meaning: Part XIVC

Here’s some fun data from the NEF to play with. We should just move to Norway, Switzerland, or Ireland, really. It just goes to show that mountains and space (not lebensraum) are what a body needs.

Dan & Dan’s Festive WikiLeaks Song

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWlxfxWicm8&feature=player_embedded Dan and Dan » Blog Archive » Dan & Dan’s Festive WikiLeaks Song.

Round of good things this week

A rather lovely looking place called Old Hall Community which is looking for residents and volunteers, and a sustainability centre based at Llanfyllin Workhouse. A few interesting things in citizen reporting and community action: Help Me Investigate is a place where you can collaborate with other people to investigate things. Who’s Lobbying answers questions for ...

Human Culture through language

A team from Harvard has been studying Google Book’s record of human culture, spanning six centuries and seven languages. It shows vocabularies expanding and grammar evolving. It contains stories about our adoption of technology, our quest for fame, and our battle for equality. And it hides the traces of tragedy, including traces of political suppression, ...