Beyond GDP: New Measures for a New Economy (report)

BeyondGDP.pdf-->Download

Article available here

Unprecedented, Human-Made Trends in Ocean's Acidity

Peach colored soft coral (Dendronephthya sp.) in Komodo National Park. Photo: Nhobgood Nick Hobgood

"In some regions, the man-made rate of change in ocean acidity since the Industrial Revolution is hundred times greater than the natural rate of change between the Last Glacial Maximum and pre-industrial times," emphasizes Friedrich. "When Earth started to warm 17,000 years ago, terminating the last glacial period, atmospheric CO2 levels rose from 190 parts per million (ppm) to 280 ppm over 6,000 years. Marine ecosystems had ample time to adjust. Now, for a similar rise in CO2 concentration to the present level of 392 ppm, the adjustment time is reduced to only 100 -- 200 years." 

On a global scale, coral reefs are currently found in places where open-ocean aragonite saturation reaches levels of 3.5 or higher. Such conditions exist today in about 50% of the ocean -- mostly in the tropics. By end of the 21st century this fraction is projected to be less than 5%. The Hawaiian Islands, which sit just on the northern edge of the tropics, will be one of the first to feel the impact. 

The study suggests that some regions, such as the eastern tropical Pacific, will be less stressed than others because greater underlying natural variability of seawater acidity helps to buffer anthropogenic changes. The aragonite saturation in the Caribbean and the western Equatorial Pacific, both biodiversity hotspots, shows very little natural variability, making these regions particularly vulnerable to human-induced ocean acidification. - Sciense Daily

Read the whole article: Unprecedented, Human-Made Trends in Ocean's Acidity

Pattern Inspiration from Norwich

This week Transition Norwich has posted three articles on the Pattern Language, all written by Simeon Jackson. Thanks!

• Changing the social logic through design (on Energy Bulletin here)
• Places are made of people (and bricks)
• The patterns of a low-carbon life

This book is our past and our future, our way through transition to a new kind of world, where P2P-practices are the dominant way of life 

Hilltowns vs. Tract Home Developments

Recently during a drive along Interstate-90, just outside of Seattle, we passed by a large tract housing development on a hillside near Issaquah. The development immediately caught our attention for a reason that may seem a bit strange. At first glance it reminded us of some of the Italian hilltowns from our student days backpacking around Italy. We know, ridiculous right? Maybe our periphery vision failed us, maybe we had one too many martinis the night before, or maybe we’re just trying to hard. Whatever the case, we couldn’t get it out of our heads. There were inexplicable similarities in the overall composition, massing and patterns.

Read the rest of the article at blog.buildllc.com

Gaiateorien og eldgamle sosiale nettverk

To interessante artikler i dag hos Science Daily, den første underbygger den kontroversielle gaiateorien, den andre viser at sosiale nettverk har en dyp forankring i menneskenaturen.

• Radical Theory Explains the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life, Challenges Conventional Wisdom
• Dawn of Social Networks: Ancestors May Have Formed Ties With Both Kin and Non-Kin Based On Shared Attributes

Hassan Fathy's New Gourna: Past, Present, Future

Hassan Fathy's New Gourna: Past, Present, Future from World Monuments Fund on Vimeo.

In 1945, the Department of Antiquities commissioned the renowned architect Hassan Fathy to design and construct a new settlement to which the inhabitants of Old Gourna were to be relocated, in an effort to curtail suspected looting at the nearby Pharaonic sites and facilitate tourism development. New Gourna was at once his greatest achievement and most profound disappointment. Though Fathy's project was meant to shelter 20,000 inhabitants, only part of the plan was realized between 1946 and 1949, due to political and financial complications and opposition on the part of the residents to relocation. The constructed New Gourna included housing and many public facilities. Today, however, nearly 40 percent of the village has been lost due to lack of maintenance and demolitions. - World Monuments Fund

"Twelve Lectures on Architecture; Algorithmic Sustainable Design" av Nikos Salingaros, rangert som tredje viktigste bok i 2011

Takk og pris at jeg anmeldte Nikos bok for P2P-Foundation, slik at denne kunne komme på pallen blant de viktigste bøkene for 2011. Se hele lista: The P2P Foundation Books of the Year 2011: Our annual top ten list of P2P books.

With this new toolbox from Nikos we have the tools needed to truly reunite man with nature both through innate biophilic patterns and geometry. To respect and care for nature we have to create nature through infusing all we create with the geometry found in nature, and to obey the laws of nature. A reason why so many don’t care about nature today is that our cities and towns are anti-nature. - Øyvind Holmstad

Les hele bokanmeldelsen min: A New Permatecture Toolbox! (From Nikos A. Salingaros)

Moderne byutvikling?

Leser i OA (23. jan.) at Gjøvik skal få en "moderne" byutvikling langsetter Hunnselva og i Farverikvartalet. Jeg grøsser ved tanken. Dessverre er modernistisk arkitektur anti-biofilisk og kultbasert, og har ingenting å gjøre med naturvitenskap, fysikkens lover og våre nedarvede biofiliske instinkter.

Nikos A. Salingaros siste bok, Twelve Lectures on Architecture; Algorithmic Sustainable Design, ble valgt som en av de ti viktigste bøkene for 2011 hos P2P-Foundation. Min anmeldelse av boka kan søkes opp ved å skrive inn ordet permatecture hos Google.

Jeg arbeider også for å få publisert essay av Nikos Salingaros og andre forfattere i kretsen rundt Christopher Alexander, hos bloggen til The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, på permaculture.org.au. Vil særlig anbefale: Why Monotonous Repetition is Unsatisfying.

Michael Mehaffy og Nikos Salingaros har nylig skrevet en innsiktsfull serie om biofilisk design hos det New York-baserte arkitekturmagasinet Metropolis Magazine, som er fritt tilgjengelig hos metropolismag.com. Denne serien har jeg omtalt hos kulturverk.com, under tittelen Livets teknologi – ei innleiing.

La oss forlate en utdatert modernisme, samme hva de kaller denne, og finne igjen Gjøviks opprinnelige formspråk, hvor tårnarkitekturen stod i en særstilling. Vi må si nei til dagens ideologiske og inhumane maskin- og kulhetsarkitektur, og vende tilbake til en arkitektur for framtida, naturens eget uttrykk.

Innlegget stod som leserbrev i OA lørdag 28. januar 2011.

Piscataquis Village Project Update

"Is it possible for a gang of amateurs from the Maine woods to pull off the nation's first and most audacious Traditionally Designed Village project in the most sparsely populated county east of the Mississippi?"

"Is it possible that such a project can be funded not by major real estate developers, but crowdfunded from the bottom up by small investors or future residents?"

Hello to "contingent investors" and others that have an interest in the Piscataquis Village Project.

What's hard about this?

In the nine month period from when the Piscataquis Village Project Facebook site was first established, until our last update at the end of November, we had gone from zero to 400 fans. In the six week period since November that number has more than doubled to over 800. These "fans" come from all over, geographically (mostly Maine and New England), but the ones I find most gratifying are those originally from Piscataquis County, now living elsewhere, who see the Piscataquis Village Project as perhaps a way they can return "home". A PVHS graduate living in Texas writes, "I'm so excited for all the attention!....So where do things go from here? Let me know! I'm pretty broke, but I'll do what I can putting on online time!"

Since the last update we have been contacted by a London based documentary television company called Raw Television, the makers of Gold Rush for Discovery Channel and Locked Up Abroad for National Geographic. They were looking to do a project about people moving into a new community. While we were ultimately decided not to be "the right fit", it was a rush for a few days and demonstrates the ability of the Piscataquis Village Project to pique interest.

More importantly, we were contacted by a guy named Mike Lydon who had, "heard rumblings of late regarding your Piscataquis Village Project." Mike is a founding principal of a planning firm called The Street Plans Collaborative. He is also a co-author of a book titled The Smart Growth Manual, ranked as "one of the 10 best urban planning, design, and development books published in 2010". The other two co-authors were Jeff Speck and Andres Duany, probably the most prominent of the "New Urbanists", and the designer of Seaside in Florida. We expect continuing conversation with Mike at the Street Plans Collaborative as the Project develops.

Most Importantly since the last update, we have picked up two more contingent investors bringing us to a total of 23 households with committed pledges of $280,000. We've also had our first investor with no direct connection to Piscataquis county, who states that his goal is to "...support the creation of the first car-free, traditional city settlement on the continent." This project isn't just about building one community. It's also about constructing an alternative model for future development.

Folks, we're now in the initial, fragile stage, of this new project, where each additional "non-legally binding commitment" is a vital step to reaching a certain critical mass. We're still pushing that snowball up the paradigm change hill.

Investor commitments are essential. Please consider, or reconsider, becoming a "contingent investor" / future building lot owner, in the Piscataquis Village Project.

"Like"ing and especially, "sharing", the Piscataquis Village Project Facebook page contributes to our publicity efforts as does forwarding this email. If you are unable to open the Piscataquis Village Slide Presentation, I will be happy to forward a pdf. version to you.

Piscataquis Village Project Slide Show

Piscataquis Village Project Website

Piscataquis Village Project Update, November 2011

Piscataquis Village Project translates "Dirigo" as "Let's Get 'er Done!"
Tracy Gayton

Related reading:

• Village Towns
• Village Forum
• Katarxis

Ionization and Air Quality - A Technological Study

Read the original study here (pdf).

Ionized air molecules make up more than a very small percentage of the atmosphere.
However, despite their small numbers, these molecules play a profound role in
maintaining the health of the atmosphere by removing particulate and chemical
pollutants. In the indoor environment, ionization provides an even wider spectrum of
benefits, including the destruction of bacteria and elimination of odors. However,
conventional construction and ventilation techniques tend to negate the benefits of
ionization. This problem can be mitigated by technology designed to augment the
ionization of indoor air.

Natural Sources of Atmospheric Ionization
A small number of natural processes contribute a constant supply of ionization to our
atmosphere. These natural sources of ionization include (1) the effects of radiation, (2)
effects of the earth's electric field, (3) the movements of wind, and (4) the splashing of
water (Lenard Effect).

The decay of naturally occurring terrestrial radioactive materials; radiation from the sun
and cosmic radiation, all cause ionization in the atmosphere by stripping electrons from
air molecules. The molecules effected in this way become positive ions due to the loss of
electrons. The free electrons immediately get picked up by the surrounding neutral
molecules, which thus become negative ions (Sulman, p. 102).

The electric field of the earth causes ionized molecules to gain kinetic energy as they move along the 400,000-volt gradient that exists between the ionosphere and the surface of the earth. When a fast moving ion collides with a neutral molecule, the neutral molecule loses one or more electrons. The loss of electrons causes the neutral molecule to become a positive ion. The electrons knocked free during the collision are immediately picked up by surrounding neutral molecules; resulting in new negative ions (Jokl, p. 268).

Winds and weather are a large source of ionization. The movement of weather fronts
produces great amounts of ionization through friction. Air masses moving against the
earth, or against other air masses cause a transfer of electrons, and thus ionization
(Sulman, p. 245).

Falling water also produces ionization. Whenever water droplets collide forcefully, small
particles separate from the water surface carrying a negative charge into the atmosphere.
The larger water droplets and the main body of water become positively charged. This
phenomenon, named after its discoverer, is called the Lenard Effect (Jokl, p. 278).

All sources of ionization have the effect of electrifying the atmosphere. The electrical
charge of the atmosphere at any location on the earth's surface (aside from human factors) depends upon the productivity of these natural sources of ionization. The prevalence of either negative or positive ionization in any location will have an impact on the health of the animals, plants, and humans living in the area.

Falling water produces ionization. Photo: The High Fin Sperm Whale

The Origins of Banana Cultivation (Wahgi Valley, New Guinea)

Quite a fascinating piece on the origins of banana cultivation: Multidisciplinary perspectives on banana (Musa spp.) domestication (see also: Jordbruket er et globalt spleiselag)

Did you know that banana cultivation originates from New Guinea and the  Wahgi Valley? Photo: Enzik

Vi har energiblod på hendene

The fact is everything we do is shaped by energy - by electricity, by oil, by gas- and there is not one of these sources of power that doesn't somehow leave blood on our hands and present some kind of dilemma. - Charlotte Du Cann

Tankevekkende innlegg av Charlotte Du Cann i dagens utgave av Energy Bulletin: Waking up in Forest Row

Det triste er at all denne forurensningen og forsimplingen av landskapet, med vannkraftutbygginger, vindmøller og kraftgater, kunne vært unngått hvis vi holdt oss til Bill Mollisons stadig mer aktuelle visdomsord:

When the needs of a system cannot be met from within itself, we pay the price in energy and pollution. - Bill Mollison

Jeg fikk et interressant tilsvar i kommentarfeltet:

To increase or maintain order in an open system, the laws of thermodynamics dictate that entropy must be exported in the form of disorder, and energy is required to do this. 

Mollison has simply paraphrased this unalterable aspect of the universe and its laws. 

Importing energy and materials is the same as exporting entropy to somewhere else. 

Liebig's law of the minimum will regionally reassert itself as energy becomes more expensive, with obvious implications for regional carrying capacities. - Erich

Energi-import = Entropi-eksport. Foto: Guy Erwood

Christopher Alexander Talks on the Process of Creating Life

Although the quality of this recording is not the best, the authority of Alexander is so strong that you are hooked whats ewer! 

The First Part of Chris's lecture to the Urban Design Group in London on the 23rd of November 2011. After being introduced by John Worthington, he proceeds to take off his jacket and gives one of the most memorable talks that I have ever listened to. His opinion that "Design" is one of the most fatuous activities of an architect was challenging to this group of Architects and Planners at the time but after a careful study of his talk it seems to me that that he may be absolutely right. As they say enjoy! - Islandshrine

It's a tragedy that a BBC team is not foot following this one of our times greatest men.

Five hundred years is a long time, and I don't expect many of the people I interview will be known in the year 2500. Christopher Alexander may be an exception. - David Creelman, author, Interviewer and Editor. Knowledge Manager, HR magazine, Toronto

Related reading:

• Christopher Alexander: The Battle to Bring Life and Beauty to the Earth

LeCorbusier: the Pol Pot of Architecture

A great review of Theodor Dalrymple's classical essay The Architect as Totalitarian, in today's issue of Better Cities & Towns:

- LeCorbusier: the Pol Pot of architecture

Some people say we should stop blaming Le Corbusier, as he was a shild of his time. Unfortunately this is not true, in contrary our time is a child of Le Corbusier. - Øyvind Holmstad

Has any man harmed our world more than this person?

Christopher Alexander Lecture at Berkeley, California

I 'm going to write an introduction to this amazing lecture by Christopher Alexander last year, a must see for everyone wanting to live in a livable world. Meanwhile, share this video with all your friends!

The Battle to Bring Life and Beauty to the Earth:

Alexander will then talk on themes related to the way these buildings were made and are used and what it would mean if these principles could be applied to creating environments everywhere and society in general. What would that take? First is the recognition of what is described in BATTLE as system B - the method of production that is now prevalent throughout the world, which is centered on the profit motive, and supported by institutions and governments. Then we need an understanding of system A, the system which built the Eishin campus, despite system B. It was a very rough road, with many painful, arduous, and sometimes seemingly hopeless battles. But along the way, Alexander and his colleagues learned that it could be possible for these two systems to become working partners, using the best of both to achieve something that is impossible now. The most important message of BATTLE is the vision of a way forward, that we could choose together, to build a society and an environment of such a kind that we would be fulfilled in living there. - The Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium of the Berkeley Center for New Media

Related reading:

• Interesting comments thread for this lecture on Meta Filter
• Geospatial Analysis and Living Urban Geometry

Christopher Alexander: Eleventh Vincent Scully Prize Recipient

Eleventh Vincent Scully Prize: Christopher Alexander from National Building Museum on Vimeo.

Read more here.

Rebuilding Norway Using A Pattern Language

A Slide Show Presentation to Some of Christopher Alexander's Buildings

Nikos Salingaros on Fractal Hierarchies

Christopher Alexander on Building for Love and Life

A very weak recording of the full speech is to be found here.

"Designing With Forces" – How to Apply Christopher Alexander in Everyday Work

Ryan Singer, “Designing with Forces: How to Apply Christopher Alexander in Everyday Work ” from MFA Interaction Design on Vimeo.

Read more and see the question and answer part: "Designing with Forces" – How to apply Christopher Alexander in everyday work

Conversations w/ Great Minds - Dr. David Graeber Debt: The 1st 5000 years P1 & P2

His book Debt: The First 5,000 Years, was ranked as the most important book of 2011 by the P2P Foundation.

The Liberalist's and the Traditionalist's Opposite Goals

For most people, being in a position of power or influence means that you want to influence others and achieve your own goals. In North America, these goals tend to be self-defined and independent from the wider social context. As a result, thinking analytically -- focusing on one's own goal and how to achieve it without being distracted by the surrounding context -- can be advantageous. - Science Daily

This is how liberalists think, to achieve your own goals is the purpose of life, the wider context doesn't matter. The opposite is the traditionalist, where tradition, community and God is the context within every goal is part of a larger whole.

Read James Kalb's most important essay: Radical Traditionalism and the New World Order

(Hopefully this theme will someday be worked into an essay for the PRI-blog and Energy Bulletin)

The Shared Patterns of Indigenous Culture, Permaculture and Digital Commons

PRI-Article: The Shared Patterns of Indigenous Culture, Permaculture and Digital Commons

Read the essay: Indigenous Domain: Pilgrims, Permaculture and Perl. Read the essay on pdf here.

Stadig større avstand mellom Mars & Venus

Ny studie viser at avstanden i personlighet mellom menn og kvinner er vesentlig større enn tidligere anntatt. Les mer hos Science Daily her. Last ned rapporten her.

Kooperativ fornybar energi

When the needs of a system cannot be met from within itself, we pay the price in energy and pollution. - Bill Mollison

Kooperativ fornybar energi, en bærekraftig og uavhengig permakulturløsning! Hadde dette vært standard ville situasjonen min vært unngått, hvor teknokratiet trer en uønsket og anti-biofilisk design nedover hodene på folk, i konflikt med permakulturens design. Hvordan skal en fullblods permakulturell kunne leve under slikt overformynderi?

Les mer i Energy Bulletin: Co-operative renewable energy in the UK: a guide to this growing sector (report)

Photo: Oliver Dixton

Adjø, slektsgård

Småbruket Gryteengen

Tekniske inngrep i natur og lokalsamfunn har også en bakside, og mon tro om det virkelig er all denne teknologien som påtvinges oss, som gjør våre liv verdt å leve? Ikke minst gjelder dette i forhold til det gode liv på landet. For ikke lenge siden ble alle tekniske inngrep hyllet som framskritt, i tida før biofilien (naturtilknytning) ble etablert som begrep av Edvard O. Wilson. I dag vet vi at tekniske inngrep som bryter med våre nedarvede biofiliske instinkter senker livskvaliteten.

Personlig har jeg måtte fly landsbygda som følge av storsamfunnets prioriteringer. For meg gjaldt det en høyspentledning utenfor småbruket Gryteengen på Toten. I forbindelse med oppgraderingen av denne traseen har jeg forsøkt å få denne fjernet fra de mest intensive designsonene rundt tunet, slik disse er definert av permakulturen, ved Bill Mollison (permaculture.org.au). Dessverre strandet disse forsøkene.

Min bønn for framtida må være at man unngår forstyrrende tekniske inngrep i de mest intensive designsonene, hvor man legger ned sin sjel og sitt livsverk. Personlig er jeg ikke i stand til å nedlegge all den lidenskapen som skal til for å skape en sprudlende permakulturell design, når denne konstant overskygges av storsamfunnets uønskede inngripen.

Jeg vil oppfordre storsamfunnet til å vise større hensyn i forhold til tekniske inngrep i menneskers liv og omgivelser. Mine røtter til slektsgården og historien er revet av, er dette virkelig i samfunnets interesse? Det var ingen ting jeg heller ønsket enn å videreføre disse historiske trådene.

Publisert i Oppland Arbeiderblad 4. januar 2012.

Bilde Facebook her og Wikimedia her.

"A Theory of Power" Online

See Jeff Vail's homepage here.

The entire text of the book "A Theory of Power" is now available online via the links below. Please feel free to use it as you wish. If you would like to purchase a hardcopy from amazon.com, CLICK HERE. - Jeff Vail

Preface (August, 2004)
Chapter 1 - Introduction: A Theory of Power
Chapter 2 - The Structure of Evolution 
Chapter 3 - The Interplay of Genetics and Culture 
Chapter 4 - The Rise of Symbolic Thought 
Chapter 5 - Agriculture: Burning the Bridge to our Past 
Chapter 6 - Economics: The Anthropology of Freedom 
Chapter 7 - Neutral Technology and the Demands of Power
Chapter 8 - Self-Aware: Ego and Power
Chapter 9 - Forward, to Rhizome 
Bibliography (Hypertext version)

Book review from P2P-blog here.