There is Something Beyond the Straw Bale

...w” that supports beneficial wildlife. We’re also fans of hardy and climate appropriate perennial fruits and vegetables–beyond that solitary straw bale we have a lot of edible perennial plants and a bunch of work to do to straighten out the yard after years of other priorities. Site of future seasonal rain garden. Towards that end, our landscaper, Laramee Haynes and crew are coming next week to clean things up, install a kind of seasonal rain garde...

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Cybernetics: A Fatal Flaw

...r by Machines of Loving Grace. Last week I wrote about an archive of 1970s appropriate technology publications called Rain. I still contend that there is much to be reclaimed from this movement but it’s also healthy to look at what went wrong. A provocative and controversial book I just finished, Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet makes note of what may have been the fatal flaw in the movement: cybernetics, the dream...

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My Fellow Californians, Please Water Your Trees

...said, Water the trees. Trees form the infrastructure of our landscapes and urban forest, and are their permanent or, at least, most long-lived and valuable components around which the other plants intermesh, if not depend. Mature trees are among the most valuable and difficult-to-replace plants in urban areas. Their loss would be devastating. Trees can be likened to the steel framework of a building; how could the building exist without it. So, ke...

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Garden Swap

...neighbors who have yard space in order to grow and share in the profits of urban food gardens. Urban gardens are not only fun; they support low-carbon food production, create economic development, inspire healthful eating, build community, create opporunities for education, address watershed health concerns, create productive green open space, and beautify communities. CSC is currently taking requests for participation in this program. If you’d li...

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Saturday Tweets: Cutting Through the Kudzu

...sal http://t.co/ZnUwxviSBp via @DiamondBarPatch http://t.co/UeoVXo2uuu — UCUrbanAg (@UCUrbanAg) August 26, 2015 Oslo builds world's first bumblebee highway http://t.co/ZbSwjYWW9E via @TheLocalNorway — Root Simple (@rootsimple) August 26, 2015 Plant from 130 million years ago is among 'first flowers': study http://t.co/cPjiftSKZK via @YahooNews — Root Simple (@rootsimple) August 24, 2015 Summer of Science | Even When You Go Off the Grid...

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