Saturday Linkages: Grains, Collapse and Mangoes

...een-at-the-garden-show.html … How to Grow Sweet Potatoes and Mangoes in an Urban Jungle http://tinyurl.com/kltlghw Vietnamese swimmers ferry passengers across flooded rivers in plastic bags: http://boingboing.net/2014/03/26/vietnamese-swimmers-ferry-pass.html … Murder Machines: Why Cars Will Kill 30,000 Americans This Year http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/murder-machines/ … Progress on My Figueroa: Institutions Drop Opposition to Protected...

Read…

Bike Lane Blocking, An Angry Rant and Something You Can Do

...xy and often politically unpalatable work of installing bus only lanes and making the city more pedestrian and bike friendly, seems to think that the future lies in a techno-optimist future of flying cars and private tubes as peddled by Elon Musk. Instead of improvements we could have right now (all a bus lane takes is a line of paint) we’re waiting for a future that will never come. I’ve held off writing this post for years but I can’t stay silen...

Read…

Saturday Linkages: Bow Drills and Cramped Apartments

...h Magazine Gardening The End of Molasses Malarkey: http://ow.ly/1TC4aU DIY Making Wooden Spoons http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2013/03/making-wooden-spoons.html#.UUPl2rFofzQ.twitter … Low-Tech Wonders Hand powered drilling tools and machines: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/12/hand-powered-drilling-tools-and-machines.html … Endless Rope Drives: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/03/the-mechanical-transmission-of-power-3-wire-ropes.html...

Read…

Chicago’s Urban Bees

...hives on a former Sears and Roebucks site. The Co-op provides job training to under-employed folks and sells a variety of products. I didn’t get a chance to visit it on my trip to Chicago, but hope to the next time I’m there. In other Chicago bee news, the Green Roof Growers just got a hive. Urban rooftops and abandoned industrial sites make a lot of sense for beekeeping, as many agricultural areas are contaminated with pesticides. Keeping bees i...

Read…

The Brooklyn Bee

...g Island, and advice from a beekeeping supplier. Howe said that the key to urban beekeeping is maintaining good relations with the neighbors since bees have a tendency to swarm on occasion and people are always shocked to see a basketball sized cluster of bees hanging out on a local light post. He deals with these sticky situations through careful neighborhood diplomacy and, of course, free honey. Howe argues that his honey is more organic than co...

Read…