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    Dave Darby bio

    Dave Darby founded Lowimpact.org in 2001, spent 3 years on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op and is a founder member of NonCorporate.org and the Open Credit Network.

    Articles by

    Dave Darby

    Are holiday/leisure cycle paths like the ‘Camel Trail’ good for the environment?

    Dave Darby 31-Jul-2014

    How do we develop cycling from a leisure activity to part of everyday life? I recently went for a bicycle ride with my partner along the Camel Trail in North Cornwall. Read more

    Three-bedroom, earth-sheltered house with a living roof, cob internal walls & sea view; cost: £18,000

    Dave Darby 26-Jul-2014

    Seven years ago, a handsome builder came on a Lowimpact.org ‘how to make biodiesel’ course at Redfield and stole one of our staff. They now live with three children in Cornwall, in an earth-sheltered house that he built himself on his own land. Read more

    Is it ethical to eat meat?

    Dave Darby 04-Jul-2014

    A group of around 15 of us meet one evening a month, for something we call ‘Philosophy Club’. The topic of this month’s meeting, which happened last night, was ‘is it ethical to eat meat?’ Read more

    Do you consider yourself left-wing or right-wing, and does it matter any more?

    Dave Darby 26-Jun-2014

    Do you label yourself ‘left’ or ‘right’, or somewhere in the middle? Do you think the Labour party in the UK or the Democrats in the US, are left-wing parties? Or do you have only a vague idea about what those labels mean? Read more

    We have a huge housing problem, and yet they want to destroy Charlie’s home; you can help

    Dave Darby 20-Jun-2014

    This blog is about the house that Charlie and Meg built. It’s a straw-bale roundhouse with a reciprocal roof, built in the countryside where they grew up. The exterior can be seen above, the interior below, with Charlie, Meg and sprog in the middle. Read more

    Who runs the world?

    Dave Darby 12-Jun-2014

    It’s widely believed that we have democracies in the West. We’d like that to be the case, but it’s not – because ultimate power is corporate, not political. By ultimate power, we mean the ability to control the direction in which humanity moves. Read more

    BBC: ‘Only by increasing productivity can we improve the quality of our lives’. Do you agree?

    Dave Darby 30-May-2014

    It’s a quote from an economist invited in to comment about the UK economy on the BBC World Service earlier this week (it doesn’t matter who – this is a point that virtually all economists agree on, to the shame of the discipline). Read more

    It’s not possible to demonise people any more, in the age of the internet

    Dave Darby 23-May-2014

    Western populations have to kept in a state of fear, so that weapons corporations can continue to make huge profits. People of America – this is your latest enemy: Read more

    Opportunity for low-impact person in the Loire valley

    Dave Darby 16-May-2014

    We’ve been approached by a very nice man called Rod Harper, who has never used a computer in his life, and so asked us for help in finding someone to rent his property in the Loire Valley. Read more

    Could you explain Mercantilism, if you were asked?

    Dave Darby 02-May-2014

    If you were asked, could you describe Mercantilism? I dare say you could have a good go at Capitalism and Feudalism. But Mercantilism? And is it worth finding out? I think it is, because it tells us a lot about the system we live under now Read more

    Can we have multinational corporations and democracy?

    Dave Darby 20-Apr-2014

    Up until this moment in human history, power has always been abused. By ‘power’ I mean ‘the ability to make decisions that affect the direction in which humanity moves’. Ultimate power in other words, rather than local power. Read more

    How do you begin with philosophy?

    Dave Darby 23-Mar-2014

    To get started with philosophy, I think you need three things: a) some idea of where we are – to know what solar systems and galaxies are, and to have a vague idea of how many there are Read more

    The top ten economic growth myths

    Dave Darby 22-Mar-2014

    Are you tired of the lazy assumption on Newsnight, the Today programme and in the news media that economic growth is what’s required to solve all of our problems? It’s the Holy Grail, that-which-cannot-be-questioned, from Evan Davies to Jeremy Paxman. Read more

    Sneaky marketing: heads-up for anyone with an online presence

    Dave Darby 23-Jan-2014

    Here’s the incomparably wonderful Bill Hicks on marketing. If you don’t know him, just put his name into YouTube. You’re in for a treat. Read more

    Re-skilling vs distributism: how to turn ‘do-it-yourself’ into small businesses

    Dave Darby 15-Jan-2014

    Hi all, Lowimpact.org has been all about re-skilling since we started in 2001, and we’ve gained a big audience through that. I was sitting on a bus in London last year, looking down at people in the street in Brixton Read more

    Distributism – an idea whose time has come?

    Dave Darby 06-Jan-2014

    Here’s an idea that I’d like to see gain some ground in 2014 – it’s called distributism. It’s a practical rather than a spiritual idea, but really, I think that some sort of distributism has to happen before we can think about developing spiritually as a species. Read more

    Our award for most misleading and mendacious article of 2013 goes to MoneyWeek’s ‘End of Britain’

    Dave Darby 29-Dec-2013

    You may have seen a sensationalist video called ‘the End of Britain’ that’s been doing the rounds throughout 2013. It’s a flashy, authoritative-looking video, and well it should be, as it’s produced by MoneyWeek Magazine Read more

    This is how ‘development’ works – from a low-impact perspective & as reported in the corporate press

    Dave Darby 06-Dec-2013

    This is how ‘development’ works. NB: you can substitute any rich country for Germany, and any poor country for Zambia. In the boardroom of a global corporation in Germany, the following conversation takes place: Read more

    Transition is a middle class movement: so what?

    Dave Darby 25-Nov-2013

    I believe that it’s important, but in a positive rather than a negative way. Let me explain. Would you prefer to live in a vibrant community or a dull one? If you’d prefer to live in a dull one, then don’t bother reading any further. Read more

    How my cat taught me that nature is merciless

    Dave Darby 12-Nov-2013

    Here’s my cat – Keith. He looks cute, doesn’t he? But actually, he’s a killer. I’ve seen him torture things for his amusement – he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t want them to die quickly (less fun). Read more

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