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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

    Announcing the launch of NonCorporate.org – how to move away from multinational corporations

    Dave Darby 07-Jun-2018

    We’re pleased to announce the launch of NonCorporate.org – our sister site, dedicated to helping people move away from multinational corporations (MNCs) for everything they need. Read more

    Jordan Peterson talks some sense, but he’s wrong about two very important things

    Dave Darby 29-May-2018

    Jordan Peterson is provocative, interesting and a formidable opponent in debates and interviews. He doesn’t interrupt, he thinks carefully about people’s points, he doesn’t run away from difficult arguments (or difficult people) and he’s helped a lot of people to rescue their damaged lives. Read more

    Public debate on capitalism: what happened and what I learnt

    Dave Darby 22-May-2018

    You may remember that I was invited to take part in a public debate in London recently (see here) about whether capitalism is ‘the best system for a sustainable future’. I was asked to deliver the ‘no’ position. Read more

    The two roads to serfdom: how neoliberals misrepresent Hayek

    Dave Darby 17-May-2018

    I recently went to visit a friend in Germany by train, and as I packed my bag, I looked around for a book to throw in, to read on the way. The one I plumped for was the Road to Serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek, Mrs. Thatcher’s (and Ronald Reagan’s) guru. Read more

    Public debate featuring yours truly: is capitalism the best system for a sustainable future?

    Dave Darby 08-Apr-2018

    If you’re in London on April 18th, there’s a public debate you might be interested in, upstairs in a pub in Tooting. I’ve been asked to put the case against capitalism. There will be initial presentations, rebuttals, questions from the audience, and then a summing up. Read more

    Interview with Matthew Slater: what’s mutual credit, how can it boost the Solidarity Economy, and what can we do to help? (plus webinar)

    Dave Darby 27-Feb-2018

    See yesterday’s blog post for an introduction to this article. This is an interview with Matthew Slater, who co-authored the Money & Society MOOC, a free masters level multidisciplinary online course. He co-drafted the Credit Commons white paper, a proposal for a global solidarity economy money system Read more

    The next great transition will be to the Solidarity Economy with a mutual credit exchange system

    Dave Darby 26-Feb-2018

    I’ve been working in the environmental field for over 20 years, and I believe, like the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, that we’re headed for ‘biological annihilation’, and like the good folk at the Dark Mountain Project, that a crash is coming that we may or may not recover from Read more

    Webinar: a non-techie’s adventures with cryptocurrencies – a step-by-step guide to setting up a wallet and trading in Litecoin

    Dave Darby 02-Feb-2018

    This is the first of a series of webinars on specific aspects of the money system and various alternatives to it. Read more

    We’re running a series of webinars on how we might change the money system – starting with cryptocurrencies

    Dave Darby 01-Feb-2018

    We’re determined to spread the word that any attempts to move towards a more sustainable and democratic world are doomed to failure if they don’t address the money system. Read more

    Why much criticism of the Fair Trade movement is invalid – designed to disguise corporate exploitation of small farmers

    Dave Darby 30-Jan-2018

    The Fair Trade movement was set up to secure better prices for struggling small farmers and craft producers in poor countries, and to provide funds for various improvements in their communities. It has, however, come in for some criticism for various reasons. Read more

    How we got olive oil from a small farm in Portugal brought over in a sailboat by a co-operative based in Brighton – and how you can do the same

    Dave Darby 07-Jan-2018

    I recently interviewed Dhara Thompson of the Sailboat Project for our new sailboats topic introduction. He told me that they are one of many new organisations that are working to bring back sailboats for cargo and passenger transport – using the power of the wind to move people and goods around the planet. Read more

    Low-impact strategy webinar: Can we change the world without changing money?

    Dave Darby 17-Dec-2017

    Understanding the money system is key to understanding how the world works, where power really lies, what the implications of that are and what we can do about it. Read more

    It can’t possibly be a bad thing to live in the wild and to harvest both plants and animals for food – can it?

    Dave Darby 07-Dec-2017

    A group of us are attempting to have a debate about the sustainability of meat production, but I’ve realised that our differences are much deeper. Read more

    Does the sustainability of meat production depend on the size of a holding and the number of animals kept on it?

    Dave Darby 03-Dec-2017

    I want to investigate at what size meat production becomes unsustainable (in terms of acreage, number of animals etc.) – i.e. whether it can be sustainable at all, and if so, whether there’s an upper limit, above which it can’t be sustainable Read more

    ‘Land for What?’ meeting in Leicester tomorrow (sorry for short notice, but it’s worth it)

    Dave Darby 10-Nov-2017

    Sorry for the ridiculously short notice, but if you’re interested in land issues, and have nothing on this weeked, this is really worth getting yourself to. Read more

    Is it ethical to eat meat, or to keep animals for meat or dairy?

    Dave Darby 15-Oct-2017

    This is a very important question for us here at Lowimpact.org, because we have courses, books, magazines, links etc on keeping animals and on game. We also have vegetarianism and veganism as topics – because we recognise the environmental benefits of eating less meat. Read more

    Why the banks have so much power and how we can take it away from them

    Dave Darby 17-Sep-2017

    I mentioned a while ago that I’m enrolled on a MOOC (massive, open, online course) about banking and the money system. As promised, I’m blogging about some of the things that I’ve learnt (we’ve covered the definition and history of money so far). Read more

    Could the ‘paperpot transplanter’ be a boon for small farmers or is it just a gimmick?

    Dave Darby 07-Sep-2017

    How about a human-powered tool that allows you to plant out 264 young plants per minute (!) without bending over? The paperpot transplanter, developed in Japan, allows you to do just that (if 264 seems a bit precise, it’s because each little paper chain contains 264 pots). Read more

    Should we not mention what’s happening to the biosphere, in case it scares the mainstream?

    Dave Darby 27-Aug-2017

    This is a question for anyone working in the field of environmental sustainability. What’s actually happening to the biosphere, how bad is it, and should we tell people or keep it quiet? Read more

    It’s worse than you think: review of Douglas Rushkoff’s ‘Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus’

    Dave Darby 14-Aug-2017

    Here’s an article that’s part review of the latest book  by Douglas Rushkoff (buy it – it’s excellent), part ramble about twenty-first century capitalism. Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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