Info, news & debate

12/2017 posts

Cow-calf dairying part 8: weaning

This is the last in a series of posts about how to run a small dairy herd without separating the calves from their mothers. This final article is about preparing the cows and calves for a stress-free weaning. Read more

Firestarter: how to get the best from firesteels

Gary Johnston of Jack Raven Bushcraft takes us through firesteels, from which one to choose and how they work to how to use one to make a fire with natural tinders. Read more

Feeding the Human Power Plant: can calories be carbon-neutral?

We take a look at the food it may take to fuel the great Human Power Plant, an experiment in the making where students of Utrecht University in the Netherlands will power their very own carbon-neutral accommodation block. Read more

Want to help set up a community-supported agriculture scheme, Jan-Apr, and stay in a yurt next to a river?

Are you feeling like you need a change of scenery for a little while? Feel like you would like to be out in the countryside more? Well how about staying in a cosy yurt with a log burner by the river Avon Read more

The Ecological Land Co-op are currently recruiting for two new roles

The Ecological Land Cooperative (ELC) is a social enterprise based in Brighton, East Sussex. They exist to create affordable access to land for new entrants to ecological agriculture and mixed farming. Read more

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

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 17-Dec-2017 | 7

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

Cow-calf dairying part 7: introducing milking without the calf suckling

When a lamb or calf suckles, they bunt their mum’s udder with their heads to stimulate release of more milk. If you are share-milking, as a calf grows this bunting can quickly become so strong that it can easily knock the cluster off the other three teats. Read more

The linen journey: locally-grown flax to yarn

In a spin-off from The Wool Journey series of blog posts, The Natural Fibre Company shares The Linen Journey, in which Sonja Bargielowska explores flax’s journey from field to yarn. Read more

In praise of the wheelbarrow: low-impact transportation at its best?

Perhaps these days most commonly associated with the garden, there’s more to the humble wheelbarrow than you might think. Sophie Paterson explores its potential, past and present, as a low-impact form of transportation. Read more

‘Investor protection’ in trade deals: why can’t multinational corporations take out insurance rather than have taxpayers underwrite them?

Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 10-Dec-2017 | 2

First some background: the Investor-state Dispute Settlement, or ISDS (new name – Investment Court System, or ICS) is a mechanism whereby corporations can sue governments that introduce legislation that they claim reduces their potential to make profit 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 of Lowimpact.org | 07-Dec-2017 | 264

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

Reduce, reuse… repair? The repair renaissance building skills and communities

With UK media decrying a recent YouGov survey revealing a whopping 69% of 18-24 year olds in the UK don’t know how to bleed a radiator and 54% would be flummoxed replacing a fuse, what hope is there for a repair renaissance amidst the current tide of throwaway consumerism? 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 of Lowimpact.org | 03-Dec-2017 | 84

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

Cow-calf dairying part 6: share milking

I have found that the first few days after a heifer has calved are critical when it comes to creating a positive association with feeding her calf and being milked by machine.  Read more

Subscribe to blog

Enter Your Email Address:

Want to contribute?

Get in touch

Article Archive

Subscribe to blog

Enter Your Email Address:

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.

Facebook icon Twitter icon Youtube icon

All rights reserved © lowimpact 2023