Nadine Schaeffer’s Post

🔥 Heat waves are coming The best way to protect our land and ourselves is to have tall vegetation Not only does tall vegetation shade the soil, preventing evaporation and keeping the ground cool Tall vegetation also catches moisture and helps to increase precipitation, this is true in your garden and in the desert The third bonus: tall vegetation actually creates rain via the small water cycle Every 2nd drop op rain that falls on this planet is made by (tall) vegetation So before you go cloud seeding, go plant seeding and expect more rain. And if that's not enough, tall plants litterally cool down the planet. Scale matters, so we all need to be doing this together. What are we waiting for? #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #tuinarchitectuur #permacultuur #permaculture #voedselbos

I updated my job title today. When I was fired without cause 16 months ago from what may be my last job in the software industry, I went out and got a job the old-fashioned way: pounding the pavement. It was to keep me busy while struggling to keep up with dozens of recruiter's demands and failed interviews, rejection after rejection kept piling up, freelance wasn't panning out either. I didn't have the runway to do a months-long job search. Now I'm working a computer controlled mill, essentially a robot shaped like the mill in shop class, only much bigger and WAY faster. The work pays about a third of what I made in the software jobs, is very loud, routinely is hotter than 95° F and is often 12 hours of non-stop work on my feet. I am constantly cut, bruised and sore from what I do. Prospects? I could work up the chain of command for another 20 years and never break $30/hour. But it's been a whole year of consistent work. When I work longer hours I'm paid more - no questions asked. No one has threatened me with dismissal, or publicly humiliated me. I feel respected there. It is physically impossible to steal or take credit for my work. When someone tries to get ahead by making work harder for everyone else, they are corrected. AI is improving our quality of work and profitability without incentivizing layoffs. I am physically the strongest I've been in 25 years. So maybe I'm living a new dream, one that pays far less but costs my soul nothing. My career has been varied, not having a single guide star, but an entire galaxy of constellations. I'd like to say each industry switch was because of pursuit of a deep vision of how I want to change the world for the better. But the truth is it's mostly random. Maybe this current job is a step backward, certainly makes all the bills look way larger and reduces opportunities to amass wealth. But good Lord I am so much happier there than my last three software jobs. So now I'm a CNC Machine Operator. My coding language is EIA-ISO, a.k.a. G-Code, which turns the designer's vision into actual metal. I will do it with all my ability, focused every day to improve the quality of my own work, to mentor the less experienced, and give hope to those who feel that the Blue Collar is a death sentence.

I'm sharing this for everyone as utterly frustrated as I am at the *endless* talk of 'economic growth' in the UK election campaign... from every Party! There's No Opposition to the necrophilic death machine that is our dominant extractive political economy! No presenters or interviewers in ANY of the media interviews ever question 'growth', or EVER platform anyone or any expert with a different perspective Humanity has been around for 200,000+ years and this neoliberal extractive death cult has 'only' been around for the blink of an eye, historically speaking It is simply NOT TRUE that "There Is No Alternative", there are a myriad of ways that humans have and can organise themselves... and we are surely so much better than THIS, and of course our kids, and everyone's kids, deserve better than THIS And yes I know, it's very late in the day... and maybe the 'superorganism' has gone too far, and just can't stop, etc, etc BUT WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED TO TRY TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM!! (Sorry for the 'shouty' CAPS, I'm somewhat exasperated!) (Thanks to @Rojoclick on twitter for the image)

We are so accustomed to food being cheap, at least in developed countries, that we hardly ever think how that is possible. I see whole chicken priced at ~3.5€/kg at retailers in Spain. To put that in perspective, that's about two "cafe con leche" at a standard cafeteria here. That price includes everything from raising the chicken, feed costs, processing costs, logistics costs, retail costs and margins at every stage. No wonder that in the EU, majority of the farmers do not make living income without the CAP subsidies. Truth is, if we apply true cost accounting for food, the global cost of the agrifood system in 2020 was up to US$12.7 trillion more than consumers paid at retail. That’s equivalent to about 10% of global gross domestic product, or $5 per person per day worldwide. 1. #Environmental Costs - Industrialised farming to achieve scale and reduce unit economics with massive #monocultures and #CAFOs has led to #deforestation, nitrogen runoff, #ammonia emissions, water pollution, algal blooms and dead aquatic zones, #methane emissions from food waste #landfills an combined represent about 20% of the global hidden costs of food production. Other environmental costs, such as those associated with biodiversity and pesticide exposure were not even included in the SOFA analysis. 2. #Health Costs - For wealthy countries, 84% of hidden costs derive from unhealthy dietary patterns, such as eating large quantities of red #meat and heavily #processed #foods. Due to the connection between soil and gut #microbiome and impact on various physical and mental health issues, this cost might be even higher. Not to mention the exposure of farmers to harmful #pesticides and chemicals leading to various cancers, Parkinson's disease, etc. Our food is making us sick! 3. Social Costs - 50% of the hidden costs of food in low-income countries are social costs that stem from poverty and undernourishment. Incomes of poor people who produce food in low-income countries would need to increase by 57% for these workers to obtain sufficient revenue and calories for productive lives. Even in rich countries, farming relies on undocumented and low-paid workers. So, should food cost more? Not necessarily. And I agree with the author of the article that the most effective way to address the hidden costs of food would be to change government policies that provide $540 billion in agricultural subsidies worldwide every year. Of this amount, 87% goes to support production systems that produce cheap food, fiber and biofuels but also generate social and environmental harms. Examples include subsides that promote chemical fertilizer and pesticide use, overuse of natural resources and cultivation of emission-intensive commodities. Instead, the subsidies should be linked to outcomes of better quality of food, soil health, biodiversity, etc #Regenerativeagriculture can help do that and we need the transition right now.

The Olive tree of Vouveson on the island of Crete, Greece, is one of the oldest olive trees in the world. Scientists from the University of Crete have estimated it to be 4,000 years old, which means that, when it sprouted, the last mammoths were still walking on Earth, someone in China was discovering bronze casting and the seventh Egyptian dinasty was declining. The Minoan civilization was thriving and its monumental architecture was adorning the island of Crete. The first stones of the Palace of Minos at Knossos which inspired the myth of the Minotaur were laid. This tree saw the humans deeds for thousands of years, from the Bronze Age to the artificial intelligence AI and, possibly the most amazing thing, it continues to produce olives at every season!