The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.
In the high desert of southern Spain, not far from Granada, the Mediterranean sun bounces off large arrays of precisely curved mirrors that cover an area as large as 70 soccer fields. These parabolic troughs follow the arc of the sun as it moves across the sky, concentrating the sun’s rays onto pipes filled with Continue Reading →
Hundreds of Australian families will leave the city on the last weekend of this month to spend time on a farm and learn more about where their food and fibre come from. National Farm Day is an annual event organised by the National Farmers Foundation which has seen enthusiastic response from city dwellers keen to Continue Reading →
The agribusiness giant and proponent of genetically modified seed, Monsanto, has mounted a 10million dollar law suit against the German government following a decision by the European nation to ban a new crop of the company’s MON810 maize. Known as Bt maize, the crop generates Bacillus Thuriensis, a substance toxic to the corn borer plant.
The maize has been grown in Europe since 2005 and previous bans on the basis of potential damage to humans have been overturned on legal grounds. This latest ban is founded on the potential of the crop to damage the environment. The company’s case is that there has been no new scientific evidence presented since the crop was initially approved four years ago.
Texas wind farm pioneers radar technology to protect migrating birds US wind farms kill about 7,000 birds a year but radar systems developed for Nasa can prevent fatal collisions by detecting approaching birds and analysing weather conditions Digg it Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent guardian.co.uk, Friday 1 May 2009 15.40 BST Article history It could Continue Reading →
Local groups take Gunns fight to Europe Posted 3 hours 15 minutes ago Gunns has described as “sad and pathetic” the latest attempt to derail its pulp mill project. (ABC News) Map: Bell Bay 7253 Gunns has described as “sad and pathetic” the latest attempt to derail its pulp mill project in northern Tasmania. The Continue Reading →
Q. Hi Umbra, You’ve made several mentions of living off the grid in previous columns, and I was wondering where someone should find such things? It seems as though there are secret communities and communes that everyone seems to know about but me. How would you find an off the grid community, or go about Continue Reading →