The nitrogen cycle is one of our human life-support systems, supporting human life and life on our planet. Our disruption of the nitrogen cycle is a public health issue of profound importance.
Date: 17th, 18th & 19th of February, Cloughjordan, Tipperary.
The aim of this weekend conference is to introduce the CSA concept to communities and growers on the island of Ireland. The event will bring together food producers and emerging Irish CSA’s while creating networking and learning opportunities with experienced initiatives from across Europe.
by Brian Kallor. We in the modern West have grown up surrounded by mountains of food – grown, picked, processed, preserved, cooked and refrigerated for us, and in such quantities that a third of it is through away uneaten, and obesity presents a major health crisis. Fossil fuels made this brief state possible, and now that we see their end on the horizon we must reacquaint ourselves with the more basic methods of getting nutrition — ideally allowing more of us, not just to survive, but to eat well.
A symposium at the 2nd annual Irish Council for Psychotherapy conference. Presented by Feasta member John Sharry, with Phil Kearney and Aebhin Cawley.
Conference date: January 26-27 2012
Venue: Dublin Castle
In a follow-up to her earlier post on preparing your household for a currency crisis, Theresa Carter suggests a range of practical preparations that communities can make in order to build resilience.
In his chapter from the New Zealand edition of Fleeing Vesuvius, Laurence Boomert gives an account of a lifetime built on accepting and rejecting Vesuvius and the progressive actions taken to beat the odds. “The foreground will seem like the end of the world but I see, through the smoke and ruins of that which must fall, a wiser, more humble, more determined humanity with 10,000 years of social and technological success stories to draw on, setting a new course for the future.”
In this article Brian Davey explains the rationale for setting up a group called “Cafe Economique” in Nottingham. Following a similar group in Leeds a Nottingham group has been set up, one of whose aims is to give non-economists the confidence to participate in economic discussions. It is high time that non-economists feel able to challenge the baloney that most economists preach and are armed with the ideas that will allow them to do so. In this piece, Brian attacks the status claim that economics makes when it describes itself as a “social science”.
from Fleeing Vesuvius, by Mark Rutledge and Brian Davey. Seven reasons why humans have failed to curb their excessive resource consumption are outlined here, some of which are systemic, others the result of the way humanity evolved. Our best chance of counteracting them will come when the crisis pushes us out of our comfortable ruts.
by Elizabeth Cullen. All of our food and many important medicines derive from our biodiversity. Our psychological and spiritual well being is enhanced by the joy and private moments of wonder in contemplation of the natural world. How can our way of life be changed so as to enhance our life giving and life affirming biodiversity, rather than undermine it?
It’s very easy to look around and conclude that human beings are subject to unending desires which are never satisfied. Many of us have an apparently unquenchable thirst for the latest gadget or fashionable knick-knack. So how has this come about? Is the tendency towards over-consumption an unavoidable part of human nature, deriving from the laws of evolution, as some have suggested?
from Fleeing Vesuvius. Psychologist John Sharry describes how societies are struggling to come to terms with the nature and extent of the changes facing them both now and in the future. Modern psychological models of motivation and change, and of how people deal with threat and loss, suggest strategies that can be used to help individuals change and to galvanise communities into collective action.
The programme for a day-long conference held by IDEA on February 23 2009.
Growth: The Celtic Cancer, Why the global economy damages our health and society
Read this book online in its entirety
A new issue of the Feasta Review was published in November 2004. “The aim of the Review is to present in a permanent form some of the thinking that has been going on in the Feasta network since the previous one appeared” says John Jopling, who edited it with Richard Douthwaite. “It is three years since the last issue and there’s a lot to report.”
Richard Douthwaite, co-founder of Feasta and much-loved colleague and friend, died on November 14th 2011 after a long illness. We will miss his unique and far-ranging intellect, the clarity of his thought and writing, his warmth and his laughter. Tributes to him have come in from around the world and you can read them here.
In line with his wishes, we are continuing with our scheduled events and publishing of articles.
Independent radio producer and Feasta member Mary Phelan travelled to Tanzania and Zanzibar earlier this year in order to make two radio documentaries on the effects of climate change in East Africa. The first programme, which focuses on the impact climate change is having on Zanzibar, will be broadcast on Saturday 5.3.2012 on Newstalk 106-108fm at 7am. The second programme, looking at the situation in northern Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro, will be broadcast the following day, 6.3.2012 at 8am.
Schumacher Ireland Summer School
Exploring the transition to a sustainable society on the island of Ireland
Schumacher College is organising its first Summer School in Ireland from 11th to 15th June 2012, in conjunction with Queen’s University Belfast. Feasta members Jonathan Dawson and Peadar Kirby will be among the course teachers. [...]
Feasta’s Autumn conference examined measures that this country could adopt to secure its economic future which would not leave it reliant on external factors largely outside of its control. Scenarios explored included the potential collapse of the eurozone. The conference featured prominent international and Irish economists and was aimed at economists, politicians, policy-makers, business people, social partners, and other key decision-makers.
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