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Japan has been producing wood sustainably for 700 years
Japan has been producing wood sustainably for 700 yearsNew World - Apr 21, 2024
How Japan has produced wood sustainably for 700 years without cutting down trees
Japan's 700-year heritage of sustainable wood production is an example of harmony with nature. Thanks to techniques such as Daisugi, developed in the XNUMXth century, the Japanese preserve forests while harvesting wood. This tradition ensures a continued supply of high-quality wood, preserving ecosystems for future generations and demonstrating Japan's commitment to environmental management.
Daisugi, an ancient Japanese forestry method, appeared in the 14th century in Kitayama due to the shortage of young trees. Selective pruning of cedars made it possible to obtain straight, knot-free structural timbers. Born out of necessity, this method has evolved into a sustainable practice, embodying Japan's tradition of innovation in resource management for more than seven centuries. In Daisugi, cedars are planted and pruned in a particular way to encourage the growth of straight, knot-free wood. This selective pruning involves hand-cutting the shoots every two years, leaving only the upper branches intact.
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The National Guard deployed during the great American eclipse of April 8?
The National Guard deployed during the great American eclipse of April 8?Digital Dawn - March 27, 2024
The National Guard is only supposed to be deployed in emergency situations. But today it is used for all sorts of things.
For example, hundreds of National Guard troops are used to check the bags of passengers on the New York subway. This is a very worrying precedent, and I don't understand why more people aren't upset about it. We just learned that National Guard troops will be deployed during the Great American Eclipse on April 8. What do they hope will happen during this eclipse?
This will undoubtedly be a historic event.
As I said previously, this is expected to be the most watched astronomical event in our country's history.
On April 8, millions of Americans will travel to locations where they will be in the path of the total solar eclipse. Oklahoma is being touted as one of the best states for this, and it is reported that the Oklahoma National Guard will "provide first responders as well as units with hazardous materials response capabilities"...
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Mini dams: Alpine torrents sacrificed to produce energy
Mini dams: Alpine torrents sacrificed to produce energyReporterre - March 01, 2024
The deployment of small hydroelectric plants on Alpine torrents is growing according to data collected by Reporterre. Many mayors are delighted but biodiversity is a problem.
It was believed that the Alpine rivers were already well corseted with dams and turbines. But the rush for blue gold continues in the mountains, at the risk of causing irreversible damage to the last wild waterways of the Alps. “There has been a shift over the last twenty years,” says David Doucente, fish engineer for the Hautes-Alpes fishermen’s federation. Until the 2000s, there were a few hydroelectric power stations in the Alps, but these projects were supervised by EDF with measured developments. Since then, many private operators have filed applications and we have started to notice overexploitation of the waterways. »
Neither state services nor the professional union France Hydro Electricité have precise figures on this deployment. Their inventory had, however, already been carried out by a study engineer in 2021 in the departments of Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Alpes-Maritimes and Hautes-Alpes. As part of his dissertation written in the EcoFlows laboratory at the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRAe), Nils Dumarski listed the power plants installed since 1900 whose power is less than 10 kilowatts. Of the 000 hydroelectric dams recorded, 323 were erected between 124 and 2000, while only 2020 were built between 116 and 1950. “The pace of installation of micro hydroelectric power plants in the four departments studied is accelerating, particularly since the 2000s. “This dynamic is particularly important above 2000 meters,” he notes.
An increase that is corroborated by Reporterre data. Thanks to the national register of electricity production and storage installations, we have identified 347 small active dams in the Alps, of which at least 167 have been created or renovated over the last twenty years.
The State is banking on hydroelectricity
This deployment is explained by the State's desire to increase hydroelectricity in its energy mix. To achieve this, EDF has purchased its production at a preferential rate since 2007. Since 2016, France has also been conducting calls for tenders for the operation of new small hydroelectric power plants, which guaranteed the winners additional remuneration. These financial incentives have promoted the professionalization of the sector and the multiplication of projects.
Alas, most French rivers are “already widely exploited and present few additional opportunities in the long term,” underlines the Energy Futures 2050 report from the high-voltage electricity transmission network manager RTE.
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A survival bible
A survival bibleJacob's Ladder - Jan 31, 2024
Actor, naturopath, Alain Saury is the author of a monumental manual devoted to wildlife.
“The wild life manual or reviving through nature” imbued with deep humanism and a crazy love for all that lives, can be considered a true survival bible. It allows us, from today, to gradually introduce ourselves to real life, according to the laws of Nature (and our nature), with respect for all creation, with economy and therefore with generosity. A work on two levels: tips, recipes, ideas, advice, techniques for all aspects of a life in nature; poetry, humanism, love, the dignity of man that he should strive to rediscover.
In our poor world in distress, if the apocalypse came - rightly so because the disharmony is unbearable - with its cohort of famines, epidemics, wars, cataclysms... this wildlife manual could certainly help us save what can still be and, from now on, it can allow us to prevent these catastrophes and move us towards harmony - salvation of our children and of all that lives in complicity and self-giving, in Love.
You will discover and learn a thousand and one useful - even essential - things over the course of its 13 parts, of which here are some aspects (we cannot reproduce the 12 pages of table of contents here!):
1. Understanding time: astronomy, counting and measuring time, weather forecasting (traditional, empirical and technical), knowing climates, clouds, building simple weather instruments, etc.
2. Walk and orient yourself: day and night, build a compass, read a map, equip yourself for travel, find the North, defend yourself, take shelter, swim, build a raft, climb, find your way , etc.
3. Heating yourself: lighting and building a fire in any conditions, the materials to use, the various types of outdoor fires, cutting and felling, heating your home. make your own charcoal, etc.
4. Drink and find water: make it drinkable, filter it, store it, recognize soils, dowsing, dig a well, drain, irrigate, build a pump, etc.
5. Pick: identify and harvest wild plants, preserve them, know their multiple uses (nutritive, oil, honey, flour, textiles, soap, paper, etc.), mushrooms. cultivate mushrooms, etc.
6. Cooking: essential notions of dietetics, fasting, some important recipes, cooking and outdoor fires in all weathers, etc.
7. Preserve: preservation methods following each category of food, long or short term, fermented and non-fermented drinks, etc.
8. Taming, or hunting and fishing: accommodation and food for domestic animals, protection of so-called wild animals, everything about freshwater and sea fishing, equipment, various forms of hunting, traps, rudimentary or sophisticated weapons, some game, etc.
9. Accommodation: simple and wild type constructions, wilderness survival shelters, igloos, tepees, caves, simple tents, construction techniques and materials, masonry, simple frames, tools, etc.
10. Make: clothing (sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving, wool, simple costumes), other crafts (macrame, basketry, glass...), carpentry (tools, sharpening, basic assembly...). metalworking (tools, construction of a forge, etc.), knots, various manufacturing of a multitude of necessary and useful objects, etc.
11. Replant: organic farming techniques (compost, natural fertilizers, layers and frames, sowing, associations, cultivation, vegetable garden, etc.), reforestation and its usefulness (hedges, trees, replanting, etc.), grafts and cuttings, etc.
12. Treat and save: the main accidents and how to treat them (wounds, burns, sprains, fractures, asphyxia, bites, poisoning, childbirth, etc.), essential first aid concepts, transport of the injured, drowning, fire , alternative medicine, etc.
13. Nourish yourself subtly: air, light, silence, music, creativity, spirituality, sensual and universal love, etc.
So many questions (and many others!) to which this practical guide answers, and whose solutions are there to gradually initiate us into an adult, responsible, self-sufficient, altruistic existence, in joy and respect for ourselves, others and our environment.
A book to read, to meditate on, to practice, to share with those around you - and especially to our children because they are the ones who will perhaps make the hell that we bequeath to them today into a paradise for tomorrow? ...
Download “The Wild Life Manual or Reviving Through Nature” for free: http://www.aryanalibris.com/index.php?post/Saury-Alain-Le-manuel-de-la-vie-sauvage
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Earth greener thanks to increased CO2 in the atmosphere
Jacob's Ladder - Jan 13, 2024
Freeman Dyson: The entire Earth is greener thanks to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
According to the late Freeman Dyson, computer models help you understand the climate, but they do a very poor job of predicting it.
Freeman Dyson (1923–2020) was a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, known for his work on quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, the physics of matter. condensed, nuclear physics and engineering. He was one of the most famous figures in XNUMXth century physics.
In 2006, Dyson published “The Scientist as Rebel,” in which he questioned the role of human activity in causing climate change. In a 2008 interview with Physics World, he said that money spent on fighting climate change should instead be targeted at "other more pressing and important problems, such as poverty, infectious diseases, “public education and health”. He also said that thinking about the potential benefits of climate change “won’t do us any harm.”
In 2015 he joined Stuart McNish, host of Conversations that Matter. “There is human-caused climate change,” he said. “The question is how much and whether it’s good or bad.”
“First of all, we don't understand the details. "It's probably a lot less than is commonly claimed and the most important thing is that carbon dioxide has enormous non-climatic effects that are extremely favorable [and] that are not taken into account," he said. declared. As measured by satellites, “the entire Earth is becoming greener because of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
Dyson began studying the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) present in the atmosphere on vegetation "37 years ago", that is to say around 1978.
He explained that increased CO2 leads to increased agricultural yields, forests and all kinds of growth in the biological world. “And that’s more important and more certain than the climate effects,” he said.
When he began studying the effects of CO2 on plants, he thought the effect might be around 10%. But 35 years later, he found that figure was about 25 percent. CO2 increased by about 40% and “about half of that went to vegetation,” he said. “It’s extremely beneficial both for food production, but also for biodiversity, species preservation and everything good.” This comes from observable evidence, he added.
Regarding the idea that models are good predictors, he recalled what Japanese climate expert Suki Manabe, who developed the first climate model in the 1960s, linked warming of Earth's climate to increasing of carbon dioxide, always said and always says: “These climate models are excellent tools for understanding the climate, but they are very poor tools for predicting the climate.
The reason they fail to predict climate is simple, Dyson explained. “These are models that contain only a few factors, but there are many things they forget: The real world is much more complicated than the models.”
“I don't think any of these models can really be predictive,” he added, because climate change is too complex and involves too many factors. “You just can't model everything, it's really out of reach,” he said.
Some climatologists claim that the Sun has no effect because its temperature does not change. “It is true that the temperature of the Sun does not change,” Dyson said. “But its activity is changing.”
By activity, Dyson refers to sunspots and magnetic storms. “They fluctuate very strongly with the 11-year cycle and we see an effect on the climate,” he said.
Nir Shaviv has studied the effects of the Sun's activity: "He's finding a direct effect of this solar cycle, this sunspot cycle, on climate," Dyson said. “It is clear that this activity of the Sun is having an effect.”
“There was an important additional piece of evidence, namely the Little Ice Age, which occurred in the 17th century, and which also coincided with when the Sun went to sleep for about 70 years,” said Dyson. “There was a thing called the Maunder Minimum, when sunspots just didn't appear and at the same time there was a very cold climate in Europe. So that's pretty strong evidence of correlation. But there is now direct evidence and challenge from modern observations.
The other trick of the climate alarmists is to take water vapor “out of the equation.” Water vapor makes up about 90% of the atmosphere. So you can't take water vapor out of the equation, Dyson said. "It's fine [to neglect water vapor] if you want to talk about Mars," Dyson said with a laugh, because there is no water vapor on Mars.
“CO2 is so beneficial in other ways that it would be foolish to try to reduce it,” Dyson said. “The fact is that carbon dioxide will increase, we will continue to burn oil and coal and that will probably do us good – the Earth will become greener. »
“As measured from space, the entire Earth is becoming greener from carbon dioxide, so this increases agricultural yields, forests and increases the growth of the biological world, and this is greater and more certain than the effects on the climate. »
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A teacher in France: For the new year, what if we did class in the forest?
New World - Jan 07, 2024
Children run in a forest, climb a tree then measure it, observe its bark and leaves, draw it and compose a poem describing it.
They strengthened their self-confidence, managed reasonable risk-taking, breathed fresh air, engaged their senses, toned their bodies while studying natural sciences, mathematics and French. They are educated in one of the rare Forest Schools that can be found in France, those which have succeeded, thanks to the perseverance and energy of their founders, in overcoming all the obstacles that the administration and society have put on their path.
Appearing at the beginning of the 20th century, the Forest School enjoyed notable success in the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian worlds. There are many in the United States, Germany, Holland and Sweden. In Denmark, almost XNUMX% of nursery classes spend their day in the forest, meals and naps included, whatever the weather. And the children do very well, when our overheated classrooms make them suffer from colds and we prohibit them from going out for recess when it rains... England today has several hundred public Forest Schools in the primary.
Disconnecting children from screens and reconnecting them with nature is becoming a public health issue as much as a societal emergency. Switzerland is following the same movement and local authorities are supporting the creation of schools, whether private or public.
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Solar flare, several CMEs heading towards Earth
Jacob's Ladder - Nov 30, 2023
Krakatoa erupts.
A solar magnetic filament erupted on November 27 (~05:00 UT), carving a "canyon of fire" in the sun's atmosphere. The filament caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space.
Fortunately, most of the storm cloud will likely pass to the south of Earth.
However, a NASA model (shown below) suggests it will brush against our planet's magnetic field on November 30, potentially triggering a G1-class geomagnetic storm.
Since this first eruption, two more have been detected.
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Hear the angry roar of Iceland's intense seismic activity
Hear the angry roar of Iceland's intense seismic activityEel under the Rock - Nov 20, 2023
Terrifying, but strangely relaxing.
Iceland's geology is particularly changing at the moment. As the Fagradalsfjall volcano prepares for an imminent eruption, hundreds of earthquakes shake the Reykjanes Peninsula every day. Thanks to Northwestern University's Earthtunes app, it's possible to hear the creaks and rattles of the deep seismic forces currently acting beneath the island.
The latest collection of sounds was recorded last week, in early November 2023, by the Global Seismographic Network station (called BORG), located north-northeast of the capital Reykjavík.
This seismic activity usually cannot be heard by the human ear, but researchers transform seismic frequencies into audible pitches. It actually involves translating the sinuous lines of a seismometer into sound data.
“What you hear is 24 hours of seismic data, filled with earthquake signals. The vast majority of these earthquakes are associated with magma intrusion into the crust of the Fagradallsfjall-Svartsengi-Grindavik region of the Reykjanes Peninsula,” Suzan van der Lee, a seismologist at the university, said in a statement. Northwestern, which co-developed Earthtunes.
Iceland experiences intense volcanic and seismic activity because it is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates are separating, allowing magma to rise from the mantle. It is also located at the top of a hot spot (that's the current scientific term) where the magma is particularly close to the surface.
Right now, the situation is particularly hot. On November 12, the Reykjanes Peninsula experienced a thousand earthquakes and many suspect an imminent volcanic eruption from Fagradalsfjall. The risk is so high that Icelandic authorities had the fishing town of Grindavík dug up after giant cracks formed along its roads.
“The activity is great, exciting and scary,” remarked Mr van der Lee.
After centuries of calm, eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula have resumed in 2021, ushering in a new era of intense seismic activity. It is likely that Iceland's southwestern peninsula now faces decades of volcanic instability.
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Northern lights visible from France and Europe
Jacob's Ladder - Nov 14, 2023
A geomagnetic storm allowed the formation of an aurora borealis visible from France, but also in Europe as far as Ukraine.
UNUSUAL - It's a rare event, but it's starting to become a little less so. For the third time this year, the Northern Lights could be observed in France and other European countries on Sunday evening, November 5.
On social networks, users located in Auvergne, Alsace, the Alps, but also on the Côte d'Azur, shared photos of this moving nocturnal spectacle.
The phenomenon has also been observed in other countries, notably in Ukraine, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom where magnificent colors could be observed above the Stonehenge site.
Caused by solar flares, the Northern Lights are rarer at lower latitudes, such as in France, where they are observable approximately every ten years, provided that the solar flare is strong enough and oriented in the right direction. If the countries of the Far North record up to several hundred per year, France has already seen them twice this year, in February and April.
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We are bastards of human beings
Jacob's Ladder - August 23, 2023
I still unplugged for 2 full days. I went to the high Alps. Wonders of nature, preserved waterways, the end of the world, no planes, no 5G antennas, butterflies on the flowers, a gigantic panorama that reminds me of my smallness.
That's wonderful…
Welcoming inhabitants, who invite you to have a cold drink when they see you passing in front of their home, just because you like their village at the end of the world.
Then you start talking.
So the subject goes on the heat wave, it is true that it was 36 degrees... so I realize that the BFM discourse is imprinted even in souls, none of those I meet question the anthropogenic side of "global warming “…we are bastards of human beings who are rotting the planet, it's going badly…what to answer? Nothing…
Arrived in a perched village of about twenty inhabitants, I notice on the ruins of the old castle the French flag which flutters in the wind, then… the flag… of Europe. Damned…what the fuck is Europe doing here? I am shocked…
I continue my route, and there a little higher, again the azure flag with twelve stars on the ruins of the old village of L. which is at 1.700 meters. Damned… would we be in occupied land?
Sadness overwhelms me, in front of so many good human wills who strive to revive these villages, in a certain spirit of mutual aid, it's beautiful, but what is this European flag doing in the heart of our villages?
Did some just notice it?
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The extraordinary wildlife photographer Vincent Munier
The extraordinary wildlife photographer Vincent MunierPass me the binoculars - Jul 03, 2023
Capable of weaving a link between man and the living, Vincent transmits to us with a very particular subtlety his most intimate emotions.
But the pope of animal photography is convinced: showing beauty is no longer enough. It's a shock, a kind of cultural revolution that we must now operate if we want to preserve - not to say save - the world that we will leave to our children.
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These plants that wish us well
These plants that wish us wellSott: Sign of The Times - May 13, 2023
Herbs That Eliminate Gas, Bloating, Heartburn, and More
Rosemary
Rosemary is a shrub that looks like a pine tree. Its leaves can be used in savory dishes to give them an earthy flavor and aroma. Rosemary is excellent for relieving pain.
This plant is considered a botanical nervine, which means that it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
It can be used medicinally to help reduce symptoms of digestive imbalance, such as stomach upset, spasms, and dyspepsia. Rosemary can be used to enhance the flavor of stews, meats, potatoes and root vegetables.
valerian root
Popular as a sleep aid, valerian root may actually reduce symptoms of many digestive disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome and viral gastroenteritis.
Valerian can help calm upset stomachs and relieve gas, bloating, constipation, cramps and nausea. Valerian root can be purchased as capsules, powder, or leaves in supplements and herbal teas.
Turmeric
Turmeric has recently received a lot of attention due to its ability to promote brain health. It has been used for centuries in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine, as well as Chinese medicine. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and is commonly used for digestive disorders and liver health.
According to the World Health Organization, it is effective in treating dyspepsia, acid reflux, and flatulence.
It also calms the gastrointestinal tract and is effective against ulcerative colitis. Turmeric is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. It has a bright yellow color and imparts a warm, earthy taste to rice dishes, stews, soups and sauces.
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