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2022-05-16 10:30:19

Main PageContactRSS FeedNewsletterTwitterBlogrollMain CategoriesDo-it-yourself ProjectsPedal PowerSolar PowerWind PowerWater PowerLow-tech TransportationLow-tech FarmingLow-tech ArchitectureLow-tech Food StorageDoubts on Progress & TechnologyBooks & ReferencesObsolete TechnologyPrimitive TechnologyLow-tech MagazineNO TECH MAGAZINEWe believe in progress and technologyState of the Art of Windthermal TurbinesAs Low-tech Magazine wrote in 2019, given the right conditions, a mechanical windmill with an oversized brake system is a cheap, effective, and sustainable heating system. Earlier this year, Malte Neumeier from the German Aerospace Center informed us that he and his team are investigating the technical and economical challenges of the technology.“We started our research, with a birds eye techno-economic analysis and a scoping review. The results were promising, so we decided to build our own prototype. To refine our analysis, we are now searching for people, who already have experience with this technology. Maybe we could discuss some lessons learned. Do you have contact to any person experienced in wind-thermal energy applications? I would really appreciate this.” [Read more…]May 16, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Heating appliances, Wind Power, WindmillsBike Powered Water PumpsThe Spanish NGO Azada Verde works with rural communities in Mozambique to develop sustainable and local food systems. Their bike powered water pumps save the local population much time fetching water. The pumps each supply 10 litres of water per minute. So far, 67 bike powered water pumps have been installed.All images by Azade Verde.May 16, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Human power, Water, Water managementSmall Scale Hemp ProcessingReader Martin Monin shares some links around hemp processing:I don’t know if you have some research or an article under preparation for this, but as you know, hemp is an extraordinary plant for the low tech transition, and yet its use is still marginal, as it’s costlier than cotton/concrete and the other chemical/petrol substitutes.There are multiple parts in the process, from the retting of the plant (which can be done naturally by letting the plant in the field after its cut, or chemically – like the Chinese do). And then decorticating, separating the fiber from the stem, and the flower/seeds. From my small research, it seems that the industry is more looking into huge machines to process the huge fields of American and Australian farmers. But there is not much around small scale farming, and I was wondering if you knew of any low tech projects around hemp processing?Here is a machine made in Latvia that seems interesting but does only a small part of the whole process : https://hurdmaster.com/And another project between USA and Zambia to build a whole hemp processing facility, very interesting : https://ehemp.house/The dream would be to build a micro autonomous plant that produces seeds + flowers for CBD extraction, fiber for textile production and hurd for construction isolation…Best,MartinMay 9, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: FarmingReconstrained Design & Locally Produced Gravity BatteriesThe Reconstrained Design Group at the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute in Portugal “challenges the dominance of the grid system through developing functional prototypes that operate outside of its control”.Solutions include gravity batteries to provide night-time storage from solar or wind power using the natural phenomenon of gravity in vertiginous regions. The uniqueness of this battery is its ability to be built, installed and maintained by local communities using local materials and techniques and to not rely on any external help or funding. It uses basic physics principles to provide an easily achievable and efficient way to store energy without conventional battery systems.”Also check out their manifesto and publications.May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Energy storage, Gravity Powered Machines, RandomNo Tech Reader #31The Technocrat’s Dilemma — Expert rule is destroying itself. Alexander Stern, The New Atlantis, April 2022. “Technocrats, when they speak in public, use the rhetoric of objective, neutral, scientific knowledge to justify policy decisions that are not — cannot be — fully “based on science”.”In the dark: How authoritarian regimes found an off switch for dissent. Rest of World, Peter Guest, April 2022. “The free, open, global internet is under severe threat. Blackouts and mass censorship risk fragmenting the internet and even undermining its physical integrity.”Their bionic eyes are now obsolete and unsupported. IEEE Spectrum, Eliza Strickland & Mark Harris, February 2022. “More than 350 blind people around the world with Second Sight’s implants in their eyes, find themselves in a world in which the technology that transformed their lives is just another obsolete gadget.”In the Battle Over the Right to Repair, Open-Source Tractors Offer an Alternative. Greta Moran, Civil Eats, April 2022. “The idea is to create more regional, country-level manufacturing for farm equipment, rather than having farmers rely on the major global manufacturers whose sales don’t benefit the local economy.”May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: No Tech ReadersCarbolytics: The Environmental Impact of Data Collection Practices“Carbolytics is a project at the intersection of art and research that aims to raise awareness and call for action on the environmental impact of pervasive surveillance within the advertising technology ecosystem (AdTech), as well as to provide a new perspective to address the social and environmental costs of opaque data collection practices. Online tracking is the act of collecting data from online user activity, such as reading the news, purchasing items, interacting on social media or simply doing an online search. It is known that tracking and recording users’ behaviour has become a major business model in the last decade.”“However, even though the societal and ethical consequences of abusive online surveillance practices have been a subject of public debate at least since Snowden’s revelations in 2013, the energy and environmental costs of such processes have been kept away from the public eye. The global data collection apparatus is a complex techno maze that needs vast amounts of resources to exist and operate, yet companies rarely disclose information on the environmental footprint of such operations. Moreover, part of the energy costs of data collection practices is inflicted upon the user, who also involuntarily assumes a portion of its environmental footprint. Although this is a critical aspect of surveillance, there’s an alarming lack of social, political, corporate and governmental will for accountability, thus a call for action is urgent.”More: Carbolytics. A project by Joana Moll commissioned by Aksioma in collaboration with Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and in partnership with The Weizenbaum Insitute + Sónar +D.May 5, 2022 by kris de decker Filed Under: Internet, Random123…133Next Page »Dog Sulkies: Pet Powered MobilityThe Venetian HandcartLow-tech Magazine: The Printed WebsiteSubscribeEmailRSSTwitterNo Tech Magazine hosts all links and updates from Low-tech Magazine. We refuse to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. 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