#sustainability revolution

[reasonsforhope]

"How can we cool houses without using A/C? Scientists have now discovered that one way would be to turn the roof and walls into a beetle’s shell.

That’s because tiny nanostructures on the beetle’s exoskeleton made of cellulose capture light and send it bouncing around whilst separating it into different wavelengths. This is why they appear to shimmer in greens and purples.

More importantly however, when the same nanostructures are pasted to the outside of a house, they can keep it 7.2°F cooler during the day and 20°F cooler during the night.

Some scientists are worried that too much energy will be used for air-conditioning in a climate that is warmed by 1.5°C, and so are devoting their time to coming up with energy-less ways to cooling homes.

GNN has already reported on ultra-white paint that can keep things cooler, and now scientists at the University of Cambridge are turning to cellulose nanomaterials inspired by nature that would create iridescent houses that are self-cooling.

“The usual way to generate a color is dye, but dye will absorb light and heat up, and that counteracts the cooling effect,” Qingchen Shen, a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge told Fast Company. 

As Shen explains though, color generally absorbs heat, rather than reflects it, but their invention of a thin nanostructure film made of cellulose under a thin film of white was able to generate over 120 watts of cooling power, as much as some air conditioners.

“We wanted to make it cheap,” Shen added. “That’s why we used cellulose-based materials. Cellulose nanocrystals can be extracted from wood or cotton. Cellulose is the most abundant polymer in nature.”

When pasted over walls or rooftops, the material could meaningfully assist in cooling the interior of the house and reduce electricity usage by a fair amount.

The colors could make a house look pretty psychedelic in the sunshine though, so the team is probably better off leaving the marketing for the major coastal cities."

-via Good News Network, 4/4/23

[greenhorizonblog]

FOOD, WATER, HOUSING, HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION ARE BASIC FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE FREE!!!

[lord-squiggletits]

Part of why I hate this fandom's take on Autobots vs Decepticons is ppl (mainly 'con fans honestly) who can't have any nuance of the situation whatsoever and love to write plots like "oh the humans are racist and abusive towards Cybertronians so this is how Megatron is right" no actually I don't think colonialism/imperialism and racism are justified so long as you can point the finger and say "they were the aggressors first" or "their hands are no cleaner than ours bc their society sucks too" sorry. Please come up with better sociopolitical narratives in your war story.

[naxalite1967]

[wildrungarden]

⭐️Currently reading: The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka ⭐️

‘Just playing or doing nothing at all, children are happy. A discriminating adult, on the other hand, decides what will make him happy, and when these conditions are met he feels satisfied.’

The synopsis calls it ‘Zen and the Art of Farming.’ This book is about his experience over 30 years of using the ‘do-nothing’ farming method. He lets his orchard and rice/barley fields grow wild without any pest controls or fertilizers. That’s the basis of it (kinda?) — but what makes this book amazing is that he goes deep into why it works for him. Explaining why he doesn’t have to use chemicals to treat weeds and pests. Into the full circle of life & how to actually grow ‘natural’ food. We always want bigger and better quality & focus on high yields and money. How disconnected we really are growing from nature in agriculture.

If you aren’t into agriculture or learning about the exact ‘whys’ of his experiences from growing rice, barley & citrus on his personal field —- skip to part 2 of the book. I honestly wouldn’t recommend skipping(it holds a lot of useful information), but after part 2 is where I really got interested.

It’s not only about farming though - it also incorporates our health, diet and how basic our knowledge is as humans. It makes you think.

Even this book being written in 1978 - it still holds up to today. We’ve had all this knowledge since then and we still continue to do industrial agriculture and live/eat the way we do. It’s eye opening, for sure.

I’m not completely finished yet - I have about 40 pages left - but that’s what I think so far ☺️ You should definitely give it a try.

[sparksinthenight]

“Unless major importers of conflict timber strengthen their enforcement of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and due diligence requirements, consumption of wood products in wealthy countries will continue fueling conflict and deforestation in Myanmar, the DRC, and other countries around the world.”

[torgawl]

i'm so in love with wrio. that man is the embodiment of mercy and compassion. he is so... human. despite the deep disdain for atrocious acts that hurt others, especially acts that remind him of his own pain and traumas, he is able to keep himself in check and hold on to his values. despite being so proactive in fixing the wrongdoings of people that actively harm those under his care and assuring that everyone is supported in the best way possible; despite knowing he could have not controlled other people's hearts once they were in too deep in their own sins, he still feels helpless and incompetent. he recognises he cannot fully empathise with those who have been hurt for he has not experienced what they have and he understands that some wounds might not be able to heal even with all the attention and efforts, or at least not that easily. and it pains him. his whole life he's been trying to protect others. all his hard work during his time at the fortress and taking over it's administration has granted him the power and resources to actually change lives in a more restorative way, with a bigger amplitude than just the people who he's close to. yet he's only human. and not everyone wishes to be saved. and he doesn't hold back from breaking his own rules if means he is guaranteeing the best outcome for the greater good, for the well being of all of those he's sworn to protect. and although he earned himself a respectable title and even got used to being referred to in that way, he doesn't see people at the fortress as innmates but as equals. he never stopped being the little boy that was sentenced to live over a decade of his life there. and he is so good at what he does and he is so successful at restoring people's hopes in life, at giving them a second chance to become who they want to be, that there's people who actually want to stay there. he is the literal personification of turning your own pain into goodness, into love. love for community and love for others. he found meaning in making the world a better place and i just think that's really fucking beautiful.

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

Behind every great warrior woman is another woman who is choosing kindness. For now.

[cheesebearger]

"if you want any political change to happen, you need to vote!!!"

i am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, i really truly am, but we are not going to be able to vote our ways out of this one, guys

there comes a time when the only way to solve a problem is for everyone to collectively rise up together, and i see no better time than when almost 80% of american voters dont want either biden or trump in office. we literally do not need to choose one or the other. you can choose to fight in a way that cannot be ignored. or you can go vote for one of two old men who have literally the same essential goals of funding/perpetuating supremacist, separatist, and militaristic nations and policies.

[fromtheseventhhell]

I love how often it's mentioned that Dany has a large number of non-combatants in her care and even more, that she insists on taking care of them even when advised otherwise. That's been ongoing from the beginning of her leadership journey with the remains of Drogo's khalasar where a majority of them were too old, sickly, or young to be able to defend themselves. And yet, she still made a promise to take care of and protect them. Her priorities and motivations have been made abundantly clear from the very beginning.

[studioriver-dfts]

‘I’m not trying to do something different, I’m trying to do the same thing in a different way.’ Vivienne Westwood

BUY LESS, CHOOSE WELL, MAKE IT LAST.

Vivienne Westwood wasn’t just a designer - she was a revolutionary mind, an activist and a bold, powerful woman.

Her brand and her voice became a #manifesto for how climate change and culture are connected. She always said: “The first thing we can do is inform ourselves, because all we’ve got is public opinion. And the most important thing is to fight for something”.

#Sustainability in fashion has to be an intentional act and a conscious choice into both vision and strategy.

Vivienne Westwood’s fearless creativity and authenticity remain a daily source of inspiration for me."

.:. monday story .:.

Each Monday, one story to share 🔥

[tinselisland]

5 Inspiring Ways Jessica Alba and Stella McCartney are Revolutionizing Sustainable products

British fashion designer Stella McCartney and actress Jessica Alba at Paris Fashion Week  /Photo Credit : Getty Images As the global awareness of climate change and environmental issues grows, the fashion industry is facing increasing pressure to adopt more sustainable practices. Among the leaders in this movement are actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba and renowned designer Stella McCartney.…

[greenhorizonblog]

Capitalism as a cycle of generational abuse

I am coming to realise more and more, that it is indeed material conditions and circumstance that shape people's thinking.

People only defend capitalism because they can't see any other way of life that is viable to counter it.

(Content warning for childhood trauma)

We are currently in a societal situation where (for the main population who hasn't had this realisation yet) it's like being a child with an abusive parent. The child is never going to see the parent as abusive, because they have no escape from the parent so they just tell themselves that everything is fine and that actually they themselves are the problem if there is any. They keep going because of lack of alternatives, sunk cost fallacy, and social pressure from other people stuck in the same situation who don't want to be alone. Misery loves company as we know, sadly.

Capitalism is our abusive parent that most can't see any way of getting rid of. The only way is to wake up, leave and join other leavers, like us in this community.

You will have to give up some luxuries but the freedom, true fulfilment and peace will be so worth it. You can live without the latest iPhone, the latest fashion and entertainment, but you can't live without thriving ecosystems, nutritious clean food and a supportive community.

We have to be brave and start communities outside of the system. Learn permaculture, learn effective empathetic communication. Start cic off-grid permaculture farms with your friends like I'm doing. You can get permission to live on agricultural land much easier that way. You don't need much money, you can even get interest free loans and grants for this. We can do this, but we have to be brave and actually do the real tangible work in the real world.

We can do this, more and more people are on our side as it becomes more evident that the current system is not in people's best interest and simply not worth the effort anymore (if it ever was)

[wicked-witch-ofthe-east]

Just to let you all in on a secret… the silent revolution begins today.

[dreamings-free]

Adding a 4 or a 5xl would be absolutely impossible and a complete waste. A unisex 2XL is already a 4XL for women. And as you said a unisex 5XL would actually cost much more, like at least 30/40% more and then fans would start complaining saying they ara fatphobic or things like that.

I wouldn’t be so blunt as to say it’d be a waste but I do think the production costs and therefor the actual sales price would be an issue for many. and it might sound crazy at first glance but I don’t think your 30-40% price increase is far off at all. because it isn’t just additional material consumption it’s additional costs of logistics (fewer sizes to a box, higher item weight etc etc which all adds to costs that then adds to price) also you’re correct; the unisex 2xl does match a standard size women’s 4xl

I do think it’s a real issue not for 28 specifically but in general that larger sizes are so costly to make and many brands can’t or won’t shoulder the additional cost or price hike. (but also we as consumers have a skewed view of what clothes should actually cost because a $10 t-shirt isn’t actually possible to produce without someone somewhere not getting paid for they labour..)

okay this got long haha

[wild-garden-fairy]

Over 100 brands have been linked to Amazon deforestation through their use of leather.

Sources:

Fashion Transparency Index 2023

Nowhere to Hide: How the Fashion Industry Is Linked to Amazon Rainforest Destruction