Resilience and wisdom to stay happy in the years ahead
Alan Heeks 
Is an inspiring, visionary and down-to-earth plan to get 1200 acres of land in South-East Wales dedicated to growing vegetables and fruit for local markets. The benefits include reducing the current extreme vulnerability to imports, boosting the local economy (far more value added per acre), and substantially reducing carbon emissions. See more here on Our … Read more
Are we facing collapse, or merely huge disruption? This is an important, useful book which should help you think more clearly about the future outlook, and about the complex systems that we all depend on (climate, economy, food supplies and more), which are all under stress and may change radically. I’ve had some involvement with … Read more
An ecosystem view on human societies Of all the many books on future outlook I’ve read, this is a rarity: it offers a scenario which I find plausible and even encouraging. John Michael Greer wrote The Long Descent, on how civilisations decline, and he combines these insights with his experience as an ecologist and organic … Read more
Three years on, what has worked, and what hasn’t In 2020, and before that, many experts on food security and climate change were warning of imminent problems, and sadly they were right. Covid has added to the challenges of extreme weather, but the UK has had it worse than some other countries, due to … Read more
Guest blog As the world continues to grapple with the challenges of climate change, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need to find new ways of farming that are more sustainable and regenerative. That’s where regenerative agriculture comes in – a way of farming that focuses on improving the health of the soil, increasing biodiversity, … Read more
Why down to earth beats fishtank modernity This is a very helpful, illuminating book, though not in the ways I hoped. The idea of ‘solutions’ to the climate crisis is long gone for me, but I am thirsty for guidance on practical adaptation in local communities. Dougald’s book only hints at this, but it has … Read more
by Caroline Walker I have a nice personal memory of Professor Tim Lang. In 2001 I had just retired as head of the Small School in Hartland, North Devon, a very small independent secondary school where cooking the lunch together was a foundational practice. I heard about the Caroline Walker (no relation) Awards which recognise … Read more
Insights from new Future Risks report It’s hard to make sense of the future outlook: there are so many issues, risks and trends which could worry us, at every scale from local to global. And we have to discern real news from fake news, objective facts from mountains of self-interested spin. So I’m pleased … Read more
Still seeking a better response to the climate crisis In fairy stories, often the hero/ine forgets the purpose of their quest, and a chance event reminds them. This happened to me recently: I was on a Zoom call about Deep Adaptation, and suddenly an American woman asked, “Does ritual fit into all this?” Some deep … Read more
Raise your spirits by changing your view Can I invite you to take a couple of minutes, and ask what gives you your sense of reality? Maybe your physical surroundings, other people, and news media and social media. But remember that most of us seek out others who share our views, and social media selects … Read more