Greenhouses without Glass

You may be familiar with the espalier pruning technique where trees are made to grow flat, but did you know that greenhouses had their origins from the same way of growing stuff in climates that were too cold: Fruit Walls.  Low-Tech Magazine has an in-depth article about this technology from the Renaissance.

Preparing for Storms

While this article at Planning and Foresight is focused on winter storms, we're having some stormy weather this week.  Except for not needing so desperately to keep warm, there isn't that much difference between summer and winter storms.

People of the North: The Long Night

The Long Night was cold.  Of course, when the sun barely peeks over the horizon, it never gets warm, but this year, it was particularly cold.  The elders always talked about how the long nights were getting colder, as their elders had when they were young, probably going back generations.  But now, even the young people were starting to take notice.

At first they just slept closer together.  Then they started sleeping closer to the cooking fire.  When people started keeping the fire going even after the cooking was done, the elders became concerned.  They held a meeting of the tribe.  "We must remember that wood is a gift from our Earth Mother", exhorted Nald, one of the oldest members of the tribe.  "We do not want to foolishly use up more than She gives, like our distant ancestors did.  We have been using the same amount for cooking for generations without diminishing our supply, but if we start using it to keep warm, we may run out."

"Does anyone have any other ideas for keeping warm?" asked Nythia, a woman just a few years younger than Nald.

"We could make blankets out of rabbit skins," chimed in Lek, a young man who had just completed the rite of passage last year.

"Definitely a better idea than burning extra wood, but we still have to be careful about not taking too many rabbits," replied Nald.

They tried hard to come up with better ideas, but decided they were getting nowhere, and agreed to think about it for the night.

Rol roused everyone the next morning.  It was a special day, the halfway point between the Shortest Day and the Day of Equals.  This was the coldest morning anyone could remember.  It was Rol's turn to fetch water from the river, but he came running back, empty-handed.

"Come quick!  You need to see this!," Rol screamed. "I don't know what to do.  The river is solid!"

Tales of an Exiled Citizen #4: The Shelter

Beginning of story

Even in the last rays of sunshine, the first glimpse of the shelter brought on a new emotion: shame.  My pride had failed me once again.  It took 3 weeks of exploring before I found the shelter, even though it was only a 20 minute walk away from the City.  But all the trips I had made to it left a clear trail which they had obviously followed.  It wasn't enough to make sure that no one could use the passage I had found, they had to destroy the supply, too.

The shelter had been a marvel when I originally discovered it.  It was obviously the work of the Founders.  It must have been a prototype for the systems the City was based on.  The glazing appeared to be the same material as the Dome is made out of.  Now, since I am not a researcher, I can't say that for certain, but as a maintenance man it certainly seemed to be identical to what I worked with.  That's why they took it all, and how I knew at first glance that they had been there.  The framing for the glazing was missing, too, so it would not have even been possible to replace it with a lesser material.

The tears finally burst forth.  For decades, the shelter had stood, unattended, collecting the rainwater, absorbing the heat of the sun, keeping the plants inside healthy from the extremes of the climate outside.  Now, because of my folly, that system was destroyed forever.

Knowing that they had already been there, the shelter was as I expected when I got there.  My big beautiful Bean tree was gone, with just a burned out stump to show where it had been.  All the seedlings I had planted had been cut off at ground level.

Even though my day had not been very strenuous physically, I still felt exhausted.  If I had only been smart enough to take different paths to the shelter so as not to leave a trail, I might have been able to live a somewhat comfortable life there.  Still, it was getting dark, and I had no place better to go for the night, so I walked down in.  Even without the glazing above, the northeast corner of the shelter still had soaked up the warmth of the evening sun and would keep me from getting too cold.  I gathered up all the little branches I could to make a rough mattress.  It was by far the least comfortable thing I had ever slept on up to that point.  Were I not so exhausted I doubt I ever would have gotten to sleep.  I was glad I did; tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Part 5: A Life of Crime

The Answer To Climate Change

The Coalition of the Willing believe they have the answer to climate change, and they have made a video about it.  Science Pope reviews it.

Looking Sandy in the Eye

It was kind of amusing and a little frustrating watching the weather radar around sunset last night.  There was this big beautiful clear patch just a few miles from me, but it didn't seem to be getting any closer.  When I zoomed out, I saw that the rain was moving in a circle around the clear patch.  So I guess that was Sandy's eye.

Overall here in western Pennsylvania we've had less damage than a severe thunderstorm, just a very long period of rain.  Heck, only one trash can got knocked down.

People and Climate Change

Some people are changing their minds about climate change.  I understand the people who are in denial about climate change; the fear can just shut down rational thinking.  I also understand people who say we are changing the climate by all the fossil fuel we're burning, but it's okay because we'll run out soon.  Not that that's necessarily true, but at least it is a reasonable position.  What I don't understand are people who admit that the climate is changing and deny that we are the cause, and that doesn't bother them! If we aren't doing it, then we are helpless victims waiting for the wrath of the gods.