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08 December 2024
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Luddite.com, mired in irony in honor of 200th anniversary of Luddite Rebellion
by Chellis Glendinning   
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The Luddite Rebellion
1811-1813 to 2011-2013

Native peoples in earlier centuries were stymied when they tried to talk about the European conquest; their pre-Columbian vocabularies had no words to describe such a battering. And it’s like that again. You and I can only peg together language to describe the invasion overwhelming our bodies, psyches, and cultures by technology. And that assault, taken together with the economic/political institutions that fuel it, is swiftly diminishing life’s future on this Earth.

 
The Beauty of Nature versus The Human Fixation. Grassy Fields or Plastic Turf?
by Jan Lundberg   
Image We have just witnessed the power and fury of nature, with devastating hurricane force. But it is through neglecting the beauty of nature, and perpetrating narrow human interests, that we reap nature's wrath - e.g., Sandy.

We all like to think we appreciate the beauty of nature. But to really know it and appreciate it, we need to keep in perspective a critical understanding of what may be termed the human fixation. This is the modern mindset of constantly putting our human-oriented concerns, desires and schemes first.

 
Sailing wine on the San Francisco Bay
by Clark Beek   
ImageSail Transport Network, by Clark Beek, founder of Wine By Sail
This article appeared on SAIL at SailFeed.com

Editor's note:
Clark currently works in marine electronics and has been an active contributor for SAIL for several years. During a multi-year circumnavigation aboard his 40-foot ketch Condesa Clark survived the Asian tsunami and being run down by a freighter off the coast of South America. Clark cruises his sailboat Condesa in the San Francisco area. - Jan Lundberg

 
Bioplastics: Are They the Solution?
by Sarah (Steve) Mosko, PhD   
ImageBioplastics are simply plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, like plants and microorganisms, whereas conventional plastics are synthesized from non-renewable fossil fuels, either oil or natural gas. It’s a common misconception, however, that a bioplastic necessarily breaks down better in the environment than conventional plastics.

Bioplastics are nevertheless marketed as being better for the environment, so how do they really compare?

The Problems with Petroleum-Based Plastics

 
Maintain Culture Change and Sail Transport Network today!
by Jan Lundberg   
Dear culture changer,

It's our job to occasionally let you know we need your support in funding. Any size donation is helpful. The average donation is $25, and does make a difference. We think you'll want to help out when you consider our accomplishments and the mission we're fulfilling.

To continue our cutting-edge efforts to enlighten the public -- about issues probably more important for our future than Mitt Romney's and Barack Obama's political differences -- we need to cover basic costs this month.

 
Are Progressives Barking up the Wrong Tree for $ocial Ju$tice?
by Jan Lundberg   
ImageThe Occupy movement refreshingly broke through the corporate media's suppression of the gaping gap between the wealth of the super rich and the rest of us. But many of the movement's adherents seem wedded to misguided expectations, or their route is questionable. For when we mainly demand "a piece of the pie," and it's the same old toxic pie, does this really advance the fundamental changes needed for a just, sustainable society?

Probably not, even if we stand for totally turning around today's warped federal spending priorities.

 
Sail Transport Movement Enters U.S. Mainstream: Eco-Ships And Buying Truly Green Coffee Today
by Jan Lundberg   
ImageThe last month has seen exciting U.S. sail-transport developments. Three encouraging events indicate that the nation may no longer be falling behind Europe in nurturing a critical form of renewable energy. In northern Europe at least four well-established players are operating on a significant scale, and preparing to build more ships. Previous reports this summer on SailTransportNetwork.com have discussed these entities' exciting voyages and plans for new vessels.
 
A Social Awakening Depends on Balance of Activism
by Jan Lundberg   
Our tall ship inches toward Copenhagen where it will dock near Christiania, the semi-autonomous village in the Christianshavn quarter. Apart from the job of getting the engineless ship into port where we deliver 8,000 bottles of French wine, there is much for an ecological and social activist to reflect upon.

Sometimes when Nature's energy is high on the sea, with a fury, or when we are in the tender embrace of the water, air and sun that calms and becalms us, we get a slightly new perspective on our place on the planet. I should not have to add: that place is not about money or other narrow goals.

 
The rise of sail transport for a different world economy
by Jan Lundberg   
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windmills outside Copenhagen

Reflections on a successful delivery of 8,000 bottles of wine, Holland to Denmark

At this writing, the Tres Hombres schooner-brig is just reaching the Netherlands, on its way back from Copenhagen. I wish I had taken the round trip and remained with my able crew mates, but I had to keep to my sail-transport research schedule by returning to the Mediterranean.

 
Sailing 8,000 bottles of wine to Copenhagen on the brigantine Tres Hombres of Holland
by Jan Lundberg   
Image Fair Transport is the world's foremost sail cargo company. Its 32-meter ship, the Tres Hombres, has pulled off many a voyage in the past few years to bring rum, cacao and other goods from the Caribbean to northern Europe. Shorter runs have involved France, the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

The solid, strong brigantine vessel's home is Den Helder, the naval/ship-building/museum port first envisioned by Napoleon. Now the ship is bound for Copenhagen where a visionary buyer will capitalize on the "green" market for carbon-emission-free wine.

 
Europe's Affluence Out On a Limb [an American's letter from Europe]
by Jan Lundberg   
ImageThe time for a revolution of a deeper sort comes when the imbalance of unequal sharing of the land and its resources reaches the ultimate crisis point. People don't want to contemplate this, but at least the unprecedented socioeconomic disintegration ahead will be the portal to achieving real sustainability.

This will occur despite any redistribution of present wealth through compassionate reforms or wrenching de-classism. For the hour is too late ecologically. This applies to the entire modern industrialized world.

 
Mosquito Fleet Sustainable Shipping - Olympia Schooner Company interview
by Jan Lundberg   
ImageHoyle Hodges founded the new Olympia Schooner Company in the Puget Sound. This year it has instituted delivery of fresh produce as part of a business plan to at least break even with sailing cargo and eventually passengers. The company began as the Mosquito Fleet Sustainable Shipping project at Evergreen State College where Hoyle studied.

When we saw his video here at Sail Transport Network central in June, we were inspired to learn more. Here's the interview we conducted:

 
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