No Tech Magazine

Most deserts are actually formed primarily due to abiotic features like geography. Usually if you see a desert, there's a nearby mountain range that that desert is in the shadow of, preventing it from getting much precipitation

You're not wrong about the diminished abilities of a desert to hold water. More people drown in deserts every year than die of thirst. When it does rain it pools up and can easily create flash floods. The major problem is if you do try to start building any topsoil, these types of floods can wash away your years of work. It's a hard problem because you're both in desperate need of precipitation and desperate fear of it

Techniques that could be used to combat this are things like the waffle gardens[0] that Zuni people have used for a long time, olla pot irrigation that have been in use in China and Northern Africa for over 4,000 years, and complex swale systems, or terracing systems like the Incans used to basically turn deserts into fertile ground[2] and might be the reason we today have potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes and a large number of other crops domesticated in the Andes

I really think the biggest challenge is just shade though. The worst thing you could possibly do for soil is expose it to direct sunlight. One "geoengineer-y" idea I toy with that keeps coming up for me is what if we just built a bunch of large boxes made of wood or bamboo some other biodegradable material and just left them in the desert. All that…

So, after a decade and a half of transportation riding in a metropolitan US city, I can definitively say: no. Big brain dump, incoming.

There a lot of elements of Dutch style bikes that are great. He's completely right: enclosed chains, skirt guards, racks, generator lights, swept handlebars, internal-geared hubs.) If you're interested in regular transportation by bicycle, you absolutely should try to find as many of those things as possible (or, more likely, try to find a bike with a frame that will accommodate as many of those as possible.) But do not buy a Dutch-style bike if you live in the US.

Most of the things you want can be found in the (thankfully) ever-growing "transportation bike" category though you'll have to look a bit harder. There are several brands that make nice transpo bikes, but I think some of the most consistently good transportation bikes are made by Breezer. The big boys like Specialized and Trek do generally try to force you into a "hybrid" bike if you want something for "transportation." About the biggest change they make is (hopefully) making sure there are enough mounting holes on the frame for mounting both a rack and fenders, and doing so with a fair amount of flexibility (ie multiple options for doing so.) Many bikes sold as "touring" bikes can make for good transportation bikes.

The reason you don't see good all-inclusive transportation bikes in US bike shops is because most shoppers in the US look at bicycles as toys, not transportation…

The main point you seem to be going for reminds of http://www.africafornorway.no/ in a way. While I agree with the overall goal, I do have some criticism when reading the whole thing. Basically, I feel like it needs a bit more fleshing out here and there.

First, I'm surprised that there is no explicit mention of participatory design in the part where you lament the lack of feedback with non-profits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_design

Then again, I'm studying design in Malmö, Sweden, and maybe it's not that well-known outside of Scandinavia, and the movement was targeting design in general, not this specific issue. Still, it seems to apply to the problem, and the point is that there is an established design approach trying to address it.

Also, I can't say I'm too fond of the four examples you give near, with the exception of the Giradora. The price point seems to violate your own principle of constraint. In places where drinking water and lack of electricity are an issue, these solutions are just very expensive stopgaps.

Furthermore, it does not mention the problem that just donating stuff locally can undermine the local development of better solutions. Does sending life straws over to Africa give them the means to build a more sustainable solution? This ties in to that participatory design I mentioned earlier: the design should be with the target audience, and if possible the end product should be produced by the developing nation.

Finally, these two…

> You must live somewhere warm.

Not especially :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester#Climate

> Wait, there's magic bubble of warmth and comfort that will take me to my destination without having to mill around with the other cold yet sweaty 99% Chimpanzees in their puffy insulated layers? Sold!

A lot of people don't actually seem to be sold on this, though. They seem aggrieved when it isn't also faster than walking, cycling and public transport, because they've been sold a top speed. In the local news this week: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/night-manchester-ground-halt-15324465

But a car takes up several times more area on the ground, compared to the same number of people walking or using wheelchairs, bicycles or buses — there just isn't room for every individual to have that level of luxury and leave room to move at speed.

I found this essay insightful: http://unevenearth.org/2018/08/the-social-ideology-of-the-motorcar/ — via https://www.notechmagazine.com/2018/08/no-tech-reader-19.html

You are getting downvoted, but presumably, in Russia a significant amount of food is being produced in small family farms/gardens called Dacha [1], with a typical size of only 600 m^2 [4].

Since, original sources are all Russian, it's hard to fully verify via secondary sources, but there are claims that (1) as much as 77% of all vegetables and 59% of all meat [2] or (2) as much as 50% of all food [3] produced in Russia is on these farms.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacha

[2] https://thebovine.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/in-1999-35-million-small-family-plots-produced-90-of-russias-potatoes-77-of-vegetables-87-of-fruits-59-of-meat-49-of-milk-way-to-go-people/

[3] https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/84725

[4] https://www.notechmagazine.com/2020/03/a-dacha-for-everyone-community-gardens-and-food-security-in-russia.html

This reminded me of an article I read about "dachas" in Russia, which are basically allotted garden plots with a small house that tons of every-day Russians have.[0]

Combined with plentiful public transit, remote work, good community layouts,etc, I think the ideal living conditions for people would be something like this. Low density housing, not made up of McMansions and chemical soaked lawns, but of space where people can connect with nature, enjoy the land side by side with neighbors and family.

[0]https://www.notechmagazine.com/2020/03/a-dacha-for-everyone-community-gardens-and-food-security-in-russia.html