Valhalla is a growing tribe of storytellers out to proliferate freedom culture
by igniting a global passion for sustainability, self-reliance, and collaborative action.

David vs. Goliath: British Gov’t Aims to Destroy Family’s Holistic Retreat Center

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Nick Joyce is an active member and director within The Global Ecovillage Network, designed to improve and proliferate a life lived in harmony with our environment. He has been a longstanding brother and GEN-liaison to Valhalla and we vouch for his cause.

 


This past weekend, I found myself at a beautiful Natural Holistic Retreat Center known as Mellowcroft. Soon after arriving on this special piece of land in the countryside of Wales, I was told by the builder and young father, Eddie, that the place was facing destruction. Turns out, despite having built all temporary and natural structures, holistically managing the land and significantly increasing the biodiversity, and legally forming an organization and paying proper taxes to offer this idyllic retreat experience to the local community and outsiders alike, the British government wants to bring Mellowcroft down. For more of the specifics click here.

treehouse and stairs leading to craft shop and hot tub
Essentially, this would leave Eddie and his young family homeless, destroy the biodiversity they have worked so lovingly to create, and level all of the beautiful natural building he has done over the last 9 years (^including the incredible treehouse above^). The good news is: he has received overwhelming local and global support causing the authorities to agree to holding a Public Inquiry. Even better news: YOU CAN HELP!

Currently, they have secured just over 4,500 signatures for their petition to the authorities and are needing just under 500 more. You can sign the petition here (you’ll need to use “N0T1GB” as your postcode if outside the UK). You can also donate to their crowdfunding campaign for legal assistance and help Mellowcroft beat the government.

One supporter states:
“They are trying to evict these people, and I believe part of the reason is because they know many others are thinking of going self sufficient and sustainable outside the ordinary system. This is feared by Govt as they seek more & more control. Please act now to stop this eviction. If it occurs, not only does it damage the family involved but will have wider implications for those hoping to achieve similar.”

I couldn’t sit back and watch this happen so I decided to reach out to you. Are you going to watch this happen or are you going to click here and sign the petition?

If you are thinking that it will all work out, that this family has done so much right and that it will of course be recognized, DON’T let that be a reason to sit back. You reading this article and signing the petition, or donating, is as much a part of the unfolding as my arriving at this beautiful Retreat Center in the midst of it’s legal battle. It ALL matters!

The 'hobbit house' in north Pembrokeshire will now have to be demolishedJust a couple years ago, the structure above faced a similar issue and WAS destroyed.
Don’t let this happen again!

Click here and sign the petition NOW!!!

Costa Rica Becomes The FIRST Nation To Ban Hunting!

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After Congress unanimously voted to ban hunting in 2012, it became illegal to poach wildlife in Costa Rica.

Do animals feel pain? Should they have rights like humans? These questions and others have been asked before on TrueActivist, and increasingly the response is that an individual should be honored – no matter their species – for who they are and what they might offer to the world.

We also recently reported that in the wake of controversy over the poaching of endangered animals, a number of airlines are now also refusing to ship hunting trophies.

Which is why we highly suspect you’re going to love the news – albeit a few years old – of Costa Rica becoming the first country to ban hunting!

As The Huffington Post reports, in December of 2012, Congress unanimously voted to ban hunting as a sport in the Latin American country. It was in 2010 that the popular initiative was proposed to Congress, with an accumulated 177,000 signatures calling for a ban on hunting.

Under the new law, those caught hunting will face up to four months in prison or fines of up to $3,000. Smaller penalties were also included in the reform for hunters who steal wild animals or keep them as pets. Among Costa Rica’s most treasured and sought-after species are jaguars, pumas, and sea turtles; but thanks to the new legislation, they are now much safer.

With a population of 4.5 million people and an ecosystem that boasts more than 500,000 species, the diversity of Costa Rica is what attracts tourists from all over the world. In fact, tourism is the country’s number one industry.

Said environmental activist Diego Marin, who campaigned for the reform, to local radio:

“We’re not just hoping to save the animals but we’re hoping to save the country’s economy, because if we destroy the wildlife there, tourists are not going to come anymore.”

However, not all foreigners are interested in catching some waves or taking a leisurely stroll through the country’s gorgeous parks. Some are most interested in capturing exotic felines to sell on the black market, or are in pursuit of securing rare and colorful parrots to sell as pets elsewhere.

It is to be noted that there are limits on the ban. The legislation does not apply to hunting by some indigenous groups for survival, or to scientific research.

Still, as a very environmentally conscious country, Costa Rica’s initiative will likely boost conservation efforts and maintain its diversity for years to come.

“Costa Ricans think of themselves as “people who are in a very good relation with the environment,” said Alonso Villalobos, a political scientist at the University of Costa Rica. “And in that way, we have made a lot of progress. We have a stronger environmental consciousness.”

(Photo: ForceChange.org)
(Photo: ForceChange.com)

What are your thoughts on this news? Share your comments below.

Drones Drop Beneficial Bugs On Crops As Natural Pest Control

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Here’s a use for drones we’re sure you’ll approve of.

As part of a summer scholarship project at the University of Queensland in Australia, Michael Godfrey came up with the idea of utilizing remote control technology to drop beneficial bugs on crops as a natural form of pest control.

The “bug drone” buzzes over pest-infested crops and drops Californicus mites – which eat harmful bugs – on cornfields like little paratroopers.

“The idea [is] to use natural predators or diseases to control agricultural pests. [We can] mitigate chemical use, which is not only harmful for the environment but also costly,” he stated in an email to FastCo-Exist.

This method has been found to be much faster and more economical than walking through corn rows and spreading them by hand, as is the traditional method.

The five-and-a-half pound, six-rotor drone with a converted seed spreader on the bottom to hold the mites can cover 12 acres in just 15 minutes. A small motor on the bottom turns a wheel that releases the bugs while the drone soars over the cornstalks.

“The bugs come in small cylinders with vermiculite as a medium. Spreading them around a five hectare field is just time consuming and dull. The drone can cover a field that size in less than 15 minutes,” he says.

Drones2.jpg

To be able to compare fields he’s treated with those he hasn’t, an infrared camera has been mounted on the device to allow Godfrey, an agricultural science student, to see how well the “bug drone” is working.

“Remote sensing with precision agriculture is an interesting field, and it has opened my eyes to the career opportunities,” he said.

At the University of Queensland Gatton, students can study precision agriculture in a course run by Associate Professor Ki Bryceson who also manages the Agriculture and Remote Sensing laboratory.

We certainly love learning about and sharing the positive ways drones can be utilized. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This article (Drones Drop Beneficial Bugs On Crops As Natural Pest Control) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com. .

These Best Friends Want to Grow Old Together, So They Built Their Own Tiny Home Village

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Most best friend’s see each other every once in a while, sometimes a couple of times a week, but how amazing would it be to grow old alongside your best friends? These 4 couples have been friends for over 20 years, so they decided to build their own tiny home village!

They named the settlement ‘Llano Exit Strategy,’ which faces the Llano river outside of Austin, Texas. The 4 homes are about 400 square feet and cost $40,000 each.

The slanted roofs and rain barrels can hold up to 5,000 gallons of water, reflected walls help to keep the homes cooler in the hot summers, and they are working on a garden for their food needs.

None of the homes come equipped with a kitchen, so they built a community kitchen in the middle of the settlement.

Giant Solar Floating Farm Could Produce 8,000 Tons of Vegetables Annually

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The world is less than 40 years away from a serious problem: producing enough food for 9 billion mouths. But with climate change cutting more than a quarter of crop yields by 2050, innovators must devise strategies to confront dwindling global food supplies.

Enter Forward Thinking Architecture.

The Barcelona-based design company’s Smart Floating Farms (SFF) concept is a sustainable, solar-powered vertical farm that floats on pontoons, making it possible to grow food off a coast, in the open sea or just about any large body of water. The designers estimate that SFF can produce an estimated 8,152 tonnes of vegetables and 1,703 tonnes of fish annually.

The farm is comprised of three levels and features innovative agricultural technologies that are already in use around the globe. It can be modified or stacked in different ways to suit the needs of respective locations.

The top level incorporates rainwater collectors for irrigation needs, photovoltaic panels for electricity and skylight openings to provide natural light for plants. It’s also possible to integrate other renewable power technologies such as micro wind turbines or wave energy converter systems.

These solar-powered floating farms could cut the reliance on imported food and reduce number of miles that food has to travel to get to our plates. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture
These solar-powered floating farms could cut the reliance on imported food and reduce number of miles that food has to travel to get to our plates. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture

The second level features a greenhouse and hydroponic systems (which allows crops to grow year round in any weather and without soil).

“Because it does not require natural precipitation or fertile land in order to be effective, it presents people who are living in arid regions and others with a means to grow food for themselves and for profit,” the designers said.

The second level features hydroponics, which is a method of growing crops without soil. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture
The second level features hydroponics, which is a method of growing crops without soil. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture

Lastly, the ground level is designated for offshore aquaculture. According to the designers, this cage fishing method takes place in the open sea and eliminates the exposure to wind and waves.

This level also includes a hatchery where fish eggs are incubated and hatched, a nursery for growing fish, a slaughterhouse and a storage room to hold the fish before they are ready for the market.

Workers on the bottom level catch fish and other seafood in an enclosed farm. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture
Workers on the bottom level catch fish and other seafood in an enclosed farm. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture

“Facing the current challenges of cities growing, land consumption and climate change, I believe projects like the Smart Floating Farms can help change some of the existing paradigms which have led us to the present situation and open new possibilities which can improve the quality of human life and the environment,” said SFF project director Javier F. Ponce on the company’s website.

The designers said the farm is ideal for many large cities or densely populated areas with access to water, such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai, Jakarta, Cairo, Hong Kong, Shangai, Sao Paulo, Osaka, Bangkok, Shenzen, Istanbul, Montreal, Seoul, Karachi, Sydney and more.

With more people moving away from farms and into cities, advancements in urban agriculture is more important than ever.

The company says the project design is flexible enough to adapt to local food production needs and can be located close to many mega-cities or dense populated areas with water access. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture
The company says the project design is flexible enough to adapt to local food production needs and can be located close to many mega-cities or dense populated areas with water access. Photo Credit: Forward Thinking Architecture

Is Antarctica Ice Melting or Growing? Watch This NASA Video and See for Yourself

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You might have seen the news from NASA last week: Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf could disappear before the end of the decade.

But even while the Antarctic land ice disintegrates down south, and Arctic ice contracts further up North, climate change denier s are touting the record extent of Antarctic ice and using that to claim that climate change isn’t even happening.

“It is certainly a warning. The conclusion is inescapable.”Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf could disappear before the end of the decade. NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Posted by Climate Reality on Friday, May 15, 2015

What’s really going on with the polar ice caps?

In short, there’s a difference between sea ice and land ice. Antarctica’s land ice has indeed been melting at an alarming rate.

Land ice-also called “glaciers” or “ice sheets”-is ice that has accumulated over time on land. Sea ice is frozen, floating seawater.

Overall, the Antarctic sea ice has been stable-but that fact doesn’t contradict the evidence that our climate is warming.

The ice sheet-land ice-that covers most of Antarctica is melting at the rate of about 159 billion tons every year in recent years. When land ice melts, it flows as water into the ocean, contributing to sea-level rise. Antarctica’s melting land ice poses a direct threat to the hundreds of millions of people living on islands and near coasts.

Here’s more about why this is the case-and how glaciologists know this isn’t normal-from our friends at Yale Climate Connections:

What can you do?

First, get informed so that you can respond when you hear misinformation about the ice caps. Visit Skeptical Science for a complete debunking right now, and don’t forget to speak out when you see climate myths perpetuated.

Then, attend a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training to learn more about what’s really happening with our planet-and what you can do to build powerful momentum for solutions. Our next training is July 9-10 in Toronto, Canada.

The Climate Reality Leadership Corps is a global network of more than 7,600 activists working to educate and empower communities in more than 125 countries to take action on climate change. Climate Reality Leaders come from all walks of life but all come with the same deep desire to make a difference and help solve the climate crisis.

By attending a focused multi-day training in Toronto with former US Vice President Al Gore and other experts and influencers, you’ll learn about:

    The science of climate change
    The direct cost of climate impacts on communities across continents
    The practical solutions available and working today
    Effective grassroots organizing for solutions

Click here to apply to The Climate Reality Leadership Corps today.

Portable, solar-powered ecocapsules mean you can live rent- and electric-bill free, globally

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If you’ve just had it with taking the subway, or sitting in an office, or just generally being around other people, you may be in luck. Slovakian firm Nice Architects has built an egg-shaped “Ecocapsule” that runs entirely on solar and wind energy, allowing its dweller(s) to live both literally, and figuratively, off the grid.

The completely self-sustaining portable home contains a 9,744 watt-hour battery, a 750 watt wind turbine, and high-efficiency solar cells that can support you for about a year in pretty much any location in the world, provided there is some sunlight. (It probably wouldn’t work in a cave, for instance, should someone desire to live in one.)

The capsule also includes a rainwater collection and filtration system. Inside, there’s a kitchenette with running water, a flushable toilet, a shower, a bed, and work space. Nice Architects says the capsule, which is about 4.5 meters (14.7 feet) long and 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) wide, can comfortably fit two people.

The egg-home can be “easily transported” by trailer, according to the company, and can even charge the electric car that’s towing it.

But beyond just nomadic living, the Ecocapsule has plenty of other potential applications, from providing shelter in disaster areas to doubling as scientific research stations.

Nice Architects will unveil its prototype at the Pioneers festival in Vienna on May 28 before taking pre-orders at the end of 2015 for shipping in the first half of 2016. The company says the price will be released later this year, though there’s already a steep shipping cost. Sending the capsule from Slovakia to New York, for instance, will cost you €2,200 ($2,383) alone, and the capsule itself is likely to run to tens of thousands of dollars.

ecocapsule-interior screen-shot-2015-05-27-at-8-47-43-am screen-shot-2015-05-27-at-8-47-36-am eco capsule ecocapsule-layout

California Set To Give Solar Panels To Low-Income Families For Free

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Photo credit: Elena Elisseeva/shutterstock

California is the best state in the country if you want to go solar – but only if you’re rich enough. Due to the steep upfront costs of around $15,000, only those from middle- to upper-income families can afford to install solar arrays. A novel initiative is, however, looking to change that. This new project hopes to help disadvantaged communities see the sun in a different light.

Using money raised by the government to help fight global warming, the Grid Alternatives project aims to get polluting companies to pay for putting solar panels on the roofs of those who cannot afford them. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the plan is to use the cap-and-trade money raised by the state from companies who have to pay per ton of carbon dioxide emitted. The cost to the disadvantaged families: nothing.

Grid Alternatives has been made project manager of the $162 million Single-family Affordable Solar Homes ( SASH) project, the country’s first dedicated solar repayment system for low-income families. They want to install solar arrays to over 1,600 homes by the end of next year. Using job-training programs and donations from solar companies, they aim to keep the costs as low as possible. Whilst it is totally free for the families getting them installed on their houses, they do ask that the families either offer to feed the crew, or help them install the panels.

The state government in California raises an annual $14.7 million through the cap-and-trade system, aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and over the years this has totted up to an impressive $1.6 billion. By ploughing at least 10% of this money back into solar, the project aims to kill two birds with one stone – saving lower income families money, whilst also making big fossil fuel polluting companies help cut energy emissions in the state even further.

Anyone who is currently living in a neighborhood in California that is classed as disadvantaged is qualified to apply to get the arrays installed. Grid Alternatives predicts that it could save individual families up to $1,000 a year, which they hope could then be spent on other essentials such as food. The sun sets on the initiative in 2021, so if you’re living in the state, you might want to jump on board soon.

[via San Francisco Chronicle & Motherboard]

Read this next: Researchers Produce The First Synthetic Gasoline From Plants

China: Recycled Concrete Houses 3D-Printed in 24 Hours

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A Chinese construction firm based in Shanghai has succeeded in building 10 houses each measuring 200 square metres in 24 hours by using an enormous 3D printer.

The houses are all eco-friendly and constructed from 3D-printed building blocks made from layers of recycled construction waste and glass fibre and mixed with cement.

Each home costs less than £3,000 to build.

WinSun Decoration Design Engineering spent 20 million Yuan (£1.9m) and 12 years to develop a 3D printer 6.6 metres tall, 10 metres wide and 150 metres long.

Large 3D printers have been in existence for several years and have been used to make plane parts and prototypes.

“We purchased parts for the printer overseas, and assembled the machine in a factory in Suzhou. Such a new type of 3D-printed structure is environment-friendly and cost-effective,” said the 3D-printer’s inventor, Winsun CEO Ma Yihe.

Winsun used architectural design software AutoCAD Architecture to not only plan the building but also to calculate tracing paths that took into account plumbing, electrical lining, insulation materials and windows, that would be added once the main structure was built.

The company holds 77 national patents for its construction materials.

Ma’s office building, which covers an area of 10,000 square metres, was also constructed with 3D-printed walls and took a month to build from an assembly line of four 3D printers.

“Industrial waste from demolished buildings is damaging our environment, but with 3D-printing, we are able to recycle construction waste and turn it into new building materials,” said Ma.

“This would create a much safer environment for construction workers and greatly reduce construction costs.”

Film4Climate: Greening the Film Industry Gets Strong Support at Cannes Film Festival

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Key film industry leaders announced their support for Film4Climate, a dual commitment to reduce the environmental impact of film production and to tell stories about climate change through cinema at events during the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

Several speakers at a Film4Climate panel discussion agreed to support the initiative, including: Cannes Jury Member and Connect4Climate Global Ambassador, the Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré; the Director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Ivan Trujillo; the CEO of the Ile-de-France Film Commission Olivier-René Veillon; Publisher and Chief Editor of Green Film Shooting Brigit Heidsiek; Head of Training and Film Education of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund Siebe Dumon; the CEO of the Sardinia Film Commission and Vice President of the Italian Commission Association (IFC) Nevina Satta; and Michael Geidel of Climate Media Factory and the Green Film Initiative, Potsdam.

They join filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Wim Wenders, Fernando Meirelles and Pablo Trapero who have also endorsed and lent their support to the initiative. In addition, more than 100 film industry executives and representatives have become partners of Film4Climate during the festival, and have pledged to reach a consensus on industry standards to reduce film production impact on the environment and raise climate change awareness through film.

“Every day in Africa, we are facing climate change consequences,” Rokia Traoré told Connect4Climate. “We have to make people aware that humans are simply one of the elements of nature. We have to be able to think not just about now, but tomorrow. What are our responsibilities concerning our children and their world? We are the ones responsible for that.” Veillon added: “To have a sustainable approach in production is also the right economic approach.”

This new initiative aims to drive consensus across the film community on a shared set of global standards to sustainably produce motion pictures, building on the protocols and guidelines already created in a number of countries. It also establishes a global network of knowledge partners representing the industry’s practitioners and associations, including film institutes, film commissions, producer networks, film directors, actors and international film festivals. Partners such as Ecoprod, which created the first software to calculate the carbon footprint of film productions used by many French producers, will work together and share their experiences, knowledge, tools and best practices to green silver screens.

“It’s time for a global creative and influential alliance to tackle the climate crisis,” said Donald Ranvaud, Oscar-winning film producer and Film4Climate’s Creative Producer. “We can unite the film industry to reinforce that we do care about the environment and are prepared to do something concrete about the dramatic issue of climate change,” added Lucia Grenna, Connect4Climate’s Program Manager.

Watch this short clip to see how the film industry is taking on climate change:

5 Solar Innovations That Are Revolutionizing the World

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Solar power is lighting up the world, and not just on rooftops. Forward-thinking minds are discovering ways to harness the sun’s energy in many exciting ways, from the ground beneath our feet to the shirt off our back. The following innovations are shining beacons in a renewable energy future.

1. Strides in solar efficiency
Most solar generators can convert up to 23 percent of sunlight into electricity. However, Swedish company Ripasso Energy claims they can covert 34 percent of the sun’s energy into power with their contraption (see photo above), making it the world’s most efficient solar electricity system. According to The Guardian, independent tests found that a single Ripasso dish can generate 75 to 85 zero-emission megawatt hours of electricity a year, or enough to power 24 typical homes in the UK. To compare, to create the same amount of electricity by burning coal would release roughly 81 metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, the newspaper reported.

2. Battery technology and shared solar untether us from Big Power
Elon Musk really is Tony Stark. The billionaire entrepreneur recently unveiled a revolutionary suite of Tesla batteries that he says could ” fundamentally change the way the world uses energy” and get us off dirty fossil fuels. Musk’s sister company SolarCity is now offering Tesla batteries at a price point that’s more than 60 percent less than previous solar power storage products, paving the way for more people to peel themselves off the grid.

For people who don’t have the funds or the right roof for photovoltaic panels, peer-to-peer solar startup Yeloha is offering a genius solution: solar sharing. The company allows customers to “go solar” without owning a single panel by essentially feeding off their neighbors who do (and at a price that’s less than what they’d normally pay to their utility).

3. Portable solar brings light to developing world
For places recovering from disaster or communities lacking access to electricity, solar systems provide an alternative or a complement to traditional power sources such as fossil fuel generators (diesel or gasoline is not only expensive, it emits noxious fumes and can cause fires). For example, after the first of two devastating earthquakes struck Nepal, solar company Gham Power deployed solar power systems to help power lights and mobile charging stations for relief workers and the displaced. And in Haiti, the nonprofit organization Field Ready is trying to use a solar powered 3D-printer to make a whole range of simple, life-saving medical supplies at a fraction of the cost.

4. Solar desalination: solution to drought?
Scientists are solving the planet’s fresh water worries with a little help from the sun. Recently, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jain Irrigation Systems have come up with a method of turning brackish water into drinking water with a solar-powered machine that can pull salt out of water. It then further disinfects the water with ultraviolet rays. With parts of the planet running perilously low on fresh water, realization of this technology can’t come soon enough.

5. Solar transportation
In the air and on the road, solar technology is going the distance. Currently, the Solar Impulse 2, the first solar airplane able to sustain flight at night with a pilot on board, is making its historic round-the-world trip powered only by the sun.

Over in the Netherlands, SolaRoad, the world’s first “solar road,” has defied expectations and has generated about 3,000 kWh of power, enough to provide a single-person household with electricity for a year. Considering it’s only a 230-feet bike path, the potential for this technology could be big, kind of like photovoltaic technology itself.

Julia Roberts Is Mother Nature

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I won’t hold back from saying, I like redheads. But I like them even more when they’re telling me how to treat Nature. Thank you Julia, I feel more empowered to be ecologically aware of my habits.    

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