On Saturday, January 09, 2016 07:53:12 AM Anna Harris wrote: > Brilliant Orsan, every time we flush the loo, or clean our teeth, we > produce electricity! > > On Jan 9, 2016 1:48 AM, "Orsan" <[email protected]> wrote: > > The title got me think of real micro- or nano-turbine technologies being > > developed to produce electricity. For instance, if used inside water pipes > > and ways, such technology would turn entire city and rural delivery and > > sanitation systems more productive at the micro and nano levels then huge > > dams and other smaller central hydro electricity generators.
If we were really doing efficient home and community design you probably wouldn't be flushing toilets. Solutions like composting toilets require no centralized sewage infrastructure. Centralized distribution of water can also be problematic as seen currently in Flint [1]. In permaculture, isn't getting water to where it needs to be done using the entire landscape rather than a narrow network of pipes or canals? Sustainable and distributed infrastructure must tend towards simplicity and openness. This means operating with fewer components that have fewer dependencies so that local customization can easily be done. Adding an extra layer of complexity (wires, batteries, and magnets) on top of an existing poorly performing system (sewer and water) seems like a step in the wrong direction. On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 5:23 AM, Roberto Verzola <[email protected]> wrote: > I just finished the piece "Can micropower be as deep a game-changer as > microprocessing?" It can be downloaded at: > > > https://rverzola.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/can-micropower-become-as-deep-a-game-changer-as-microprocessing/ > > By "deep", I mean being able to change the rules of the game not only > within the industry itself but in society as a whole. In the piece, I > note that the declining prices of renewables such as solar and wind > seem to have brought the renewables sector at the same take-off point > that microprocessing was some three decades ago. The microprocessors we buy are nice but the process that makes them are still controlled by a small number of corporations. Restated, individuals can use these "micro" things to their advantage, but at the cost of being utterly dependent on a global system of capitalist production over which they have no control. It's the social relations of production that need to "deeply" change, and no fancy gadget is going to do that for you. -Karl [1] http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/04/flint-michigan-lead-water-children-health _______________________________________________ P2P Foundation - Mailing list Blog - http://www.blog.p2pfoundation.net Wiki - http://www.p2pfoundation.net Show some love and help us maintain and update our knowledge commons by making a donation. Thank you for your support. https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/donation https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation
