Right-to-buy council houses without specifically only releasing housing that already had a replacement built was of the most notable ways of the *many* that Thatcher et al screwed the UK.

I’d love to have a law put in place that landlords either have to sign contracts to provide housing under council house-type contracts with rent controls to people on housing benefit etc, or sell to the local council at compulsory purchase prices.

Same for all the houses not being lived in - use to house people under contractual controls, or have to sell to the council housing central fund.

Personally I’d start converting all the office units that are no longer needed because so many people are working remotely now into housing too.

Same for the huge city centre shops - I’m not sure if the pattern repeats elsewhere, but I live near Glasgow and the city centre has basically died since Covid. No one is renting the huge retail stores and the place is full of unhoused folk, which is a fucking scandal. So convert them into housing; let the buildings see use, and let those folks get off the streets. Pets and kids specifically allowed too - get families out of one-room shelters and into proper homes of their own.

I’ve heard that there would be issues putting in water infrastructure, but given the place is literally crumbling already and usage in so many areas is so low that having workers digging up the streets to install water lines wouldn’t cause enormous disruption, the time to do this is *now*. Build rainwater catchment and purification systems on roofs too - we get so much rain in the UK it’s kind of ridiculous not to use it! Some of that could go directly to drip irrigation in gardens, but plenty could go right into the houses/flats too. And of course this would provide tons of jobs in construction, architecture, planning etc etc.

Install gardens and green spaces around the place while you are doing this - offer some at low rent, or to buy cheaply, to market gardeners, but specifically put spaces in for communal gardens with the idea of offering allotments and encouraging people to grow their own food.

Put solar panels on every roof and integrate spaces for smaller wind turbines amongst the houses too. Huge storage batteries in basements to make the new blocks as low-footprint and self-sufficient as possible power-wise.

It would be a *fantastic* opportunity to create genuinely accessible housing - office buildings and shops already have lifts and wide corridors ideal for wheelchairs and other mobility devices, so keep that in the design when creating housing. There is a hidden epidemic of houselessness amongst disabled people and older folk with mobility needs, so create low-rent council housing that specifically fits those needs there.

It would regenerate the areas - all the smaller shopfronts not suitable for housing conversion would fill up with people offering the things people in residential neighbourhoods need, with a guaranteed payer base. People on low incomes *use* all of their incomes on necessities, so small businesses selling those necessities will do well. Offer small businesses low rents to provide those necessities. Any that don’t fill up, offer to charities and use for council staff offering the aid and advice people transitioning into housing actually *need*.

Carers are generally low-paid - so this would be an opportunity to offer them cheap housing close to a huge client base in the new accessible housing. No need for low-paid, mostly-female workers to dash constantly between clients in cars. They could walk to work and walk in between clients, who would also no longer be trapped in inaccessible homes, so people who are not actually bedbound would hopefully be less housebound.

Put rooms in the blocks for communal and co-op activities to reduce isolation - with the lifts and wide corridors, even people who are functionally housebound are likely to be able to make it to a room in their own building, and even quite young children could get to those places safely on their own if their parents are working. Wraparound childcare, paid and informal, near where folks actually live.

City centre areas that are now largely dead other than unhoused people, with limited and decreasing zero economic activity taking place and a decreasing incentive for businesses to set up there rather than in out-of-town retail parks people need to drive to, would become vibrant communities with every incentive for businesses to set up there, particularly for the small businesses that still employ the majority of people.

It wouldn’t take a lot to extend this model to transform those out-of-town business parks that are currently largely empty either; nothing says the businesses that are still there would need to move, and they would have a huge new pool of potential employees living within easily walkable distance, though there would need to be oversight to make sure places like Amazon didn’t attempt to buy them up and turn them into company housing. There would need to be a little more investment to provide green transport links like electric buses and trains so that it would be easier for small businesses to move in to provide services, but given the tax income that would result and the reduction in pollution the investment would probably pay itself back within a decade or so.

A Celebration of International Youth Day 2023.

In celebration of the United Nations International Youth Day 2023, with the theme of Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World, this event will highlight the role of young people in coming together to amplify engagement and leadership in all areas of decision making and action, especially in creating an environmentally sustainable and climate friendly world.

Eliminate Breakage - What You Need for Healthy, Curly Hair

Say sayonara to dry, damaged, lifeless curls! Here is how to eliminate breakage - what you need for healthy, curly hair.

Take it from me, there are many creams, tools, and misc. products out there to choose from, but 90% of them fall short of expectations. Why is this? Because we think we need every new, fancy product to achieve gorgeous, salon quality hair, when we don’t! In truth, we really don’t need much to revive our curls and keep them healthy and strong. Keep reading: eliminate breakage – what you need for…

View On WordPress

Funny pressure test on site! Fear of heights cannot stop us jump down this thing!

Kind of want to find a better climate friendly alternative to lip balms with the plastic twisty contraption. Recommendations welcome!

lucy dan // been trying to be more climate conscious lately

Can India Be a Trailblazer As Global Fashion Turns to Organic Cotton?

Can India Be a Trailblazer As Global Fashion Turns to Organic Cotton?

Cotton isn’t always good for the environment. It has sometimes been called “the world’s dirtiest crop”. It requires plenty of water and the use of harmful pesticides is common. Fortunately, organic cotton is different. Organic cotton farmers replace harmful pesticides with those that are organically approved. They use natural fertilizers, such as manure. Organic cotton also does not make use of…

View On WordPress

ok anyway came on here to lament the lack of diy/sewing your own clothes tutorials/channels out there for queer/masculine/genderweird presenting people

im so tired of fem stuff in my wardrobe and also in all the crafting/sewing channels or whatever that i find

(which is not a dig at fem clothes or femme people, i just. for the life of me. cannot find tutorials or anything aimed at anyone other than a) cis men or b) fem-presenting folks or c) historic fashion/costumery and its a weird gross gender experience for me personally. also i dont have the know-how to make what i want to wear +++ would love inspo and help from other queerdos)

if anyone knows of tutorials/channels/websites/WHATEVER for sewing clothes that fall into queer / masculine / genderweird. i would love recommendations. historic fashions are Not for me and cis dude fashion is SO boring ;-;

Does the HumVEE qualify for the tax credit?

Nope it absolutely does not.

“Great American road trip is going to be electric”

It’s gunna be a long trip, and it costs about 70-90 bucks worth of electricity to fully charge its battery.

Can an average income individual afford the cost of an electric vehicle?

God. No.

We've really gotta work on taking the elitism out of being environmentally conscious. EVERY little bit matters, and I really mean that.

Could only pick up trash along the road for 10 min? IT COUNTS

Could only get in touch with one local rep? IT COUNTS

Can only grow one or two native plants where you live? IT COUNTS

Can only carpool to work one day a week? IT COUNTS

Can only afford one cheap diy rain barrel for your garden? IT COUNTS

Can only have a small compost pile where you live? IT COUNTS

The belief that if you only do something on a small scale is somehow worthless is WRONG.

Every step you take or info you pass along HAS AN IMPACT. It is good and so are you.

‘Land on Water ‘

A growing acknowledgement of sea level rise and an increased risk of urban flooding has contributed to a sharp increase in interest in building on water but current solutions.

The system is based on simple, flat-pack modules made from reinforced, recycled plastic that can be easily transported around the globe and assembled into countless configurations. Providing a secure floating founda-tion for building housing and infrastructure.

The system was inspired by gabion construction, an ancient technology which utilises mesh cages filled with rub-ble to create extremely sturdy, low cost foundations. In this case the concept is inverted; and the modular ‘cages’ are filled with locally sourced, upcycled floatation supporting the weight of any structure built on top. This has the unique advantage that floatation can be added or adjusted at any time if weight is added above.

Developed by the Danish Maritime Architecture Studio ‘MAST’ with the support of Hubert Rhomberg and venture studio ‘FRAGILE’

Photorealistic visualisations by KVANT-1

We did a lot of zero waste stuff today cooking Sunday dinner! We peeled carrots and the peelings/ends went into the stock bag except a few tops, those went into old oui jars with a little water to sprout for some fresh salad greens since it's winter, we rinsed our vegetables in bowls of water which we used to water house plants, saved the leftover broth from a roast for turning the leftovers into stew tomorrow as well as some in jars in the freezer for rice/noodles in the future. The real highlight was the potato skin chips! They take way longer than the recommended twenty minutes but we also peel with knives so there was a lot of potato left on the skins. They turned out delicious though! And reheatable, just toss in the oven at 425 for a few minutes, we did it for 7.

We’re all gonna fucking die

Capitalism is bleeding this world dry and we’re gonna let it as long as we can still get same day delivery.

If you don’t understand that by now I hope your denial is a cold comfort to you as you watch the world crumble around you.

You call climate activists alarmists because it’s easier than acknowledging that they are correct.

People will be dying from the impact of climate change while firmly denying that it exists just like the Covid 19 patients gasping for breath in their hospital beds while insisting that the pandemic is a hoax.

The rich are building bunkers and stockpiling resources because they see what they are doing to us all. We need to stop idolizing the rich and start fucking taxing them.

This world is going to burn and our leaders are going to let it as long as their pockets get lined on the way down.

If you think capitalism will allow itself to be dismantled you’re vastly underestimating the greed and all consuming selfishness of the wealthy elite.

@quazart PICK UP YOUR BOY HE'S RUNNING LOOSE IN THE CAMPUS

eco habits i’m going ALL IN ON this year 🌱

Underwater Climate Refuges: Designing Technological Sanctuaries to Protect Marine Biodiversity from Warming

As our oceans face unprecedented warming due to climate change, the urgency to protect marine biodiversity has reached a critical point. With ecosystems and species at risk, innovative solutions are emerging to preserve our oceans’ richness for future generations. Among these transformative ideas are underwater climate refuges—cutting-edge technological sanctuaries designed to shield marine life…

View On WordPress