Tag Archives: #mrjonmoore

Episode 299. Too Small To Matter?

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 23rd of May 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

We hear the argument here in Australia and I’m sure it pops up elsewhere that we’re only x% of global emissions. What happens if we spend the money and change but the US, China and India don’t? 

The fact that the x% quoted and it varies from 1 to about 2.5% doesn’t take into account our coal and liquified natural gas exports because they’re being burnt somewhere else by someone else really destroys the argument. 

But let’s look at the question. What if we transition to 100% renewables and zero emissions? Continue reading →

Episode 298. Slow Moving Tsunami

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 9th of May 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

As I’ve discussed in episodes 294, 289, 282 & 281, things are heading for a crunch in world food supply and costs. This all started with the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic but the war in Ukraine has triggered what could reasonably be seen as the cause of every major recession since WW2: fuel inflation. Because of the ubiquity of oil in every aspect of our lives and hence our dependence upon it, a modest rise in the price of a barrel has dramatic effects. A major spike, the 70s oil crisis, the recession of the 1990s, the disasters of the first decade of the 2000s and the spikes in the last 8 years are all, if not linked, at least correlated to periods of inflation and then recession.

Clearly, harder times are coming. Harder for some than for others, hard times nonetheless. Continue reading →

Episode 297. Living Mulches

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 2nd of May 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

This week I dive more deely into a living food production approach.

Living mulches have been a thing for a long time. Using them requires a slight shift in emphasis and approach. It is not always worth the effort.

In an article from the University of Wisconsin-Madison entitled: Living Mulch Suppresses Weeds and Yields in Organic Vegetable Plots Continue reading →

Episode 296. The Great Dying

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 25th of April 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

It turns out an article I stumbled upon this last week is based on a three year old paper from the 2019 March edition of Quaternary Science Reviews entitled: Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492. There’s a link in the show notes to the original paper. Continue reading →

Episode 295. Changing Systems Takes Time

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 18th of April 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

There’s going to be a tsunami of “I told you so”s. 

Quote:

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised in his 2019 election campaign to transition the country’s farmers to organic agriculture over a period of 10 years. Last April, Rajapaksa’s government made good on that promise, imposing a nationwide ban on the importation and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and ordering the country’s 2 million farmers to go organic.

End Quote Continue reading →

Episode 294. Food Prices & Gardens

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 11th of April 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

From RTE in Ireland, Quote:

World food prices jumped nearly 13% in March to a new record high as the war in Ukraine caused turmoil in markets for staple grains and edible oils, the UN food agency said today.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities ,averaged 159.3 points last month from an upwardly revised 141.4 for February.

End Quote Continue reading →

Episode 293. Quick Wins and Long Term Results

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 4th of April 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Given all the who-ha going on in the world at present and the fact we are on a seasonal change or just through it depending upon your location, I thought a look at quick return veggies and herbs would be useful. I’ll then follow that with a few longer term foods. Every major economic recession since 1970 has been preceded by a jump in energy costs. Some bigger than others but they highlighted structural problems within economies and made them worse.  Continue reading →

Episode 292. Heat Waves: Top & Bottom

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 28th of March 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Quote:

Record-breaking heatwaves hit both Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously this week, with temperatures reaching 47℃ and 30℃ higher than normal.

End Quote

From Record-smashing heatwaves are hitting Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously. Here’s what’s driving them, and how they’ll impact wildlife on the Conversation website.

So let’s just look at those numbers again: 47 and 30℃, that’s 116 and 86F. Those are mind boggling numbers. Continue reading →

Episode 291. Quick Silvering To The Sea

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 21st of March 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

There’s a link in the show notes and an embedded version over on the website transcript of this episode that I would urge everyone to look at. It shows millions of tonnes of topsoil pouring from the Tweed River, the border between Qld and NSW on Australia’s east coast. This is following the recent flooding. It is worth remembering the Tweed is one of more than fifteen rivers in such a state. Continue reading →

Episode 290. Chef’s Doing It & True Independence

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 14th of March 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

As you can imagine, with the levels of violence in this world, there are many individuals going hungry. The UNHCR does stellar work, they are hamstrung with bureaucracy despite the very best of intentions. Long established charities have had poor press of late. The major charities raising funds during the Bushfire Black Summer here in Australia, 2019-2020 were found to be hoarding funds for the next disaster which went against the grain for many people who donated for that particular emergency.  Continue reading →