Monthly Archives: June 2019

Walkable Cities

Posted on June 17, 2019 by JohnMatel

Walkable cities are more pleasant even for those who do not walk much. These cities are cleaner, safer and more sustainable than others, since the factors that make it walkable are very often just good. Why don’t we have these … Continue reading →

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Dirt to Soil

Posted on June 15, 2019 by JohnMatel

Soil is a living community, not just a pile of dirt. The best insight from this book is that plants and fungi are developing in the soils, and it is useful to think of the microbes as livestock. They have … Continue reading →

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Pete Buttigieg

Posted on June 14, 2019 by JohnMatel

Met Pete Buttigieg today. I read his book and was impressed by his intellect. I am not impressed when politicians present detailed plans. Everybody should know that the detailed plans will always fail, as the conditions presidents face will be … Continue reading →

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Forests and water in Virginia

Posted on June 13, 2019 by JohnMatel

I attended the Virginia Forest and Drinking Water Forum in Charlottesville today. Not sure if I learned anything truly new & significant, but it was good to get reminded of this important topic and I got to talk to a … Continue reading →

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Dauerwald – near natural forests & land ethics

Posted on June 12, 2019 by JohnMatel

I have been studying various approaches to land ethics more intensely in recent years and have come much more to respect tribal points of view. This is plural points of view – since there is not one but many. What … Continue reading →

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Summer reading

Posted on June 11, 2019 by JohnMatel

Some summer reading and maybe finding patterns that do not exist. I am usually reading a few books over the same period, so I get them confused. This is not helped by the fact that I tend to read related … Continue reading →

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A perfect day

Posted on June 10, 2019 by JohnMatel

The perfect day was a day much like many others, but unexpected and stolen from the drudgery of work. My story started (as I am noticing about many of my stories) with beer drinking. Drinking too much beer. My friends … Continue reading →

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Our longleaf savanna experiment at Freeman, Virginia

Posted on June 9, 2019 by JohnMatel

My friend Adam Smith just sent some pictures of our Freeman place. We are experimenting with longleaf pine restoration. To do this, we thinned all the trees to 50 basal area and then made 1/4 acre clearings in each acre. … Continue reading →

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Blue Plains Water Treatment Plant

Posted on June 5, 2019 by JohnMatel

The Blue Plains Water Treatment Plant is one of the most advanced in the world. I am interested in biosolids and in water quality, so I went on a tour when I had the chance. In many ways it was … Continue reading →

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Dignity

Posted on June 4, 2019 by JohnMatel

The author delivered what he promised; I was hoping for more. He promised to share experiences and voices of those left behind, the ones he calls the “last row”. This he does I would question his choice of subjects to … Continue reading →

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