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LOW←TECH MAGAZINE

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High-tech Problems

Technology has become the idol of our society, but technological progress is—more often than not—aimed at solving problems caused by earlier technical inventions.

Rebooting Energy Demand: Automatic Software Upgrades

More and more consumer products are controlled by networked software: what does this mean for energy demand, and exactly who is responsible for increasing consumption?

The Curse of the Modern Office

The information society promises to dematerialise society and make it more sustainable, but modern office and knowledge work has itself become a large and rapidly growing consumer of energy and other resources

Why We Need a Speed Limit for the Internet

The energy use of the internet can only stop growing when energy sources run out, unless we impose self-chosen limits.

How Sustainable is Stored Sunlight?

Energy storage is often ignored when scientists investigate the sustainability of PV systems.

How Sustainable is PV solar power?

Almost all solar PV panels are now produced in China, where the electric grid is about twice as carbon-intensive and about 50% less energy efficient than in Europe.

Well-Tended Fires Outperform Modern Cooking Stoves

Despite technological advancements since the Industrial Revolution, cooking remains a spectacularly inefficient process.

How Sustainable is Digital Fabrication?

Automation is more energy-intensive than mechanisation.

High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network

High speed rail is destroying the most valuable alternative to the airplane; the “low speed” rail network that has been in service for decades.

Bike Powered Electricity Generators are Not Sustainable

The present approach to pedal power results in highly inefficient machines.

Piston-powered aircraft from the 1950s were as fuel-efficient as the current average jet

Estimates about the fuel efficiency of aircraft ignore the record of the pre-jet era.

The Status Quo of Electric Cars: Better Batteries, Same Range

We don’t need better batteries, we need better cars.

How (Not) To Resolve the Energy Crisis

Increasing the share of renewable energy will not make us any less dependent on fossil fuels as long as total energy consumption keeps rising.