#7 - Techno-Fix

Welcome to the seventh issue of SHIFT magazine! Let’s kick off the year with an issue dedicated to technology, where the technophile, the techno-fix, and the technophobe all go under the microscope in SHIFT’s first installment for 2015.

The SHIFT team has trawled through hundreds of news sources and stories, turning up our bullshit filter to maximum volume, to bring you December and January’s global affairs highlights…

John Oliver investigates what is driving the decline of the extremely rare Wyong sun orchid, and what measures are required to bring this beautiful species back from the brink of extinction.

Dave Gardner examines the allure of the techno-fix, the law of unintended consequences, and our very definition of ‘progress’.

Guy McPherson takes aim at the most grandiose technological fix in human history: geoengineering the climate.

Theo Kitchener explores practical ways to kickstart the resilient economy of the future, using dormant superannuation funds to leverage sustainable, local businesses.

Anneke Vo examines the social media revolution and asks whether it has fulfilled its promise to connect us and make our lives more efficient, or whether it has added to our stress.

An academic who doesn’t stake his career on pleasing the establishment, Ozzie Zehner dares to put forth a down to earth and rigorously scientific response to our culture’s obsession with technological fixes.

Dave Pollard critiques the often false sense of hope that technological innovation brings, and considers how life will look after the age of oil is over.

Sean Crawley unpacks our culture’s technophile attitude toward innovation and the notion of ‘progress’, and considers which elements of technology we really should consider integral to our survival.

Here we devote a little attention to some of the unsung heroes of low-tech innovation that have qualitatively improved lives worldwide beyond measure, and in some cases have saved many as well.

Carolyn Baker’s upcoming book, Love in the Age of Ecological Apocalypse, is due to hit bookstore shelves in March 2015. Meanwhile, SHIFT readers are treated to a sneak-preview….

Kari McGregor delves into our love-affair with labour-saving technologies, and questions the extent to which our attempts at reducing our workload have really made our lives better.

With information reaching saturation point it can be hard to know where to start with your to-watch list. SHIFT’s Movies that Matter film reviews help you decide what’s worthy of your precious time.

Justin Nigh kicks off SHIFT’s new Day in the Life of a Downshifter column by letting us in on some of the secrets of his own downshifted life.