April 2026: Sources and Methods
This month, we’re talking about inspiration. Where do we look for new ideas for a project, or for tips on how to incorporate a tricky detail? The world is awash with information but sometimes it’s hard to find the good stuff. If you live somewhere without an established building tradition, it can feel a bit like the omnivore’s dilemma. This past month the news has gotten more dire: the war in Iran has sent oil prices soaring with aftershocks in all corners of the economy, laying bare the perils of fossil fuel dependence…
March 2026: Living in a Material World
Ahoy, readers. This month, we’re talking about building materials and resource use.
It’s starting to feel like it’s all bad news these days. Last month, the Trump administration repealed the EPA’s endangerment finding. In short, the finding stated that carbon dioxide and other gasses are an endangerment to human health, and this formed the legal basis for the EPA’s regulation of those pollutants. We are also beginning to see symptoms of ‘day zero droughts’, or periods of unprecedented water scarcity…
February 2026: Competing Visions
As the world pitches further toward climate collapse and with global capitalism seemingly in its death throes, there are far too many bad ideas circulating on how to build a better future. From mega-projects in the desert to colonialism masquerading as a ‘Board of Peace’, we have seen powerful people extracting more than their fair share of resources and autonomy. This is nothing new, but we at The Last Straw know that the tried and true methods of future-building have always come from below. This month, we explore examples of how localized, low carbon, and community-based models are an essential way out of the mess we’re in.
January 2026: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
This month we’re taking our annual break from the regular round-up to share a bit on how we’re doing and what we’re aiming for in 2026. The Last Straw has been a community-produced publication for 33 years now, and we like to take a small moment each year to be transparent about what we’re doing and where we’d like to go.
2025
December 2025: Tis The Season…
So begins our final chapter of 2025. One decade after the Paris Agreement with its hopes of remaining below 1.5C of global warming and things are looking a little grim. We’re hot, we’re dry, and we’re not doing all that well politically either. But collective effort still gives us hope. If you’re in the holiday spirit this December, meet a new neighbor, make an ally. ‘Tis the season of course. And be on the lookout for exciting things in the coming months from your friends at The Last Straw Editorial Collective. We have been toiling away for a while now on some new things that we’ll be sharing very soon!
November 2025: Old Solutions for New Weather
Extreme weather might be one of the most visible signs of climate change, but crossing planetary thresholds takes many forms. This month, we take note of the typhoon remnant that flooded western Alaska and the likely decline of warm water coral reefs. Governmental thresholds also play a part here, with the continuing federal shutdown and workforce reduction attempts further slowing attempted climate change mitigation. It’s not all bad news: green sea turtle populations are rebounding after sustained global coordination efforts! Cob building is on the rise, and there’s some new books reviving old wisdom and cutting through the false solutions on offer by the rich. As a review of The Long Heat says, “It may be too late for 1.5 degrees C, but it is also, as [authors] Carton and Malm write, ‘too late to give up.’”
October 2025: Of the Earth, For the Earth
As temperatures cool a bit and some rain returns out in the western U.S., we’re shifting our attention from the urgency of wildfires (although the fire season continues until November) to planning for the long-term. Monsoon season petrichor inspires dreams of mud cities. Despite code officials’ resistance, earthen construction offers a lot, such as increased fire resistance and decreased carbon emitted during construction. This month we’re thinking about the potential and how to spread these methods across the country. Don’t worry about us getting carried away with distant hopes: there’s a decent amount of political and climate weirding news to keep us grounded.
September 2025: Ideas for Action
These days seem pretty bleak: as we sit in the high desert of Utah writing about potential permanent drought in the Southwest, wildfires across the state make this one of the worst wildfire years on record. Still, the future is far from locked in. This month, we’re finding realistic hope through substantial ideas for mitigating climate crisis: a new sharp book thinks through working with people you don’t totally agree with, new research brings to light old, cheap ideas for sustainable futures, and legal acceptance of regenerative building make some progress. One thing’s for sure – there’s enough people out there that want a livable future, we just need to find each other and get to work!
August 2025: Learn. Grow. Build. Repeat
Assuming you have heavily sunk those teeth in Issue #76, we hope to keep the education conversation going with our second TLS Talk! Check our events section and save the date for an August 21st Roundtable with natural building entrepreneurs Emily Wang, Seth Dunn, Myles Danforth, Ian Svilokos, and Arielle and Simon Gonzalez. It’s free but please donate if you’re able. Tune in or miss out! And if the moment has you down and a fresh TLS talk isn’t enough to lift your spirits we highly recommend you check out this (incredibly cool) local study group program. We’re getting together and changing the world folks!
July 2025: In the Whirlwind
July is coming in hot in the U.S.: temperatures are rising and anti-ICE action is still going strong in L.A. and elsewhere even as Congress shovels more money to the secret police. We’re intrigued by the new appropriately-named magazine Heatwave, so maybe add them to your reading list as well. If you’re out on a build site remember to drink water, take breaks in the shade, and catch up on back issues of The Last Straw. And don’t forget – you can still watch a recording of our first TLS Talk (with Ace McArleton, Adrienne Stolwyk, and Greg Bossie) HERE!
June 2025: Get Outside!
Happy June fellow email users. We are approaching our summer solstice, the solar-midpoint of the year this month here in the northern hemisphere, where mother gaia is completing her bow to the sun. Whatever weather an unnaturally warm June may bring you, from the unnaturally temperate to the hot and sticky, we hope you stay safe and are able to go outside and enjoy some quality nature this month.
And a big thank you to everyone that attended our talk last week with Ace McArleton! It was a real treat to have so many engaged participants, and such great insights. You can download a recording of the call HERE, and from the success of this event we will be hosting more talks in the future, so stay posted!
May 2025: How do we build in a world on Fire?
Happy May from The Last Straw! With the passing of mid-Spring, wildfire season is upon us in North America, on the heels of drought in the Western U.S. We also can’t help but anticipate a hot summer, with both record high temperatures and intense reactions to Trumponomics’ consequences likely in store. This month we’re inviting you to think about the life-giving and life-taking qualities of fire for the next issue of our magazine, and how actually-existing regenerative building might show a way through the flames.
April 2025: The Future Is What We Make It
Happy Spring (in the northern hemisphere) from The Last Straw! With all the tumult in the U.S. around drastic changes in environmental remediation funding and policy, we think it’s important to maintain a clear view of our situation: both the severity of the climate crises and also the lesser-known histories that point toward another way. This month we’d like to help clarify a viable future, get the facts, and download Signal.
March 2025: Building Is Political
Happy March from The Last Straw. While temperatures and tensions continue to rise across the states and ripple overseas, independent communities like ours are gathering together to remain critical and build a difference. Our mission and stance in growing natural biogenic building materials and living light with the land is more important now than ever.
February 2025: Calculating the Future
The wildfires in California serve as another poignant reminder that climate crisis is here now: there is no dramatic arrival in our future, we have passed the turning points. Because of this, there is much to be done to rebuild more resilient and regenerative communities. This month we’re thinking about moving forward with a clear sense of what’s going on. Let us know if there’s a project we should share in the next newsletter, or if you have a workshop you’d like to advertise!
January 2025: Looking back and forward
The Last Straw has been a community-produced publication for 35 years, so this month we’re taking a break from the regular round-up and to share a bit on how we’re doing and what we’re aiming for in 2025.
