Front and Back Covers, Volume 32, Number 4. August 2016

Abstract

Front and back cover caption, volume 32 issue 4ENERGY ON A HUMAN SCALEEnergy is not just oil and electricity, but also trees and plants, firewood and fodder. It is not just a material ‘out there’, but also a situated process which shapes us as we in turn shape it.As Louise Senior demonstrates in this issue, in the walled garden at the Castle of Mey in Scotland (see back cover), the energetic potential of the wind is a constant concern for gardening staff. They have developed a particular sensitivity to the wind, learning to predict how it is likely to affect their practices and initiating various adaptations to it. High walls, thick hedges and flagstone fences offer vulnerable brassicas some protection. Narrow trenches, or ‘draw‐holes’, are furrowed out along the length of vegetable plots affording immature cabbages additional shelter from the wind.During the Indian monsoon, Karishma goes out to cut large bundles of green grass for the buffalo (see front cover). The walk along the mountainside in the drizzling rain contrasts with the cold rain of winter, when this daily task provides welcome warmth for the chill body. Some days she cuts leafy branches instead, the twigs from which will serve as firewood to warm her in the early mornings. In this issue, Heid Jerstad argues that such fires are place‐bound forms of energy that give way to movement and activity in heating Pahari villagers during the day.Energy pervades our lives. Energy is about movement, connections and how we organize our environments. The form it comes in has implications for all aspects of human life. To effectively address the cross‐cutting challenges of climate change and socioeconomic instability we need to broaden the scope through which we view our relationships with energy. Energy is human too.