Resilience

Shelter from the Tornado

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:54:00 GMT

I live in Tornado Alley, in Oklahoma City. The suburb located fifteen miles south of our home, Moore, averages a tornado every 2.5 years since 1991. Until recently, I had believed that it was sufficiently prudent to watch the weather carefully during May, have a tornado bag assembled, and be prepared to shelter in the interior of the house, away from windows, covered by a mattress.

Climate: action, impact, and geoengineering - May 24

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:58:00 GMT

•China agrees to impose carbon targets by 2016 •Warming to hit half of plants, a third of animals •Geoengineering: Can We Save the Planet by Messing with Nature? •Climate Denial's Death Knell: 97 Percent of Peer-Reviewed Science Confirms Manmade Global Warming, Consensus Overwhelming •Climate disasters displace millions of people worldwide •For Insurers, No Doubts on Climate Change

Sharing as a Solution to Global Crisis

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:44:00 GMT

The social, environmental and economic crises that continue to reap havoc across the globe provide a critical opportunity for ordinary people to demand economic reform and political transformation says STWR's director, Rajesh Makwana, in an interview with John Habets & Henk Gloudemans.

Streetfacts #4: Children Have Lost the Freedom to Roam

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:43:25 GMT

The percentage of children walking and bicycling to school has plummeted from almost 50 percent in 1969 to about 13 percent today.

Two notions of liberty revisited - or how to disentangle Liberty and Slavery

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

"Freedom is the natural faculty to do whatever one wishes that is not prevented by force or law. Slavery is an institution according to the law of nations whereby one person becomes private property (dominium) of another, contrary to nature."'

Bike revolutions - May23

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:45:00 GMT

•Bike Sharing Prepares to Get its World Rocked •Social Bicycles Brings Sharing to Two Wheels •The two-wheel entrepreneurs: bike culture spawns businesses nationwide •The Pedestrian–Cyclist Armistice

Rooftop Revolution: How Solar Energy Is Putting Power Back in the Hands of the People

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:04:37 GMT

The sun is waiting to be tapped for clean, cheap energy if we can get our heads out of the sand.

Thinking of starting a Transition Initiative?

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:26:00 GMT

Are you thinking about starting a new Transition initiative in your town, village or city? I was among those who initiated Transition Dartmouth Park, in North London, around a year and a half ago.

The Politics of Time's Shape

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:50:00 GMT

To begin with, it’s important to recognize that no fixed rule sets apart those changes that get called “progress” from the ones that don’t.

We plant trees, but why?

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:00 GMT

An interview with Joseph Redwood-Martinez about the documentary 'One day, everything will be free' which explores a reforestation initiative in Haiti, namely Sadhana Forest.

For Africa’s Solar Sisters, Off-Grid Electricity Is Power

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:45:00 GMT

U.S. businesswoman Katherine Lucey is working with a network of women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa to sell inexpensive, household solar energy systems. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Lucey explains how solar electricity can transform lives, particularly those of rural women and girls.

The Seed Underground

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:41:00 GMT

A delightful and thoroughly enjoyable read: in my many years of reading environmental books there aren't many I could say that about. I found The Seed Undergound on a table at the home of a member of Transition Mar Vista/Venice, at an open house (open garden) as part of last month's 100+ home Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase.

Spring Time?

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:11:00 GMT

I have ruminated enough times on this blog about climate change that it should no longer pop up its ugly head, and yet it never ceases to amaze me as to how well it lends itself to a quick article. As homesteaders, so many of our daily activities lead to the out-of-doors, and therefore keeps us connected to nature and all her changing faces.

Earth Trek: The Journey Home

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:03:00 GMT

Lurking behind the cover story of terrorism and modern unease is an even more troubling development: the endgame of fossil-fueled civilization, and hence, the end of space travel.

Why Austerity Kills: From Greece to U.S., Crippling Economic Policies Causing Global Health Crisis

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:50:00 GMT

"Had austerity been organized like a clinical trial, it would’ve been discontinued given evidence of its deadly side effects," Stuckler says.

Hope from the margins

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:40:00 GMT

These notes offer a quick glance to ways, in the south of Mexico, in which people are regenerating the society from the bottom up. It is a new kind of revolution without leaders or vanguards....

The Poisoned Chalice: Genetic Heritage, Future Demise

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:12:00 GMT

During the Pleistocene evolution favored those humans who left the most descendants so our evolved instincts encourage us to procreate, seek status and consume resources. Now sustainability is an existential issue and these instincts and our invention of technology are threatening our future.

Making an Iota of Difference

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:00 GMT

So, sustainable communities, to me, means keeping out of the way of things that are too big to fail.

Warrior Writers

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:27:00 GMT

How can reporting on energy, presented as opportunity or catastrophic risk, compete against grumpy cat memes and economic woes? Is there a secret to breaking through the flood of information to make a meaningful impression on the public?

Deep thought - May 20

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:23:00 GMT

• Some of My Best Friends Are Germs
• Bye-Bye Baby Boomers
• The repentant environmentalist: Part 3
• Thanks for coming
• Needed: An ecosocialist cosmovision

So Much Wasted Energy - Rethinking food waste

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:01:00 GMT

Regardless of terminology, one point is writ clear: the most technologically and economically advanced cultures in the world have the highest rates of food waste on the planet

The Great (and Not So Great) Bike Debates

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:56:00 GMT

Cycling is a great example of an EcoOptimistic solution, as I’ve written about before. It works on so many angles that it surpasses the win-win-win solutions that I often discuss here.

Too soon to tell: The case for hope, continued

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:10:00 GMT

Ten years ago, as a contrarian and a person who prefers not to see others suffer, I tried to undermine despair with the case for hope.

A Desire Named Streetcar

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:13:00 GMT

Twentysomethings are eschewing their cars in never-before-seen numbers for alternate forms of transit...

Don't Trust Your Stone Age Brain: It's Unsustainable

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:37:00 GMT

Humans have evolved to feel a single sense of self, but our emotional brain is encouraging us to pursue perceived self-interest even if it means trashing the planet, leaving our rational brain to try and justify our actions. Why are our intuitions so poor, and how might we engage rational thinking?