Ten Years after the Crash, Civil Society has Come a Long Way. But Much More Remains to Be Done
Here are ten things that have changed over the past ten years, including some huge achievements, that should be cause for hope and celebration.
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The Supply Chain of Fats: Olive Oil
Olive oil may well have been recommended for health reasons – it is a monosaturated fat and, in its cold-pressed extra virgin form, can help lower risk of a heart attack, stroke and heart disease – but what about the supply chain and the economies in the countries it is affecting? A critical look at the supply chain will help to answer these important questions.
Southern Discomfort
Solar power owned directly by the people and neighborhoods who use it creates local jobs, reduces polluting emissions and can save individuals money, The opportunity is there: 42 percent of the country’s residential solar potential is located on the rooftops of low- and middle-income dwellings, finds a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study published earlier this year.
The U.S. Just Suffered the Hottest May-June-July on Record
For the three-month period of May to July, the entire contiguous United States (CONUS) “ranked hottest on record,” as the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, California tweeted out Wednesday, adding that “records go back to 1895.”
Fearless Cities: Could we Have the New Municipalism in Greater Manchester?
How can representatives at all levels really learn to listen, and (to use a current buzz word) to co-produce solutions with their constituents – not just members of their own party, but with the full diversity of voices, including those whose starting positions might be difficult to understand or accept?
The Enemy Between Us: How Inequality Erodes our Mental Health
We’ve known for a long time that inequality causes a wide range of health and social problems, including everything from reduced life expectancy and higher infant mortality to poor educational attainment, lower social mobility and increased levels of violence.
Community Development and the Commons
What if community development was actually shaped by all members of the community, not just the most privileged and most likely to profit?
Making Charcoal
With more careful measurements, I or others could see if we could use these techniques on some kind of fast-growing wood, like willow, and see if we could do with terra preta in temperate climates what Amazonian tribes did in the rainforest.
The Fracking Industry Is Cannibalizing Its Own Production, Increasing Spill Risks
So, while the industry likes to claim that fracking poses little risk to the environment, the issue of frac hits appears to raise a whole new set of environmental risks.
Tomato Canning as Protest: How a Community Resisted Corporate Farming
We neighbors have made a commitment to support small farmers, and we’re working it out in this kitchen. We are finding new ways to pass on the old food traditions.
How the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative is Pioneering a Model for Equitable Housing
The East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative is an impressive burgeoning commons legal institution that’s aimed at the decommodification of housing.
The Social Ideology of the Motorcar
The worst thing about cars is that they are like castles or villas by the sea: luxury goods invented for the exclusive pleasure of a very rich minority, and which in conception and nature were never intended for the people.
