Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
With support from visionaries like you, CUESA is cultivating a sustainable food system that strengthens local farms and builds healthy communities. Join us in looking back on our exciting year, spring 2016-spring 2017. Together, we expanded our farmers markets and educational programs, and widened our community.
There’s really no shortage of ways that people can pool resources. But there’s a huge difference in the goals between for-profit sharing economy companies like Uber and Airbnb and nonprofit groups like tool libraries, time banks, and makerspaces. Juliet Schor, professor at the sociology department at Boston College, explores this tension between for-profit and nonprofit sharing groups.
“The grass was tall, and the house was in bad shape,” Alan remembers. But somehow it became home — the couple raised four children there. And they wound up restoring not just the once-vacant house, but the downtown community around it, as well.
This is the second and final part of a recent conversation with Richard Heinberg by Greening the Apocalypse. Greening the Apocalypse is a weekly show on Melbourne’s Triple R 102.7FM.
The problem of legislative gridlock and failed governance is not going to be solved anytime soon by routinely voting the out’s in and the in’ s out over the course of an election cycle or two–then rinsing and repeating. The question we are left with is: what’s a practical alternative? Unfortunately, I don’t have a pat or complete answer I do, however, have a suggestion that the clean energy and climate defending communities might want to discuss amongst themselves.
Last month, we took our time machine to the World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki and asked 8 very brave volunteers to take a trip to 2050 and report back on what they found. In this episode we share the highlights from the trip and discuss in detail what we learned. Self cleaning clothes, soil health, vegetarianism, and yes – it looks like incineration will be out of the picture too. Strap in!
Free trade and the freedom of capital to move across borders have been the cutting edge of globalization. They’ve also led to the succession of crises that have led to the widespread questioning of capitalism as a way of organizing economic life — and of its paramount ideological expression, neoliberalism.
Global investment in coal-fired power plants is set to decline “dramatically” after passing an all-time high during the past several years, says the International Energy Agency (IEA). That’s one of the most striking messages from World Energy Investment 2017, published today (11th July). The report, now in its second year, offers a comprehensive picture of energy investment from fossil-fuel extraction through to transport, energy efficiency and power networks.
My opinion that the design process at the core of permaculture currently lacks soundness and coherence. As a result, in spreading permaculture (which is above all else a design system), we are unintentionally spreading ideas that are unsound and incoherent. Ideas that will, if inadvertently, undermine the ability of permaculture to deliver real solutions in different domains. To deliver on its incredible promise.
We are proud to have resurrected sailing cargo in the Mediterranean after a global hiatus of several decades. Our SAIL MED organization has been working on this and related projects since 2013. We’re part of a global trend of moving cargo with clean, truly renewable energy. And it’s fun helping to advance timeless Greek culture, which I know sounds grandiose.
Our framing and cognitive dissonance prevents us from moving forward with useful policies to restrain climate change. Solutions that protect growth are either destructive to the geobiosphere and/or intensive in energy use. But we have a conceptual scientific framework that explains our societal systemic behavior exists, the Maximum Power Principle.
The decision by President Trump to withdraw the USA – the world’s biggest per capita polluter – from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is undoubtedly a set-back to a unified global response to climate change. However, the response by US cities, along with states, businesses and citizens has been truly inspiring. More than 300 American “Climate Mayors” have committed to “adopt, honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement goals.”
