The World at 1°C — May ‘17

But ours is a world of vibrancy. Ours is a condition of hope and a moment of opportunity. The crisis is here and it is truly apocalyptic. But we do not have to accept that it will inevitably worsen until it swallows us all. We can forge a way out. We have to.

A Climate Cooling Proposal

Climate cooling activities increase water storage to support green plant growth, and draw carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis to form deep, rich soils under forests, marshes, and grasslands. The result is known as Drawdown, carbon banking, or when coupled with agriculture, carbon farming.

Coal Is a Dinosaur and so is the Growth Economy

What does this downgrading of likely carbon emissions mean for climate change modelers, climate activists, policy makers, and concerned citizens? According to Ritchie, the implication is clearly not as simple as “don’t worry, fossil fuel depletion will solve climate change for us.”

Taking the Fossil Fuels out of Camp Cooking

The issue is not only to allow people to remove fossil fuels from camp cooking. The idea is that cooking on a small stick fire requires a far closer relationship to the land – and thus can be transformational for people’s lifestyle generally. Their emphasis on the self-build/DIY element of the stick-fire grate is part of that greater aim, allowing people to “gain the confidence to ‘make’ rather than ‘buy’ the things you need”.

Reconquering Work – Inspiration from People’s Potato

In the current employment system, work organizations are rarely adjusted to human needs, such as self-fulfillment and meaning. In the article on Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber (2013) observes that the more a job is useful for society and able to provide a sense of meaning, the less it is rewarded in monetary terms.

Why Is Trudeau Blowing His Chance to Curb Dangerous, Climate-Warming Methane?

Here’s what the Trudeau government definitely knows about the science of methane. The gas accounts for more than one-quarter of all global warming, and reliable data from satellite and airplane surveys show that emissions are increasing, largely from the oil and gas industry.

Donald Trump, the Paris Agreement, and the Meaning of America

Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change has sparked a global uproar. Yet America’s reluctance to reduce its use of fossil fuels is, in fact, logical. Not only because of the U.S. president’s overt denial of man-made climate change, but also and more fundamentally because it reflects America’s historical essence and trajectory.

Resist… the Temptation to Hide Away in a Tiny House

I included neighbor-cultivating in the inaugural Ask Umbra civic action guide for a very simple reason: Experts told me that it’s impossible to improve your community without being a part of it. But reader disdain for the idea resurrected a haunting suspicion I first felt when reporting on the tiny, off-the-grid house obsession a few years ago: that the pursuit of a sustainable life has become an exercise in looking inward.

How One City in Spain Launched a Local Currency

Though the community currency failed to materialize in Barcelona, the city immediately to its northeast, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, created a local currency this year. This currency — the grama — was designed to be an innovative way of enabling the city’s residents to protect their livelihoods from external economic threats