Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
– Oberlin, Ohio: Laboratory for a New Way of Life
– Small is beautiful – an economic idea that has sadly been forgotten
– Onion: Nation Finally Breaks Down And Begs Its Smart People To Just Fix Everything
– Naomi Klein: Capitalism vs. the Climate
This movement is winning. It’s winning by being broad and inclusive, by emphasizing what we have in common and bridging differences between the homeless, the poor, those in freefall, the fiscally thriving but outraged, between generations, races and nationalities and between longtime activists and never-demonstrated-before newcomers. It’s winning by keeping its eyes on the prize, which is economic justice and direct democracy, and by living out that direct democracy through assemblies and other means right now.
Before the Occupy Wall Street movement, there was little discussion of the outsized power of Wall Street and the diminishing fortunes of the middle class. The media blackout was especially remarkable given that issues like jobs and corporate influence on elections topped the list of concerns for most Americans.
Occupy Wall Street changed that. In fact, it may represent the best hope in years that “we the people” will step up to take on the critical challenges of our time. Here’s how the Occupy movement is already changing everything.
It’s nine o’clock and eleven of us are discussing climate change. So far we have agreed that in order to mitigate the effects of modern civilisation on the planet’s atmosphere we have to powerdown to a low-carbon economy, de-industrialise our agricultural system and bring equality to bear in all aspects of the human world. You might think this is taking place in a warm lecture hall or meeting room on this November evening, but we are far from such venues…Occupy Norwich is holding one of its evening talks and I’ve come to spend the night here amongst the tents. Like thousands of others I’ve been following the activities in Zuccotti Park and Finsbury Square on-line and I want to find out what it’s like to occupy a space in physical reality.
Today, Detroit’s Eastern Market, first established in 1891, is a revitalized food hub, returning to the historical practice of actively offering processing and aggregation support to small and midsize farmers, facilitating relationships between local producers and institutional buyers, and strengthening Michigan’s regional food system. Its evolution says much about the history of our food system and a transformation currently taking place across the country.
– Occupy movement plans spring offensive as momentum stalls
– Matt Taibbi: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests
– Starhawk et al: Open letter to the Occupy movement: why we need agreements
– Vandana Shiva: The 99 Percent
– At Occupy Protests, Bearing Witness Without Preaching
Think about it! We’ve been presented with a win-win opportunity to build on the Occupy Movement. And — really — don’t we all share the “Occupy” vision of a kinder, more sustainable world?
If together we could see everyone as part of the 100%, rather than as “we-versus-them” confrontational camps, then perhaps we can all actually make a difference.
Not that long ago, the notion of an archdruid speaking at a national conference on peak oil would likely have occurred only to humorists and anti-environmental zealots. Over the week just past, as the industrial world showed unnerving signs of lurching into crisis, that preposterous scenario did indeed come to pass. The Archdruid offers his reflections on the event.
The United States isn’t broke; we’re the richest country on the planet and a country in which the richest among us are doing exceptionally well. But the truth is, our economy is broken, producing more pollution, greenhouse gasses and garbage than any other country. In these and so many other ways, it just isn’t working.
It struck me that Transition says to people “take this model and do it where you are”, whereas Occupy suggests coming together to suspend your life while you explore, with others, the question of what’s the best thing to do now. Transition is about building that into your own life, right now, drawing on the experience of many others. You might say that Occupy suggests occupying, for example, Wall Street, while Transition suggests occupying your own street, putting up runner beans and solar panels rather than tents. There is great richness in this diversity of approaches. I was left mulling the question I should have asked Frannie from the information tent, when people arrive and say “I don’t have the time to be here at Occupy, but what can I do in my own life, at home, in my street?” It would be fascinating to know the answer they receive.
Here is the single biggest question to consider about the economic, energy and environmental unwinding we are facing – what will the economy look as we go?
So, people tend to be attracted more by pleasant fables rather than by inconvenient truths. That doesn’t mean that truth needs to be unpleasant, negative, or apocalyptic. However, if we want to pass our message to the public, data alone are not enough; scientific results must be presented in ways that take into account the human side of the problems. How to succeed in this task is an open question, but Antonio Turiel, who keeps the blog “The Oil Crash”, has examined it in a recent post titled “running away from reality dedicated to the “Chemtrails” legend.
