Some Thoughts on System Change
It becomes clearer with each passing day that simply ameliorating current problems is not going to be sufficient. This blog is about how we might scale up transformative change.
Society
Retrotopia: The Only Way Forward
At a final meeting between our narrator and Isaiah Meeker, President of the Lakeland Republic, certain unstated agendas are revealed and the future of one of the post-US North American republics takes an unexpected turn…
Protecting “Country” in Australia
If nothing is done to stop the impact of climate change, some of the oldest living cultures in the world could die out. An all-Indigenous youth activist group in Australia has risen to the challenge.
Kicking Off in the Bathroom
What happens when it becomes too costly, unfeasible or, due to sudden disruptions to our energy supplies, impossible, to run our mains sewage system?
Earth Church
On a hot day in late June, about ten of us, and some of our children, gathered at the water’s edge of Lake Michigan.
Biennials and System Change
Why do so many expos, festivals and biennials promise to change the world for the better – only to end up as trash?
Restoring Mayberry: The Inner Landscape
For thousands of generations our forebears lived in the tangible world, surrounded by family and companions in a world with few strangers, engaged in the vital, heavy-breathing work of creating their own food and shelter.
Retrotopia: The View from Ottawa Hills
In his last full day in the Lakeland Republic, our narrator pays a visit to industrial magnate Janice Mikkelson and gets a different perspective on the Republic and the lessons of its history…
The Democratized Economy: How to Build a Successful Urban Center
The most important aspect of any urban center is that it be a walkable place with an interconnected system of streets.
School Days in 2040: Lakshmi’s Day at Bunker Hill High
In this third story from the blog series School Days in 2040, Erik Assadourian explores a high school in India specializing in training future social entrepreneurs, farmers, and even midwives.
A critique of “No Local,” the book arguing that localism can’t save the planet
A serious fault in Localism is the assumption that if we just go on building one good new thing here and another there, then someday it will add up to be the good new society. But the standard socialist approach to transition can’t do the job either.
Intermittent Renewables Can’t Favorably Transform Grid Electricity
Many people are hoping for wind and solar PV to transform grid electricity in a favorable way. Is this really possible?
