Utility 3.0: How to Democratize Energy in the U.S.
In a December 2014 report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, John Farrell makes the case for a more radical shift, which he calls "Utility 3.0" or "energy democracy."
Society
Resilience Roundup – Jan 16
A roundup of the news, views and ideas from the main stream press and the blogosphere.
March of the Squirrels
Prediction is a difficult business at the best of times, but the difficulties seem to change from one era to another. Just now, at least for me, the biggest challenge is staying in front of the headlines.
Journalist launches online archive to document diversity of rural India
Although Sainath is known for his forceful critiques of people in power and the inequality built into contemporary economics and politics, just as often his newspaper work focused on the dignity of ordinary people in the face of injustice.
‘Failure of Conscience’: Groups Urge Congress to Fund Social Well-Being, Not Fossil Fuel Industry
A coalition of environmental and social justice groups has come together to declare collective disgust with the spending of billions of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary subsidies for the oil and gas industries when that same money could be used to improve the lives of millions if spent on social services, renewable energy investments, healthcare, and education.
A basic dictionary of the sharing economy
Sharing is more than a trend: it can be a business model, a city model or a lifestyle. To distinguish these three dimensions and their manifestations, it’s important to understand the culture born of the crisis and its limits.
Way to Go!
Americans have actually been driving less per-capita for the past decade, bucking a century-long trend of ever-increasing dependence on automobiles.
What Makes a Good Mediator?
Part of the Power to Convene (our theme for January and February) is the ability to bring groups and people together to work in new ways. The story of the South Devon Cycle Link campaign and in particular the role of James Furse has many useful insights for this.
The central contradiction in the modern outlook: ‘Planet of the Apes’ vs ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’
When talking about the perils of climate change or resource depletion, soil degradation or fisheries collapse, water pollution or nuclear waste–how annoying it is to have one listener respond dismissively, "They’ll figure something out. They always have."
An Insider’s Guide to Sharing City Detroit
Unbeknownst to most who have yet to venture through my beloved city, Detroit is a sharing city.
Resilience Roundup – Jan 9
A roundup of the news, views and ideas from the main stream press and the blogosphere.
How ‘The Power to Convene’ can transform Transition
It was in a small sideroom at the Resilience Hub in Portland, Maine, that I first heard the term ‘The Power to Convene’. It fascinated me, and finally gave me a name for this thing I’d been seeing for years.
