Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Kerry Dawborn In these days of increased concern over food security, resource scarcity and deteriorating ecosystems, the system of design known as permaculture is an important part of finding sustainable solutions.
Occupy events in big cities like New York, Oakland, and Los Angeles receive considerable coverage in the corporate media, especially when police react. Yet in small towns and mid-size cities throughout America, peaceful occupations occur that engage people in conversations and education in public spaces and beyond.
The whole story, of course, made more sense when it was gaining popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries; most children were familiar with sleighs or lumps of coal, and hung their stockings by the chimney anyway, to dry. The oranges we received in our stockings were meaningless to us in the 1970s but precious to our forebears; they were from exotic lands. In “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” Mama was in her kerchief and I in my cap because the houses were cold. Children a century ago would not have found such details cryptic, any more than they would stables and mangers.
EthicalOil.org is a defense of the Canadian oil sands industry. The argument it makes is that because human rights standards are much better in Canada than in many other oil exporting nations, Canada should be considered a more “moral” source of oil. In fact, the oil from the oil sands is touted as a “fair trade choice.” Once I’d read through the site, it was hard to imagine why the oil sands industry would even want it online. If these people were working for me with the express mission of defending the oil sands, I would fire them.
– In Uniform at Protests, and in Trouble as a Result
– My Occupy LA Arrest (Fox “Family Guy” writer)
– Russian Vote Wrath Swells Protests as Putin Blames Clinton
– Putin Contends Clinton Incited Unrest Over Vote
The opportunity to pull Michigan out of its economic slump and deal with climate change is right in front of us. But leaders are dithering.
– The New Cyber-Industrial Complex Spying on Us
– Fox: The Muppets Are ‘Brainwashing’ Young People To Hate The Oil Industry
– How net neutrality helped Occupy Wall Street
– Amazon Launches Christmas Attack on Local Shops
A book from England called “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger” helps explain what Occupy is about.
The book describes the effects of inequality that have been measured by years of research. The authors gathered all the research and came up with some surprises. What is particularly surprising is that it’s not just the poor who suffer from inequality — we’re all victims.
OPEC head Abdullah El-Badri warned European leaders on Wednesday against imposing sanctions on Iranian oil, stating that the 865,000 barrels a day which goes mostly to Southern Europe would be difficult to replace. Global supply is already tight and oil prices remain stubbornly high despite the chronic Euro-crisis…
Before the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar the newspaper Gulf Times wrote in an article that, “A highlight is the keynote speech that will be delivered by Total’s President and CEO, Christophe de Margerie on the theme: “Peak oil – ahead of us or behind us?” on December 7”. The fact that Peak Oil is the theme for one of the seven main presentations at the congress shows that Peak Oil is now an important topic of discussion in the international and national oil industries. Earlier, Total had indicated that they believed Peak Oil could occur before 2030 so it was with some suspense that we awaited the message from Total and their managing director de Margarie.
-The New Agtivist: Edith Floyd is making a Detroit urban farm, empty lot by empty lot
-A citizen activist forces New Mexico’s dairies to clean up their act
-Citywatch: Food’s a trip, Actually a Baker’s Dozen of Trips
-Amish Farms to Hippie Co-Ops Fight FDA Inquiry
-Industrial-Sized Rooftop Farm Planned for Berlin
-Small farmers crave horse power
As the 17th Conference of the Parties wraps up in Durban, South Africa, the scientific consensus on climate change risks has never been clearer…yet, world leaders appear to be unable, or unwilling, to lay the groundwork for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While climate change “sceptics”, often close to powerful vested interests, distort the science and delay change in developed countries, fast-growing developing countries are also making any serious global agreement to reduce emissions difficult to achieve. An undesirable coalition of “big-emitters” appears to be gambling with the Earth’s climate….Meanwhile, for a growing number of countries, climate change is no longer a distant prospect.
