Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Gene Logsdon Along the one lane country roads in our county, the traveler encounters an occasional roadside tree, all by itself at the edge of the endless fields of corn and soybeans. They stand as monuments commemorating the passing agrarian life we cherish.
Successful post-carbon transitions will benefit from understanding the dynamics of transport revolutions. We define a transport revolution as being substantial change in a society’s transport activity–moving people or freight, or both–that occurs in less than twenty five years.
– Coming Soon to America: Big Push for Austerity
– French Lessons for U.S. Workers
– The Tory ‘big society’ relies on women replacing welfare
– Monbiot: For the Conservatives, this is not a financial crisis but a long-awaited opportunity
– Mapping Global Wealth
A “perfect” lawn is a truly human artifact, a triumph of elegance and simplicity, using machines, chemicals and Poa pratensis in its making. We need an aesthetic sense that an ornamental landscape’s beauty isn’t only about visual effect, but about holistic function–about how the landscape contributes to the biotic community, to the ecosystem’s health.
Environmentalists, especially in wealthy countries, have often approached the question of environmental sustainability by stressing population and technology, while deemphasizing the middle term in the well-known IPAT (environmental Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology) formula. The reasons for this are not difficult to see. Within capitalist society, there has always been a tendency to blame anything but the economic system itself for ecological overshoot.
– Collapsus presents a global narrative that plays out in the near-future. Told through the eyes of activist vlogger Vera and a cast of supporting characters, Collapsus depicts a complex world of profiteering, geo-political maneuvering, and conspiracy centering around dwindling oil reserves.
– “How to Boil a Frog” on DVD
– How Mr. Condom made Thailand a better place
– After 2 years of eco-living, what works and what doesn’t
– New book on biochar by Albert Bates
– Growing ‘lots of delicious food for the least possible work’
– Eco villages are your best investment
– Tea Party climate change deniers funded by BP and other major polluters
– Texas oil companies pump new round of cash into California climate fight
– Caught! EU business lobby funding climate legislation blockers in US Senate
– Jurassic Ballot: When Corporations Ruled the Earth
On October 6th, a group of young organic farmers boarded a brightly painted, veggie-oil powered school bus in La Farge, Wisconsin to kick off the first ever Generation Organic Tour. During a two and a half week road trip, they visited schools, colleges and grocery stores to promote the theme of the tour: “Who’s Your Farmer? Own Your Food, Drive Your Future!”
I don’t know whether the Buddha ever rioted for austerity, but he certainly counseled against arousing rampant desire, especially as a way of life. But what can we do instead? Change comes eventually less from just a critique of a prevailing system than from the building of a new system, of something that doubters can jump to and help in the next stage of building.
The grassroots movement for economic localisation represents a positive and practical response to the challenges of food insecurity, climate change, peak oil and financial instability. Governments should support this alternative vision for sustainable, human-scale development. (Think tank report.)
I came away from my too-brief sojourn in Anchorage with both a deep appreciation for this land of great natural beauty, contrasts, and extremes, and an equally deep concern for how Alaskans will deal with their enormous energy challenges. Some of those challenges are going to present themselves forcibly in the very near future.
