The Great Convergence?
I don’t necessarily think all neo-optimist whizz-bangs are intrinsically a waste of time, but we need a Plan B … and this, I think, is a small farm future, which I suspect may well become Plan A.
Chris Smaje
The Survival-Investment Gap and the Berlin Wall: a Thought for Solarcentury’s 21st Birthday
On Solarcentury’s 21st birthday, an interesting question occurs to me. How many Solarcenturys would it take to stave off the climate crisis, at least where energy is concerned. The answer I arrive at might really surprise you.
Emergent Education
If we are moving away from this old form of political education – filling empty containers with the ‘right’ knowledge or ideology and policing those ‘right answers’ – what then are we actually trying to do?
What Defines a Farmer? Exploring Attitudes to Scale in Agriculture
The dictionary definition of ‘farmer’ is simply: “someone who owns or manages a farm”. A farm is: “an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals”.
Peak Oil Review: 27 May 2019
Oil prices plunged on Friday with New York futures falling about $5 a barrel. Precipitating the fall were concerns that there is no end in sight to the US-China trade war and that the global economy could slow by enough to affect oil demand.
How A Florida Beach Town Changed How We Live
With pedestrian-friendly streets, congenial gathering spots and appealing traditional architecture, Seaside on Florida’s Panhandle proves we can build new places with the qualities we love about classic neighborhoods—a notion once considered an impossible dream.
Helicopter Money and a Game of Kick the Can (Episode 12 of Crazy Town)
Have you ever wondered how dolphins feel about quantitative easing? OK, probably not, but it is important to consider the effects that money and monetary policy have on the real world of energy, society, and the environment. Nate Hagens joins Asher, Rob, and Jason to discuss said dolphins, a never-ending Grateful Dead concert, and the prospects of two mature solar panels giving birth to a little bitty baby solar panel.
If Life Wins there will Be no Losers
In recent years there’s been a global awakening to the momentous choice humanity now faces: do we cling to the old system and choose extinction, or create a new system that grants us a future worth living?
The History of Community Development Financial Institutions: Review
While being keenly aware of the importance of CDFIs, I had only the barest inkling of their origins, and so I was thrilled to recently have the opportunity to read Clifford N. Rothensal’s newly published Democratizing Finance: Origins of the Community Development Finance Movement.
The Resurgence of Local Food Swap Events
Usually a recurring event, food swaps allow direct trades to take place between attendees — for instance, a loaf of bread for a jar of preserves or a half-dozen backyard eggs. Your special kitchen concoctions become your own personal currency, allowing you to diversify your pantry while getting to know members of your local food community.
What would a Climate Emergency Plan Look Like?
For a council to have called a ‘climate emergency’, commonly advanced guidelines say that they must have: used these specific words in a motion or executive decision; they must set a target date to reduce their local climate impacts consistent with the IPCC report; they must set up a working group to report within a short timescale; and they must engage with a cross section of the community.
Le Pacte Pour la Transition (Transition Pact)
The population covered by local governments that have declared a climate emergency now approaches 50 million citizens in 8 countries – and this movement of movements is growing.
