A world in breakdown
The events of a single day in three continents are a lesson in the interlocking crises that will define the decade.
Activism
Ecological civilization
A soil scientist considers how we might organize a truly ecological civilization:
– the critical characteristics that underlie strong ecosystems
– why societies are not adequately implementing ecological approaches
– how we might use characteristics of strong natural ecosystems as a framework to consider a future ecological civilization. (Excerpts)
The peak oil crisis: civil unrest
America’s problem today is that almost nobody in any official position is willing to publicly recognize the real nature of the problem we face and start talking about realistic solutions. So long as our elected officials and our media continue to speak endlessly about the recovery that is supposedly underway and continue to hold out the hope that, by voting for this or that candidate, all will be well, the great charade will continue and the people will get madder and madder.
Wikileaks, Karl Marx and you
Despite blanket media coverage of Wikileaks and Julian Assange, there has been little discussion of the fact that Assange is merely one leader within a large and complicated social movement, the “free culture movement.” The present situation was predicted by visionary hackers over thirty years ago, and they set out to ensure the victory of free culture over proprietary culture, open organisation over closed, and privacy over Big Brother.
The machines change, the work remains the same
I have recommitted to local organizing that aims mainly to strengthen institutions and networks on the ground where I live, rooted in a belief that those local connections will be more important than ever in coming decades. At the same time, I try to maintain and extend connections to like-minded people around the world, hoping that those connections can contribute to the possibility of coordinated global action. In short, I am trying to become more tribal and more universal at the same time.
WikiLeaks and media – Jan 9
– The Man Who Spilled the Secrets
– Wiki Rehab
– Nader: Tweeting Away the Time
What does it matter?
When protest is successful, on those rare and remarkable and wondrous occasions when resistance is possible, it is successful not because of the pure, clear political persistence of actors who carry signs or passively protest or fight legal battles. Instead, it is successful because political protest is chained not to doors or trees but to the emergence of a new way of life. This way of life is not perfect or sufficient, but the overwhelming emergence of something new and different in ordinary and daily ways is a hallmark of almost every successful political protest.
Deep thought – Dec 27
– Why Wikileaks will be the death of big business and big government
– A Physicist Solves the City
– The Biodiversity Blunder
– Out with the old politics
– US embassy cables: Ireland grappling with climate change and energy
Truthtelling & activism – Dec 24
– Why Bolivia Stood Alone in Opposing the Cancún Climate Agreement
– Is the Wikileaks Saga the Biggest Crypto-Environmental Story of 2010?
– Thinking Dialectically About Solidarity
– How nonprofit journalism is changing the ‘news ecosystem’
– Washington Post’s big story: Monitoring America: Your Local Neighborhood’s ‘Global War on Terror’
10 most hopeful stories of 2010
Events from 2010 contain the seeds of transformation. None of the following stories is enough on its own to change the momentum. But if we the people build and strengthen social movements, each of of these stories points to a piece of the solution.
Top 10 peak oil stories of 2010
The biggest stories of 2010 were financial. But you could say that the continuing Great Recession, the deficit debate, and more and more mortgage defaults were really stories of energy-driven economic crisis. This year also had plenty of big stories directly on energy, including some breakthroughs on peak oil. Here are our top picks. It’s a highly subjective list; so please chime in with any stories you think we left off.
Peak empire
Now that global peak oil is history perhaps it’s time to work on predicting peak empire instead. If you followed the work of Joseph Tainter, he offered the theory of diminishing and eventually negative marginal return to territorial growth and complexity of societies.
