Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
A bio-diverse culture needs us to be diverse, which is to say we need to be intrinsically ourselves – rooted in place and within our skills – and working as part of the whole. Coming from a broad frequency band, rather from a narrow, seperated point of view. This is a new way of working in the world: one that combines a modern city intelligence with an ancestral knowledge of the land.
The left I want is a complicated one: it’s a left which wants to put empowerment first, and that means helping people–as I must always remind myself as well–grasp the limits, the particularity, within which such empowerment is possible. That’s a hard left to maintain, and who knows? Perhaps it’s an imaginary one.
What we need are generated cities, not fabricated!
So what do you think? Do you think left and right, in some or all variations can work together? To what extent are political ends enough, and to what extent are the means and underlying enlightenment philosophies critical?
A commons can only be conserved by a common effort, by a web of agreements and mutual enforcements that work for all those who have a stake in the commons. There is no shortcut here. While individual frugalizing is necessary, it is not sufficient.
– Paul Krugman: The Unwisdom of Elites
– Juan Cole: The New Sputnik
– Joe Bageant: Escape from the Zombie Food Court
There is no ‘finished product democracy’. How should democracy or self-rule be explained and evaluated today? It requires respect for the democracy of knowledge. A global conversation held at three international meetings, involving academics, civil society and social movement activists from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, has issued in a Democracy Manifesto for our fast-moving times. We publish initial responses from participants each day this week to continue this conversation in the public domain.
Utah’s first commercial wind power project, located in the city of Spanish Fork, faced stiff opposition at every turn. Developers had to deal with changing and inconsistent city and state policies, siting and pricing roadblocks, a fickle investor, and resistance from nearby residents—virtually all at the same time. The success story in Spanish Fork provides some lessons for how to get urban communities to accept and encourage local wind energy development.
In Canada, three-quarters of all the crop varieties that existed before the 20th century are extinct. And, of the remaining quarter, only 10 percent are available commercially from Canadian seed companies (the remainder are held by gardeners and families). Over 64 percent of the commercially held seeds are offered by only one company; if those varieties are dropped, the seeds may be lost. That’s the reason Caroline and about 100 other indigenous farmers and gardeners—along with students and community members—gathered in March on the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota to share knowledge, stories, and, of course, seeds.
– SF’s Bike to Work Day May 12
– Peak oil? Now it’s peak cars
– The Book Bike
– Philadelphia’s Two-Wheeled Revolution in Progress
San Francisco’s newest group ride marks a less confrontational, more booty-shaking phase in the city’s bike movement. Down in San Jose, Bike Parties have monthly costume themes from S–M to animals, and can attract up to 3,500 riders.
How can education, at all levels, best contribute to the Transition process, building resilient individuals, resilient communities and resilient institutions?
