Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
– How I Got Off My Computer And Onto The Street At Occupy Oakland
– Anthropologist Graeber Turns Radical Side Loose in Zuccotti Park Protest
– #Occupy and Transition: resources for creating lasting change
– Jan Lundberg: How The Occupy Movement May Be Off-Base, and How It Can Evolve
– What’s the Black Bloc? And why is it important for the fate of the Occupy Movement? (links)
The Occupy Movement is the most significant development of the year – together with Arab Spring and the Indignados protests in Mediterranean countries. Occupy is important for those of us who follow Peak Oil and Transition, because it has the potential to change the political equation. As the rising price of oil and other commodities continues to threaten living standards in the US and other countries, protest movements are inevitable.
The Occupy Movement has struck a chord with the “99 percent.” Occupy Oakland, for example, saw somewhere between 5,000 and 25,000 people out in the street during the General Strike there Wednesday, November 2. I was struck by the presence of the black clad groups that appeared in the midst of the demonstration to trash stores, break windows, etc. These are the Black Bloc, a phenomenon which first appeared in the 80s and has been with demonstrations across the world ever since. How the Occupy Movement deals with the Black Bloc is critical for its future.
Below is a collection of excerpts/links for those who wish to learn more.
There’s a lot to be said about the general strike yesterday in Oakland—in which thousands of people shut down banks and the fifth-largest port in the country—but here’s what I found especially striking about the strike: extreme message discipline. We usually think of message discipline in relation to political campaigns and the conscious attempt to mechanically repeat talking points. But here I found another kind of message discipline—of a more organic variety—in which people spoke about the same issue not out of a pre-designed plan but because their shared experiences were remarkably similar.
Born of water, wool, soap and human hands — felt is the most immediate textile that can be created from the back of a sheep. The directness of the process, and utility of the finished product has found its way deep into the heart and soul of our kindred featured artisan, Katherine Jolda, a woman whose creative life has manifested fundamentally crucial garments for the 150 mile wardrobe. She has been deemed “a brilliant inventor, natural philosopher, and felt athlete” by those who have both observed and worn her work.
“La Ruche Qui Dit Oui” (“The hive that says yes!” or LRDQ) is a business model and web platform that enables anyone to set up a fair trade organic food distribution and supply network – and make a sustainable social business out of it at the same time.
A breakthrough for the commons came in 2009 when Elinor Ostrom won the Nobel Prize for Economics. The first woman awarded this honor, the Indiana University political scientist not only made history but also helped debunk widespread notions that the commons inevitably leads to tragedy. In 50 years of research from Nepal to Kenya to Switzerland to Los Angeles, she has shown that commonly held resources will not be destroyed by overuse if there is a system in place to manage how they are shared.
The current industrial model of US agriculture is economically, energetically, and ecologically doomed. Any hope for a livable future requires that we accelerate the creation of resilient, ecologically-viable ‘shadow structure’ replacements for industrial US agriculture in the diminishing time available to us. We already possess the tools, knowledge, and organizational structures to begin such projects at the family and community level. Here are some things I’m excited about.
Sonoma County can have both green energy and lower rates. The key is to focus on building local solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable resources, and focusing on making all aspects of the energy system, from generation to con sumption, more efficient.
These days Permaculture principles and ethos are present in my life like weeds in a raised bed, always popping up, full of unexpected insights and good ideas.
How our economy will be organised in the future relies heavily on how our future economists understand the world and its workings, as well as their values. Economics education is obviously, therefore, of fundamental importance. The movements to reform economics education, shifting it from the realm of theology into one of pluralism and genuine debate, have been followed with interest by this blog.
The entire country of Greece is currently facing economic ruin…Right now, Greece’s debt is bigger than it’s economy. That should sound pretty familiar to readers in the United States…As Greek political leaders toss around the pros and cons of a European bailout of their country’s entire economy, the people of Greece have found their own cashless way to cope.
-US to require details of fracking on federal land
-When Transition meets fracking, and wins. The story of Transitions Cowbridge and Llantwit.
-Exclusive: Fracking company – we caused 50 tremors in Blackpool – but we’re not going to stop
-Fracking protesters storm shale gas exploration site
