Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Our energy subsidy from the stored sunlight in fossil fuels is gigantic. The chemical and kinetic energy embodied in the thick gooey condensed organic matter from past eons is, for all human intents and purposes, indistinguishable from magic. Once in a while, like now, we see the downsides to our dependency on this elixir, in this case the ecological degradation of increasing areas of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, and collateral damage to other species.
Each fall at one of America’s oldest universities, a substantial portion of the freshman class enrolls in Economics 101 and then proceeds to participate in a bizarre ritual. The night before the first midterm exam, when students should be tucked away in the dusty corners of the library reviewing their supply and demand curves, or perhaps even lying in bed dreaming about their first exam, something quite curious happens.
Yesterday I posted a document which contained the first rough attempt at sketching out a new way of communicating Transition, using Christopher Alexander’s ‘pattern language’ approach. Over the coming weeks and months I will be blogging more about this, but in advance of the 2010 Transition Network conference (only a week to go!), I thought it might be helpful to give some more background on this. What is a ‘pattern language’ and why might it be a better way of communicating Transition? Here are some initial thoughts.
US public education has been retreating into an ever-narrower curriculum for several decades, and the early casualties have been programs that involve kinesthetic experiences and the manipulation of materials: arts, physical education, music, and particularly crafts like woodworking, nutrition and food preparation, drafting, sewing, and metalworking.
As we struggle to fashion a livable future from the crumbling disaster of industrial civilization, we will need a general guide — and specifically, perhaps, a guiding document. This is my attempt at fashioning such a document from the accumulated wisdom of our great teachers. I invite (implore!) others to improve on my efforts. I feel this might actually turn into something that helps — something lasting and important. Heck, it’s worth a try.
In this time of transition, two stories run through the culture. One is about continual growth and ascendancy. It’s mainstream culture’s story, the everyday world we’re familiar with. The other is the as yet little known story of radical change and descent as we enter the time of necessary simplification – reskilling, retooling, relocalizing.
Pollan posits the existence of a social movement geared to transforming the food system. He emphasizes that it’s loose, internally conflicted, and nascent — but all the same, “one of the most interesting social movements to emerge in the last few years.” People have been talking about the “food movement” for a while, but I don’t think anyone has articulated its existence so clearly and in such an important publication.
-Why America should thank BP
-Nigeria’s agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it
-BP oil spill: Shares fall further
-BP’s OTHER Spill this Week
-The real cost of cheap oil
-What Will it Take to End Our Oil Addiction?
-The Food Movement, Rising
-Economics and the nature of political crisis
-Being Realistic
-Educating for Democracy: What Motivates Children to Learn?
-Converging Crises: Reality, Fear and Hope
Two months ago the PBS show, “NOW,” examined the issue of hydraulic fracturing and its apparent environmental and health impacts. PBS built its story around the exceptional efforts of Josh Fox, the maker of the recent award-winning documentary, “Gasland.”
I’m writing a book about the dire nature of our predicaments and I mention the high likelihood of a global economic collapse within a decade or so. The naturalist doesn’t bat an eye before responding: “I hope I’m around to see it. I don’t want my son to have all the fun.”
The British economy is officially, technically growing. Growth figures in the region of 0.2% confirm that it is out of recession. But what does this even mean? After months and months, in which funny money was flowing off the printing presses of its central bank and its formerly neo-liberal state came to represent more than 50% of GDP, we can be forgiven for viewing such statistics as a hall of mirrors.
