Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Listen carefully. This is serious. We seek: Within a generation, a global system of human-scale, interconnected Local Living Economies that function in harmony with local ecosystems, meet the basic needs of all people, support just and democratic societies, and foster joyful community life.
-Climate photo of the week: BP oil spill
-Canada: The Saudi Arabia of the North?
-The Gulf Spill – The Battle over the Drilling Moratorium
A mid-week update of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Deepwater Horizon
As catastrophes go, sea level rise is probably fairly low on everybody’s list. The most dire effects will be felt over many decades or centuries, whereas the jobless are wondering what’s going to happen to them next month or next year. Still, expanding oceans provide a longer term perspective on where humanity stands with respect to Planet Earth.
The ruined Louisiana marshes remain off limits, but locals gather at a fund-raiser in New Orleans’ Vaughan’s Bar and work out what they can do, as the oil spreads ever eastwards
Although the distinction is subtle, it is crucial: while we should adopt these Plan B measures, what I am arguing against is the celebration of them. For when we celebrate them, we indicate to ourselves and each other that these are more than first steps, that they can save us or provide an ultimate solution.
A few people have asked me what my thoughts are on the whole ‘Big Society’ concept being promoted by the new British government. I have attended a couple of events over the last week that have given me space to think about it all, so here I am with a few reflections…So, for those new to the idea, the ‘Big Society’ idea is David Cameron’s big idea, focusing on localism, returning power to local communities, making central government smaller and shifting its role to the devolution of power wherever possible, calling for “a massive, radical redistribution of power”.
What does it mean to be a patriotic American in this day and age? If we shop at Wal-Mart, we may be under the impression it means buying red, white, and blue plastic crap—extruded petroleum from China, of course. Newspapers suggest that being patriotic means supporting the wars du jour, rooting for the home team and providing support for “our boys over there” by forking over streams of taxed money while our infrastructure at home crumbles beneath our feet. For many of us, the Decline of the American Empire has removed any meaning of these words.
-Photographer Briefly Detained by Police Near BP’s Texas City Refinery
-The BP/Government police state
-Media, boaters could face criminal penalties by entering oil cleanup ‘safety zone’
Every year it happens to some folks – for whatever reason, the garden either doesn’t get in early enough or doesn’t do well. We get to the beginning of July and we’re left with a sense of frustration that it is too late to do anything about it. Or maybe you are having a good year, and what you mostly want is to keep that going as long as possible – sure, you are preserving and ready to root cellar, but your favorite foods are the ones that come fresh from the garden and you want to know how long you can keep that going.
Michelle Long, executive director of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), explains how BALLE communities are using locally owned businesses to create a safe space outside the dominant system for the next economy to develop. She spoke at Shelburne Farms on June 11 at the Inspired by Slow Money conference.
-Science and The Gulf Spill – Scientists Gauge The Impact of Oil
-Saudi Arabia’s real energy problem(s)
-What happens when coal is gone?
-Saudi’s Announcement
