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The state of the union

By February 3, 2012
Peace Flag

The state of the Union is on our minds. But, in all fairness, it has been for the past few years. It’s painfully too easy to wonder if we are turning into a hostile, bellicose society. The good old days of sitting on Grandpa’s porch and idly churning ice cream seem a long ways from schoolyard shootings, super-sized wars in the Middle East, teenage sex slavery and ponzi schemes of today. Not to mention that gun sales are at a record high. After a half-hour or so of reading the news, … [Read more...]

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Why this is an amazing time to be alive

By January 20, 2012
Family walking

This is an amazing time to be alive! “Yeah, right,” my inner cynic says, “crumbling economy, peak oil, peak everything, melting ice caps, mass extinctions…" The list goes on and on, all woven together, I remind my cynic within, by the fact that we're living in a time when the old is crumbling, which is when there's the greatest opportunity to create something new. And that is an amazing time to be alive! If you're alive today, you're part of this Great Unraveling/ Great … [Read more...]

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What’s really in and out for 2012

By January 16, 2012
Romney at Bain Capital

Every year popular magazines and newspapers produce "In and Out" lists that make a claim to cultural prescience through boldly distinguishing what's jumped the shark from what's just about to become a break-out sensation. Trouble is, too often the ins and outs are totally predictable, being driven by the mainstream corporate culture and so-called style makers. What they're calling this year's trends are more often yesterday's news in underground, alternative and DIY circles. Thanks for … [Read more...]

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Back in the day, urban gardens everywhere

By January 13, 2012
Village of Catskill, NY

Have you ever walked through your neighborhood, noticed a vacant lot, and wondered why nobody had bothered to plant a garden there, instead of just letting the land sit around empty? Now, of course, plant and insect people will tell you that no land is empty. Even the humblest weedlot plays a role in urban ecology. But I'd wager that few vacant lots are under the control of a wildlife manager or urban forester. Instead, it's clear that most empty lots just sit there, waiting for the the … [Read more...]

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The blind men and the elephant

By January 5, 2012
elephant

One of the challenges of community organizing in the Transition model is the sheer variety of people involved. Many are enthused and inspired by the hope that Transition offers in response to the challenges of economic contraction, peak oil, and climate change. People are roused, excited, wanting to break new ground and create an inspirational working model of what the world could be. But what happens when your voice joins with the varied voices that make up your community? Many people, … [Read more...]

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Ten easy resolutions for 2012

By December 31, 2011
New Year banner

Here it comes, the scariest potential year since Y2k, if you buy the hype on 2012. Of course, the sages tell us that rather than ushering in an earth-shattering colossal end to the human experiment, what we can really expect in 2012 is an increase in human enlightenment, even if there are some growing pains along the way. In the spirit of thinking about what could be better in your life, community and the world, here are ten easy resolutions that you can adopt (or cherry pick) to help out … [Read more...]

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One billion holiday wishes

By December 26, 2011
man and woman in motion

The holidays are a time for putting others before ourselves. And with the recent news that the world's population has surpassed 7 billion, there are a lot more "others" to consider this year. Nearly 1 billion people in the world are hungry, for example, while almost the same number are illiterate, making it hard for them to earn a living or move out of poverty. And 1 billion people -- many of them children -- have micronutrient deficiencies, decreasing their ability to learn and to live … [Read more...]

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#6: Local is the new global

By December 26, 2011
Reason 6

It's become a bumper sticker standby that you should think globally and act locally. But maybe people talk about it so much because it's just not that easy to do. Or at least, to do well. Sure, there are globalizers out there, from Walmart to Goldman Sachs, who are pretty good at thinking about world market potential and acting to harvest profits from the locals. Obviously, we have something else in mind. Like seeing how big problems like peak oil, climate change and an economy based on … [Read more...]

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Presents or presence?

By December 14, 2011
baby in a snowsuit on a sled

Does anyone else find Thanksgiving and Christmas a bit of a contradiction? We spend a couple of days focused on Thanksgiving; usually setting up the menu, grocery shopping, or juggling travel plans for a day spent with our families. What started as a day for family and gratitude, is often replaced with family watching football on TV, mapping Black Friday’s shopping spree, or eating turkey sandwiches while camped out overnight in the parking lot of a big box store to be first in line to … [Read more...]

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Utopia: Out there?

By December 13, 2011
Clothesline

There I was, hand-washing my clothes in a bucket in the front yard, when a friend of mine pulled into the driveway. She'd been raised in the inner city of Detroit and still carried a little chip on her shoulder about that, feeling that because she'd been raised poor she'd been dealt a short hand. She took one look at me and quipped, "One woman's voluntary simplicity is another woman's poverty." I thought about it for a minute and replied, "I dunno, they're both just 'washing clothes,' … [Read more...]

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