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Climate change: Obama needs to turn talk into action

By December 5, 2012
OSAKABIKE19

Something's been troubling me ever since I listened to President Obama's first post-reëlection press conference. Perhaps as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the now two-term president was finally asked a question about global warming, a topic conveniently avoided by both sides throughout the seemingly interminable campaign. The question came from New York Times White House correspondent Mark Lander: "What specifically do you plan to do in a second term to tackle the issue of climate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Capitalism Papers: Fatal flaws of an obsolete system

By November 29, 2012
register

Self-interest lies at the root of capitalism. This self-interest is a thoroughly predictable, steadily consistent feature of the human landscape and can reasonably be viewed as a solid foundation upon which to build. Self- interest can serve as both motivation and a salve for weary spirits. Kept within commonly-accepted bounds, it acts as a spur against laziness, and a hopeful haven for unrealized dreams. When happiness is the goal, self-interest makes an unerring guide, almost never … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

It’s time to change

By November 28, 2012
An upcycled Bike Wheel Clock by pixelthis via Etsy.

Today I'm participating in my first hOUR Economy time bank exchange. I'm giddy with excitement about it, feeling like I've taken another giant leap away from the industrial economy. Not only that, I feel I'm taking a giant leap into the new economy that's developing all around us. These are exciting times. Time is on our side, yes it is If you've never heard of a time bank, let me tell you a bit about it. Basically it's a community organization (there's hundreds across the US and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Transition Tagged With: , , ,

Soil, soul, and society

By October 29, 2012
Farm store

On July 30, 2012, Hawthorne Valley Association marked the 40th anniversary of working the soil of agriculture on its land in the Hudson Valley of New York. In all that time it has been Hawthorne Valley’s mission to inspire by example social and cultural renewal through the integration of education, agriculture, and the arts. The significance of place and the ability to connect intimately to and through place provide compelling evidence as to why our localized agriculture can be understood … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Transition Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting my pilot’s license

By October 24, 2012
A Letterpress Bike

Ever since we first got together my husband and I have talked about how to respond to one of our key shared interests — peak oil. For us this means, first of all, a conservation-minded approach to life — using less energy, wasting less, and relying on reusable materials such as hankies and eco-cups, carrying our own grocery bags, and growing much of our own food and cooking it ourselves. But after we began to practice aggressive conservation approaches we also wondered what kinds of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Transition Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Waste not, want not

By August 16, 2012
gDiapers

If you take a long hard look at a landfill you’ll see both tremendous need (where do we continue to put all this waste?) and undertapped opportunity (how can we redesign, reuse, and repurpose to avoid the landfill altogether?) We’ve been exploiting natural resources at an unsustainable level for nearly a century to create material goods for our well-being and pleasure. Over that time we’ve become a consumer society, increasing our demand for goods and pushing the limits of our … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conservation, Economy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Charles Eisenstein wants to devalue your money to save the economy

By August 15, 2012
Charles Eisenstein

Imagine if you had a warehouse full of bread that would go stale in three days. You'd want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Of course, you wouldn't try to sell it at premium prices. Instead, you'd want to hold a liquidation sale. Or, maybe even not go through the bother of trying to sell it at all — just give it away. In that way, you'd earn both gratitude and favors that you could call in later. In a sense, giving away all your bread would become an investment in social … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Transition Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The gift liberation front

By July 17, 2012
gifts

I'm fussy about the words I use. For example, anarchy is not chaos, though you'd never be able to distinguish the two based on anything presented by the mainstream media. As a further example, I'm averse to any form of the word sustain because we don't and we can't, if only because of the Strong Suggestions Laws of Thermodynamics. If the Laws of Thermodynamics aren't compelling enough for you, consider this: Wal-Mart allegedly has poured more money into "sustainability" than any other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Transition Tagged With: , , , , ,

World made by hand

By June 28, 2012
Letterpress Bike

My friend Cate Fitt, an artist and fellow blogger, shared a video that really blew my mind. It inspired this piece. Thanks Cate! Ink it, don't think it I love of old school printing presses. I love the quality and the raw nature of the medium. I also love that it's done by hand. As a writer and graphic designer, I've long harbored the fantasy that when the world hits the skids after peak oil really delivers its wallop, that I would shift to printing on a local scale. Maybe I'd run a local … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts, Re-skilling Tagged With: , , , , ,

Money can’t buy you love

By May 23, 2012
MacroPaperMoney

Guy McPherson and Sherry Ackerman are back with us to continue dialoguing about individual components of sustainable living. In this dialogue, they take a long, hard look at money. Ackerman: Guy, I can’t seem to get past the fact that human beings are the only species that have to pay to live on the Planet. Every other species lives on Earth for free. What do you make of this? McPherson: It seems we’re too clever by half, to employ the ancient idiom. And it’s a recent phenomenon at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Transition Tagged With: , , , ,