This week’s focus is on the environment, politics and economics
The Environment All Environment News All the Time: That’s the promise of a new 24/7 environmental radio station, Radio Ecoshock. Inexpensive Solar Power for Intentional Communities: Even small villages in struggling nations can afford the improvements and self-sufficiency that solar power provides, thanks to a new installation model called Solar Power Village. Thanks to Jeff Gold of the Canadian Green Party for the link. Who’s Using Green Power: The US EPA is now tracking and ranking US organizations on how much of the energy they consume comes from renewable sources. Thanks to reader ‘Robert’ for the link. Bush Gives Big Agriculture Polluters a Free Pass: In his latest shameless corporatist act, Bush is providing the agriculture oligopoly an exemption from EPA pollution rules if they volunteer for a ‘study’ on how bad the pollution is. Yet More Evidence of Accelerating Climate Change: A new scientific report commissioned for the UK government shows the climate in the arctic warming at a rapidly accelerating rate, with dire consequences for the planet.Thanks to Dale Asberry for the link. Canadian Politics Multi-Party Voting Decision-Maker: Canadians are fortunate to have several political parties to choose from, although lack of proportional representation sometimes makes that choice moot. But here’s a really neat tool that walks you through all the issues and tells you (sometimes surprisingly) how close each party’s platform is to your personal views. US Politics & Economics: Who’s Lobbying Whom: A new service of the Center for Public Integrity, Lobbywatch tracks the source and destination of money designed to influence public policy and law. Thanks to Craig of Craigslist via James Coughlan for the link. US Consumers Spending More Than They Earn: Overspending by US consumers has now reached its highest level since the darkest years of the Great Depression. Well, they’re just following the horrible example set by their federal government. US General Health Care on Verge of Collapse: For those who can’t afford private clinics, finding a general practitioner is now nearly impossible, and it will get worse without Medicare reforms that stress prevention instead of expensive care, say the American College of Physicians. Gore Vidal Doesn’t Like Imperial Presidents: A delicious rant by the always-eloquent Vidal on the US president’s propensity to act like a Roman emperor. US Rich-Poor Disparity Balloons Again: The disparity between the ultra-rich and the rest of America soared again in the latest statistics (2003) just released. The gap is now comparable to that found in corrupt third world dictatorships. The share of total wealth owned by the top 1% has now grow from 39% to 58% in just 15 years, and is accelerating — up 4%in just the latest year. Bush Cabal Wants to Fight the Net: In case you missed my earlier mention of this — a scary report about Homeland Security’s plan to own, and if necessary, destroy the Internet as part of the War on Terror. Thanks to Dale Asberry for this link, and the one that follows. ‘Chinese’ Film Mocks US Dependence on Cheap Chinese Labour: Savage and absolutely hilarious — but long (15 minutes) Sundance festival film explaining how China is exploiting the unsustainable US trade deficit to leapfrog the US as an economic power. International Politics Russia Brags About Circumventing US Missile Shield: Angry about the US’s “do what I say, not what I do” stance on nuclear disarmament, Putin announced that their new armaments are smart enough to circumvent any anti-missile defenses. Thanks to Mark Matchen for the link. UK Neocon Calls War With Iran Inevitable: The logic of the neocons in saying there is no choice but to launch yet another disastrous ‘preemptive’ war, this time with Iran, is so perverse it’s terrifying. Thanks to Dale Asberry for the link. |
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--- My Best 200 Posts, 2003-22 by category, from newest to oldest ---
Collapse Watch:
Hope — On the Balance of Probabilities
The Caste War for the Dregs
Recuperation, Accommodation, Resilience
How Do We Teach the Critical Skills
Collapse Not Apocalypse
Effective Activism
'Making Sense of the World' Reading List
Notes From the Rising Dark
What is Exponential Decay
Collapse: Slowly Then Suddenly
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Making Sense of Who We Are
What Would Net-Zero Emissions Look Like?
Post Collapse with Michael Dowd (video)
Why Economic Collapse Will Precede Climate Collapse
Being Adaptable: A Reminder List
A Culture of Fear
What Will It Take?
A Future Without Us
Dean Walker Interview (video)
The Mushroom at the End of the World
What Would It Take To Live Sustainably?
The New Political Map (Poster)
Beyond Belief
Complexity and Collapse
Requiem for a Species
Civilization Disease
What a Desolated Earth Looks Like
If We Had a Better Story...
Giving Up on Environmentalism
The Hard Part is Finding People Who Care
Going Vegan
The Dark & Gathering Sameness of the World
The End of Philosophy
A Short History of Progress
The Boiling Frog
Our Culture / Ourselves:
A CoVid-19 Recap
What It Means to be Human
A Culture Built on Wrong Models
Understanding Conservatives
Our Unique Capacity for Hatred
Not Meant to Govern Each Other
The Humanist Trap
Credulous
Amazing What People Get Used To
My Reluctant Misanthropy
The Dawn of Everything
Species Shame
Why Misinformation Doesn't Work
The Lab-Leak Hypothesis
The Right to Die
CoVid-19: Go for Zero
Pollard's Laws
On Caste
The Process of Self-Organization
The Tragic Spread of Misinformation
A Better Way to Work
The Needs of the Moment
Ask Yourself This
What to Believe Now?
Rogue Primate
Conversation & Silence
The Language of Our Eyes
True Story
May I Ask a Question?
Cultural Acedia: When We Can No Longer Care
Useless Advice
Several Short Sentences About Learning
Why I Don't Want to Hear Your Story
A Harvest of Myths
The Qualities of a Great Story
The Trouble With Stories
A Model of Identity & Community
Not Ready to Do What's Needed
A Culture of Dependence
So What's Next
Ten Things to Do When You're Feeling Hopeless
No Use to the World Broken
Living in Another World
Does Language Restrict What We Can Think?
The Value of Conversation Manifesto Nobody Knows Anything
If I Only Had 37 Days
The Only Life We Know
A Long Way Down
No Noble Savages
Figments of Reality
Too Far Ahead
Learning From Nature
The Rogue Animal
How the World Really Works:
Making Sense of Scents
An Age of Wonder
The Truth About Ukraine
Navigating Complexity
The Supply Chain Problem
The Promise of Dialogue
Too Dumb to Take Care of Ourselves
Extinction Capitalism
Homeless
Republicans Slide Into Fascism
All the Things I Was Wrong About
Several Short Sentences About Sharks
How Change Happens
What's the Best Possible Outcome?
The Perpetual Growth Machine
We Make Zero
How Long We've Been Around (graphic)
If You Wanted to Sabotage the Elections
Collective Intelligence & Complexity
Ten Things I Wish I'd Learned Earlier
The Problem With Systems
Against Hope (Video)
The Admission of Necessary Ignorance
Several Short Sentences About Jellyfish
Loren Eiseley, in Verse
A Synopsis of 'Finding the Sweet Spot'
Learning from Indigenous Cultures
The Gift Economy
The Job of the Media
The Wal-Mart Dilemma
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No Free Will, No Freedom
The Other Side of 'No Me'
This Body Takes Me For a Walk
The Only One Who Really Knew Me
No Free Will — Fightin' Words
The Paradox of the Self
A Radical Non-Duality FAQ
What We Think We Know
Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark
Healing From Ourselves
The Entanglement Hypothesis
Nothing Needs to Happen
Nothing to Say About This
What I Wanted to Believe
A Continuous Reassemblage of Meaning
No Choice But to Misbehave
What's Apparently Happening
A Different Kind of Animal
Happy Now?
This Creature
Did Early Humans Have Selves?
Nothing On Offer Here
Even Simpler and More Hopeless Than That
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What Happens in Vagus
We Have No Choice
Never Comfortable in the Skin of Self
Letting Go of the Story of Me
All There Is, Is This
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Your Self: An Owner's Manual (Satire)
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