First a few background points on the legality of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territories (from Wikipedia): 1. The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal. Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and communities in the Golan Heights, areas which have been annexed by Israel, are also considered settlements by the international community, which does not recognise Israel’s annexations of these territories. 2. The United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel’s construction of settlements constitutes violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. International humanitarian law prohibits [an] occupying power [from transferring] citizens from its own territory to the occupied territory (Fourth Geneva Convention, article 49). 3. The International Court…
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Environmental
Earthship Biotechture 101
Here are a few helpful links for those who are interested in learning more about earthships and perhaps building one of their own. In the first place, there are existing earthships that can be rented as hotel rooms on a weekly or nightly basis. There is this earthship in France which one can rent or buy and these rentals in New Mexico. For those who want to learn, there are internships opportunities as well as an Biotecture Academy offering training and degrees. Here’s a website keep track of progress on an earthship being constructed in Manitoba of all places. And the following…
Sustainability and freedom
Although it does snow in New Mexico, most people who watch the Garbage Warrior or witness the biotecture communities sprouting up in places like Taos probably think that earthships are fine for hot dry climates but wouldn’t really work in places like Canada. This short video clip nicely debunks that idea. The Potter’s earthship is in Bancroft Ontario which gets extremely cold in the winter, going as low as -35 Celsius. But as the Potters attest, they are perfectly comfortable in their home. And after building it, for very little money, they discovered that it not only sheltered them and…
Garbage Warrior (documentary)
Michael Reynolds is a true maverick; he sees humanity marching toward the edge of a cliff and he’s not willing to go along with the crowd. Instead he uses his skills as a trained architect to show people that there is another, better way of living, one which is sustainable, ecologically beneficial, and 100 percent self-supporting. He builds homes–even entire communities–that are completely off the energy grid, collect water from rainfall, recycle waste, and are made from mostly garbage and recycled materials. It’s called “Earthship Biotecture” and it may very well be the most profound and practical solution to the pressing environmental challenges…
The off-the-grid, do-it-yourself smart-home (creative responses)
From the category “Creative responses to environmental challenges“: The off-the-grid, do-it-yourself smart-home. Challenging numerous conventions about housing, C++ pioneer Loren Amelang designed his off-grid house just the way he wanted. It is filled with innovative solutions to the energy problems associated with traditional houses and nicely balances comfort with sustainability and efficiency. His smart home also challenges the illusion that modern technology and sustainability are mutually exclusive.
The plastic bottle solar light-bulb (creative responses)
From the category “Creative responses to environmental challenges“: The plastic bottle solar light-bulb. Simply cut a hole in your roof, stick in and seal a water filled plastic bottle, and you get a free, solar-powered daytime light-bulb.
New ideas for addressing climate change
Bill McKibben, one of the leading environmentalists of our time. has a real talent for taking the latest developments in climate science and explaining their significance in terms that the average person can easily understand. His latest piece in Rolling Stone magazineis no exception. In it, he gives compelling, fact-based reasons for why the prospects for containing global warming are very dim. But he also presents a new idea that just might provide a glimmering of hope. McKibben suggests that the divestment campaign that helped to end the South African apartheid may provide the model for a public campaign to…
The recycled can solar heating panel (creative responses)
From the category “Creative responses to environmental challenges“: The recycled can solar heating panel: Newfoundlander Jim Meaney found a creative way to reuse can’s to build cheap but effective solar panels to heat homes and save energy.
The sad state of affairs in Texas
The 2012 political platform of the Republican Party of Texas is available online here. The views expressed in this document are both disturbing and depressing. Below are a few highlights. 1. On Education Controversial Theories – We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind. Knowledge-Based Education –…
Children speak out on the climate crisis
Twenty years ago a 12-year-old girl named Severn Suzuki addressed delegates in Rio de Janeiro during the summit’s plenary session on behalf of the world youth. In the following segment DemocracyNow! revisits that passionate, prescient, and powerful and speech that “silenced the world for 6 minutes”. Some quotes from the speech: Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future. Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak on behalf of…
Recent thoughts on the climate crisis
A small sample of some the important things that have been said recently on the state of the climate crisis and the failures of political leaders to address the root causes or even acknowledge the seriousness of the problem: 1. Democracy Now interview with Bill McKibben (environmentalist, author, founder of the remarkable grassroots climate campaign 350.org) 2. Approaching a state shift in the Earth’s biosphere (ground-breaking article in Nature written by over 20 environmental scientists) 3. Is humanity pushing Earth past a tipping point? (a simplified, less technical summary of the aforementioned article in Wired magazine) 4. Democracy Now interview…
Living off the grid in Costa Rica
Al Gore popularized the idea that there is one profoundly inconvenient truth about life in the developed world, namely, that it is unsustainable. His point, which is now common knowledge, is that our societies and economies are based upon the consumption of fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, which in turn brings about a cascade of consequences that undermine the very lifestyles that we currently enjoy. In response to Gore, it should be noted that there is also one rather convenient truth that is easily overlooked, namely, that in certain parts of the world at least it…
Population control or population justice?
Over at the National Radio Project, another amazing example of independent media with a social conscience, there is a fascinating audio segment on the question of population control within the context of environmental sustainability (Population Control or Population Justice?). It is (one hopes) becoming increasingly clear that limitless economic expansion is not possible on a planet of finite resources and that if environmental catastrophe is to be avoided human societies need to radically overhaul their economies and abandon the fixation on economic growth. Hence the increasing interest in the concept of de-growth among ecologically oriented economists, people like Herman Daly and…
Sun-powered system to provide electricity, heat and cooling to rural schools and clinics (creative responses)
From the category “Creative responses to environmental challenges“: Sun-powered system to provide electricity, heat and cooling to rural schools and clinics. This system, developed and introduced by MIT students showcases yet another amazing technology to utilize solar energy. The students also founded a nonprofit company to further develop the system and get spread it’s use around the world.
Cob houses built with local clay (creative responses)
From the category “Creative responses to environmental challenges“: Cob houses built with local clay Cob, which is made from clay, is a material that has been around for centuries, but was abandoned in favour of concrete and other material. Though not exactly a new “invention” these houses are easy to build and come at a astonishingly low costs. For a whole documentary dedicated to cob houses check out: First Earth: Uncompromising Ecological Architecture
Dean Ornish and enlightened ethical egoism
Ethical egoism is the philosophical theory that people should always act in their own self-interest, that when faced with choices between what’s good for oneself and what’s good for others, one should always place one’s own interests first. One of the chief exponents of this view was Ayn Rand, who influenced a generation of powerful people, including Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher, each of whom helped to push forward the neoliberalist agenda that has dominated social and political life since the 1980s. At the heart of neoliberalist philosophy is the idea that greed is good, not just…
Business with a conscience
Every corporation, now matter how socially or environmentally destructive, presents itself as doing something good for consumers, for communities, for the species, or even the planet. Monsanto, for instance, claims to be all about “improving lives” (though notice they don’t say whose lives) and about “meeting the needs of today while preserving the planet for tomorrow.” This overt corporate public relations bullshit (I know that you know that I don’t believe this but I’m going to pretend I do because that’s how I make a lot of money) has led to such profound cynicism that reasonable people have to wonder…
More on economic inequality and the Occupy Movement
Among mainstream or major media organizations Al Jazeera deserves credit for its attention to the issue of economic inequality. One recent opinion piece by Noam Chomsky (Plutonomy and the precariat: On the history of the US economy in decline) provides a concise overview of the causes of the growing economic inequality in the US and the disastrous consequences it is bringing about. (For more on how inequality is at the root most social evils, see this powerful lecture by Richard Wilkinson). Additionally, Chomsky’s article helps to explain just why the Occupy Movement is so important, really one of the most…
Obama vs Romney on energy and climate change issues
Rebecca Leber of Thinkprogress put together a comprehensive chart outlining the different stands Obama and Romney have on energy and climate change issues. The chart is accompanied by a detailed list of sources and further elaborations.
Democracy Now
Democracy Now News Feed
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CO2 emissions drop, but natural gas won’t save us
Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a drop in U.S. carbon emissions to a 20 year low, basically matching the carbon emissions of 1992. The media’s coverage of this report was brief and rather one-sided. Here are a few representative samples: Kevin Begos from the Associated Press: Many of the world’s leading climate scientists didn’t see the drop coming, in large part because it happened as a result of market forces rather than direct government action against carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. While conservation efforts, the lagging economy and greater use of renewable…
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