Capitalism: The Giant Stone Head Destroying Us All
It has sometimes been asked what the residents of Easter Island might have been thinking as they cut down the last tree on their island to erect yet another one of their monolithic and useless ceremonial stone heads. It seems safe to say that we are now finally in a position to seemingly answer this [...]
Vancouver’s Livability Delusion/Denial
Vancouver’s website has a link to the civic themes we’re promoting at our pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The spin [see below] is almost totally unbearable. I take issue with the the city’s PR claims of sustainability, livability, an urban sanctuary and our awareness of our impact on nature. I don’t care what kind [...]
Our Past is Our Future: The Place of Union Mobilization
For generations unions have been profound agents of social change, pursuing some of the noblest of goals, including equity and justice for workers. But changing our world is a different task in this new century. Today we face climate change; increasingly strong anti-union employers and governments; and several generations of young people who have little [...]
Interested in Contributing to Politics, Re-Spun?
Building a community and social network: a curious concept. I’m eagerly watching the Diaspora and Appleseed alternatives to Facebook developing, but really, this site itself is already a place of human/social interaction with an average of 9,000 visitors/month and 32,000 pageviews/month.
So should I be seeing if anyone wants to contribute beyond me?
When Conservatives Question Corporate Motives
I am always pleased when conservatives question the social commitment of corporations. You don’t actually have to be a radical left winger to reasonably question whether corporations care about us, profits or the damage from oil in the Gulf. I know it is irresponsible for any sensible person to adopt the radical left wing stance [...]
A Race to the Bottom on Truck Emissions?
Harmonizing anything with the United States risks a race to the bottom. Have we done it again with truck emissions? Canada and the U.S. will set common standards for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced today. via Prentice: Canada, US will align regulations on truck emissions :: The Hook. [...]
Are Humans Really Too Stupid to Prevent Climate Change?
Yes. Yes? No. Maybe? I’m honestly afraid to say yes, but I fear it is so. Below are some sobering conclusions from the Gaian theorist, 90-year-old James Lovelock, on our species’ prognosis. I agree with him profoundly. And if you want to be inspired about the road through this swamp, read a bit about political [...]
A Detroit Electric Car from 90 Years Ago
Click through the other 18 pictures to see decades of great green technology, though I don’t think I would have included the first diesel engine in the collection. In pictures: Green technology through the ages | Environment | guardian.co.uk. A Detroit Electric, an early electric car, travels a mountain road from Seattle to Mount Rainier, [...]
Java, Post-Linearity and Systems Theory
Java will save us. Not the bean, not [much] the computer thing, nor the shark, chicken or Russian cigarette, but the awesome instrumental song that appears on Hugo Winterhalter‘s The Best of ’64 lounge album, though it wasn’t a “lounge” album then. In a fit of political cynicism, I hooked up my record player and [...]
Handcuffing a Community’s Resilience: Bata in the 21st Century
I first knew Bata shoes as a kid taken shopping to try on new shoes. As a teen I learned about the nexus of globalization and apartheid with Bata as a model, since they were operating in South Africa. Thomas Bata said, “We expanded into Africa in order to sell shoes, not to spread sweetness [...]
Oil Status Quo Apologists Spin Weak Arguments
Maclean’s Colin Campbell has produced today an interesting counterpoint to my exuberance over Jeff Rubin’s convenient vindication of my peak oil killing neoliberal globalization thesis. And despite Rubin not knowing me, I fell it’s appropriate to defend him–and my–sense of the near future. My comments are indented. Energy shock and oil myths Will soaring prices crush [...]
Keith Baldry’s Sloppiness in Hiding His Bias
CanWest/Global’s Keith Baldry conveniently misses some details when sliding out some concluding statements lately. First case: An Opposition party usually wins when enough of the electorate desires a change in government. So far, there is little evidence to suggest that is the case in this province. via Are the days of mass political rallies over?. [...]
De-Spinning the Enviro NGO Mess in BC This Month
One of the best things to come this month from the controversies about how environmental NGOs view the NDP’s opposition to Campbell’s awful carbon tax is that people are realizing that climate change is not a 6-second sound bite. Here is an absolutely amazing piece that reviews some truly sound points! Tapping Our Wild Rivers [...]
“Lord Stern on global warming: It’s even worse than I thought”
“Sea levels are likely to rise twice as fast as predicted in the last UN climate change report in 2007.” via Lord Stern on global warming: It’s even worse than I thought – Climate Change, Environment – The Independent. As governments continue to craft optics-friendly greenwashing plans while ramping up highways construction, etc., I keep [...]
No One Is Illegal – Ignite resistance ~ Canadian multiculturalism is not enough!
No One Is Illegal – Vancouver » Blog Archive » Ignite resistance ~ Canadian multiculturalism is not enough!. In a world where the deregulated global market capitalist regime is imploding, there is wide open space to re-frame the local, national and global economy in a socially and economically just way. An off-shoot of this progressive [...]
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