The COP-out we can’t afford
One week on from COP21, Mark Pershin and Kari McGregor weigh in on the false promises of a flaccid agreement that leaves behind the innocent and most vulnerable.
Read moreTag Archives: environment
Less Meat = Less Heat
We have known about human-caused climate change for well over a century, and have had in operation a global framework for dealing with it for well over two decades, yet we are still failing to stop or even slow down its advance toward catastrophe.
Read moreThe Politics of Addressing Climate Change
There is no politically viable response to climate change.
For a response to be politically viable it would have to be politically appealing. A response that politicians know won’t kill their career. That means a response that people would vote for, one that is supported by economists and corporate leaders. And people vote for things they like the sound of, not policies that are likely to pull the rug out from under their way of life.
Read moreCR File: Suicide Palm
On the gently rolling hills of the Analalava Regions of North West Madagascar survives the last stand of a palm on the verge of extinction. The aptly named ‘Suicide Palm’ (Tahina spectabilis) has less than 30 adult plants remaining over a range of less than 4km2.
Read moreChangemaker Profile: Going Beyond Green
A new initiative has sprung up to bridge the chasm that separates activism and the necessary transition to a sustainable economy from the sphere of mainstream politics.
Read moreAre we prepared to change to prevent climate change?
What is needed to get us out of our comfort zone and fight for our children’s future?
Consume less, share more and stand up against fossil fuels, urban sprawl, destructive infrastructures and resource extractivism. And, above all, fight for an economy that can fulfil everyone’s basic needs within the natural boundaries of a healthy planet.
Read moreChangemaker Profile: Ozzie Zehner’s Green Illusions
An academic who doesn’t stake his career on pleasing the establishment, Ozzie Zehner dares to put forth a down to earth and rigorously scientific response to our culture’s obsession with technological fixes.
Read moreTop 10: Grassroots Movements that are Taking on the World
If we really want to see change, then to paraphrase Gandhi, we have to be the change. Grassroots movements offer up a multitude of creative and inspiring ways for ordinary folks to get involved in changemaking, both from the bottom up, and as a conversation space through which we can come to terms with our own power to make a difference.
Read moreChangemaker Profile: Ben Pennings
The environment movement has thus far failed to enact any meaningful systemic change, failed to stop the abuse of life on earth increasing at an alarming rate. I’ve been part of this but am determined for it to change. Preaching to the choir is vital. The choir is large enough to enact systemic change. But it must sing better, louder, more forcefully.
Read moreA Complex Predicament – Part One: The Energy Predicament
This is the first of three articles on understanding complexity, and how our energy, economic and ecological systems, like unruly children, tend to defy our attempts to change them.
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