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by Jan Lundberg
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Note:
Worldwatch Institute focused on culture change for the theme of its new book State of the World 2010. The following was originally written at the request of Worldwatch for the book. This report was ultimately rejected as "too historical and U.S. based." Worldwatch did thank me in the beginning of their book, and kindly mentioned my old band The Depavers. (The songs attributed to us in the book are not ours, although "It's Up to Us" is by my daughter Spring who had been in the band. To listen to it and Depavers tunes, go to Depavers.) - JL
A lot of people’s favorite songs are about peace, justice, and defending nature. “Imagine” by John Lennon, “If I Had A Hammer,” written by Pete Seeger, and Joni Mitchell’s “pave paradise” song come to mind. |
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by Jan Lundberg
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The story of Toyota cars having accelerator-pedal and brake problems, causing out of control speed and possible crash death in a fireball, is a near perfect allegory for something far more serious: the burning of the planet with fossil fuels including gasoline for cars. The vehicle for the burning of the planet is none other than the fossil-fueled growth economy. The difference this has with the Toyota phenomenon is that we do have real brakes for the global vehicle of destruction, which Toyotas may not have ("News Alert: Toyota Says Prius Brakes Had Design Flaws" - New York Times, Feb. 4, 2010).
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by Jan Lundberg
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On Feb 3, 2010 I heard from a high-school teacher who organized a large student group to do the Fast for Haiti. She wrote:
I teach 8th and 10th grade English at a small school in Michigan. We study the Holocaust and read The Diary of Anne Frank in 8th grade. Because of the emotional reactions of a group of students two years ago, we formed an organization called Donate Pennies. Our goal is to collect pennies to honor the victims of the Holocaust and to help the refugees from Darfur. |
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by Peter Goodchild
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Farmers are invisible people, and middle-class city dwellers choose to pretend that the long lines of trucks bringing food into the city at dawn every day have nothing to do with the white-collar world. Perhaps it is a mark of the civilized person to believe that the essentials of food, clothing, and shelter have no relevance to daily life. Yet if the farmers stopped sending food into the great vacuum of the metropolis, the great maw of urbanity, the city would soon start to crumble, as Britain discovered in the year 2000 [5]. The next question, then, is: Where does all this food come from? |
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by Alex Smith, Radio Ecoshock
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Regarding the recent attacks on top climate scientists, Radio Ecoshock takes the case of Richard B. Alley. He is the Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, at Penn State University. Alley is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His popular book about ice cores is called "The Two Mile Time Machine."
Alley was expected to give one of the best speeches of the December 2009 annual meeting of the AGU in San Francisco, and he did not disappoint. Here is a short digest of that hour-long Bjerknes Lecture to the AGU in San Francisco in December. |
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by Jan Lundberg
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In mid-January I organized the Fast for Haiti, and ended mine after 10 1/2 days. Just on water, getting plenty of rest, I did some healing and contemplation that otherwise could not have happened. What about other participants in the Fast for Haiti, and what has been the effect?
It was clear to me that breaking through to millions of people in TV land or other realms of mass corporate media would have required I fast at least 20 days. Perhaps another faster is doing that at this very moment. The popular Portland listener-supported radio station, KBOO-FM, aired this report on the fast: |
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by Peter Goodchild
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Editor's note: The author presents a definitive essay. Learn why:
• "Those who expect to get by with 'victory gardens'¯ are unaware of the arithmetic involved."
• "There are already too many people to be supported by non-mechanized agriculture."
• "To meet the world's present energy needs by using solar power, then, we would need... a machine the size of France. The production and maintenance of this array would require vast quantities of hydrocarbons, metals, and other materials -- a self-defeating process. Solar power will therefore do little to solve the world's energy problems."
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by Jan Lundberg
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We are making some inroads with the Fast for Haiti project. But given the usual pattern of corporate news/government spin, as perhaps 200,000 people have perished, the public is being manipulated in the usual ways -- mainly, not to think too deeply, and to limit action to parting with a few dollars. For some reason our democracy does not permit us to question trillions spent on war and Wall Street bailouts, when a tiny fraction of such waste could transform Haiti into a happier, green scene. But there is little profit in permaculture and community-building. |
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by Jan Lundberg
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I've been fasting since Friday night, January 15, I've had only water. A growing number of people are doing the same, sending the money they would have spent on food to Haiti relief organizations. We think this action can do more for those in great need than just provide the dollars we free up: solidarity and a sense of sacrifice are called for at this time, after the ravages of the strong earthquake and the many years of injustices perpetrated against the poor of Haiti.
I want to describe the fasting experience, for those who do not know. It is not a matter of feeling hungry. |
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by Keith Farnish and Dmitry Orlov
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[The first two parts of this series drew a surprising amount of vitriol from people who vehemently deny the merits of the case for adapting to rapid climate change and rising sea levels — greater even than the piece ridiculing the Teabaggers. The torrent of comment spam got so bad that I had to shut down comment submission altogether. It was probably fed to some extent by the various interests which were fighting to make the Copenhagen Conference a fiasco. |
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by Jan Lundberg
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For the Fast for Haiti to Raise $ for Aid, here is the
List of known participants beginning January 16, 2010:
As of 1 PM, Jan. 17, Pacific Coast time - U.S.
Jan Lundberg, Portland, Oregon. (? days)
Skip Londos, Waco Texas (3 days)
Fran Gibson, California (? days)
Peter Crabb, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania (3 days)
Brian Willson, Portland, Oregon (3 days)
Blaine Bookey, Esq., Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, Joseph, Oregon (? days)
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by Jan Lundberg
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Please join me in undertaking a time-out from comfortable eating -- or over-consuming? -- by donating food money you would have spent for one, two, or more days. The unfortunate Haitians need your help. Together we can do this and make a difference.
You would be aiding your health simultaneously. Fasting on just water is a most healing, meditative experience. Hunger is not such a problem, for when the elimination of toxins gets underway the desire for food wanes. |
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