COP16: It’s Wild-West Capitalism Versus Life on Earth
The stakes for our collective future could not be higher, yet many decision-makers are doubling down on destructive policies.
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The Lament of the Bigfoot
In this Frankly, Nate reads a poem he wrote 20 years ago this month “The Lament of the Bigfoot”, which highlights the disproportionate role humans have on the ecosystems they inhabit and reflects on how his attitudes have both changed and stayed the same 20 years on.
More on Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxis
Orthopraxis is correct action. It is doing things that are deemed good, either by a faith system or by practical application, achieving the most good in effect. The root of praxis and practical is the same. Praxis is practice. It is discipline. It is embodied act. It is work. Orthopraxis is doing the right work.
Whatever Works (There are no rules)
Farming is a science but it is also an art. There is no one book, one philosophy, one six-week course which can teach that.
Urban Landscapes in the 21st Century: Can Eco-Cities Tackle Climate Change and Pollution?
While many aspects of city design, participatory municipal governance, or ecological engineering may still be waiting for an integrated urban form, the green corridors, urban forests, and neighborhood communes that have sprung up in the past decade propose concrete, field-tested, and scientifically scrutinized directions for Mumford’s “vaster task” of reviewing our conventional truths about urbanization, prosperity, and civilization.
How we sank a well on our property
The water from our well is fresh and invigorating to drink. It does not have the chemical taste of mains tap water nor its ‘flatness’. Also, we are fortunate that we live in a region of high ground, and the surrounding soil has not been subject to modern farming (chemical treatment) for many decades.
How mass protest created a breakthrough on the climate crisis in the Netherlands
Creating a trigger event and a moment of the whirlwind — a period in which social movements capture the political spotlight in a country in a major way and shift the terms of public debate — is a rare and important accomplishment.
Bill Plotkin: “Ecological Awakening: A Path Toward Holistic Adulthood”
In this episode, Nate is joined by eco-depth psychologist Bill Plotkin to explore the profound themes of human development, the urgent need for ecological awakening, and the importance of art and nature in navigating the crises of modern society.
The Path to a Realistic Paris Agreement Plan
So one needs to look outside of official policy to have any chance of finding a realistic plan to meet the obligations under the Paris Agreement. I recently came across one such plan – Le Plan de transformation de l’économie Française (The French Economy Transformation Plan) authored by The Shift Project, an influential energy and climate think tank in France led by the engineer and system-thinker Jean-Marc Jancovici.
Billionaires Are Not Going to Save Us
Our politicians, news agencies, and larger population must stop paying homage to billionaires who will profit off our predicaments or politicians who will try to capitalize on any crisis. It’s time to see that projects of survival and solidarity among those struggling the most are our only true hope for a future that will otherwise be ever more perilous.
Communal Luxury: The Public Bathhouse
Building and operating a bathhouse for 1,000 people requires much less energy than building and operating 1,000 individual bathrooms. A public bathhouse is also more efficient concerning materials, money, and space.
An Atlas for Urban Commons of the World
Stefan Gruber, a Carnegie Mellon professor of architecture and urbanism, sees cities as a prime site of struggle between capitalism and commons, and at the same time more accessible than most national or international policy venues.