Category: Sustainability Education Forum

Keep Talking About IT!          Clifton Ware, Editor-Publisher

“IT” in the title of this commentary refers to sustainability, the main focus of this newsletter. The statement—“Keep talking about it”—was passed on to me by my beloved spouse-partner, Bettye, who read it on Facebook recently, attributing it to either Bill Nye or Neil deGrasse Tyson.

This positive statement is a practical response to persons feeling overwhelmed by a plethora of converging crises and wondering: “What can I (we) do?” Simply speaking, the least one can do is to keep talking about it. In any promotional campaign, the more the public experiences a single word or phrase, the more effective it becomes, at least over the long term. This newsletter, in presenting a variety of news and views related to creating resilience and sustainability, “keeps talking about it”.

In this issue we lead with the Enlightenment section, which includes five stimulating articles that address various aspects of sustainability. Richard Heinberg’s article heads the group with “Only Less Will Do”, a thesis that a majority of well-to-do citizens find abhorrent — no matter the preponderance of evidential data indicating that material growth is mathematically limited, principally due to declining natural resources.

Chris Martenson’s article is the most alarming, with his sincere, well-founded concerns about the growing potential for increasingly aggressive conflicts between Russia, the U.S. and our NATO allies. Michael Conley, Eric Zencey, and Ugo Bardi weigh in with articles that relate to similar concerns. Even a cursory skimming of these articles will provide increased awareness of the problems we face, in creating a sustainable existence for all life on planet Earth.

ENLIGHTENMENT (• Expectations • Ideas • Beliefs • Psychology)

> Peak Oil: Only Less Will Do (Richard Heinberg). Almost nobody likes to hear about the role of scale in our global environmental crisis. That’s because if growth is our problem, then the only real solution is to shrink the economy and reduce population.

> Peak Prosperity: Special Report: Is It Time To Prepare For War? (Chris Martenson).  I am finding the risk of a major conflict between NATO/EU and Russia to be high and seemingly growing higher with every passing week. Such are the times in which we live. It leaves me asking if it’s time to begin preparing for war, which means being ready for the worst.

> Weathering the Storm: The Perfect Storm In 2014 (Michael Conley).  The forces of the “perfect storm” continued to escalate in an insidious and stealth-like manner in 2014. Malignantly growing and hidden – metaphorically speaking – beneath the waterline of an “iceberg” called life, we fixated on the tip of the iceberg and overlooked the real threats lurking below.

> CASSE-The Daly Report: Adjusting the Fifth to a Finite Planet, Part 1 (Eric Zencey). Infinite-Planet Thinking is deeply embedded in our political economy. It’s there in the expectation that investments will pay off at a continually compounding rate. It’s there in the unquestioned consensus among elected officials that economic growth is always good–that it can’t possibly ever be uneconomic growth, costing us more in lost natural and social capital than we gain from additional consumption.

> Peak Oil: How Do Empires Hunt Bears? The Control Of Natural Resources From Ancient Rome To Our Times. (Ugo Bardi). You probably know the joke that starts with the question “how do economists hunt bears?” The answer is, “they don’t, but they believe that if bears are paid enough, they’ll hunt themselves.” It is a good illustration of the awesome power of money. It doesn’t work so well with bears, but, if paid enough, people will engage in all sorts of nasty and unpleasant activities, including hunting and killing other human beings.

ENVIRONMENT (• Natural Resources • Wildlife • Climate)

> Resilience: Lord Man Parable: Video (Tom Butler). This 5-minute video does a superb job of introducing the perils of overdevelopment, overpopulation, and overshoot.

>  Inside Climate News: Q&A: ‘Merchants Of Doubt’ Author On The Origins & Persistence Of Climate Denialism (Katherine Bagley).  Naomi Oreskes discusses the network of pundits and scientists who have delayed action on climate change, and how they did it.

> Star Tribune: Buffer Strip Bill Has Support From Sports Groups, Opposition From Farmers (Doug Smith). Recently, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a report saying many of the lakes and streams in southwest Minnesota are unsafe for both people and fish to swim in. Nitrate pollution from farmland is a major problem. And of 93 streams the study examined, only three were able to fully support aquatic life, and only one was safe for aquatic recreation.

> ENSIA: The Environment Goes To Washington. Looking for a reason to visit Washington, D.C., next week? The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital — billed as the “largest and longest-standing environmental film festival in the United States” — is the place to be March 17–29. View a 3-minute video.

> Upstream: Recycling In The Anthropocene (Bill Sheehan). Science writer Emma Marris’s Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World (2013) gives a thoughtful overview of people and projects exploring new approaches to conservation in the Anthropocene, the age of human-dominated ecosystems.

ENERGY (• Carbon Based • Renewable)

> Our Finite World: The Oil Glut And Low Prices Reflect An Affordability Problem (Gail Tverberg). For a long time, there has been a belief that the decline in oil supply will come by way of high oil prices. Demand will exceed supply. It seems to me that this view is backward–the decline in supply will come through low oil prices.

> Oil Price: Big Changes Needed For Big Oil To Survive (Michael Klare). In the 1990s, the oil industry focused its efforts on extracting as much oil as possible, regardless of the difficulty or risk of a given project. Fast forward to 2015 and the industry is beset by falling prices, increased competition from renewables and an ever-strengthening climate change movement. It is now sink or swim for fossil fuels in a new energy price era.

> Resource Insights: Lipstick On A Pig: America As The World’s Swing Producer Of Oil (Kurt Cobb). Most people have heard the old saying: “You can put lipstick on a pig. But it’s still a pig.” That’s sort of what is happening in the American oil patch as producers try to put a positive gloss on the devastation that low oil prices are visiting on the industry.

> New York Times: Emissions By Makers Of Energy Level Off (John Schwartz). For all of the progress, however, billions of people will be entering the middle class in coming years. “Some of these early gains are going to be wiped out pretty quickly unless we develop some of the renewable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels.” (Steve Cohen, Earth Institute at Columbia U)

ECONOMY (• Finances • Commerce • Global-Local)

> MinnPost: Community Voices: For Lasting Climate-Change Reform, Focus On Consumption (Sam Rockwell). Markedly absent in mainstream conversations are suggestions that Americans simply consume less. Ideas that do circulate about lifestyle change tend to be either “back to the land” proposals or framed in the language of “giving people options”: bicycle lanes give people the option to get out of their cars; condos provide snazzy options for young people and empty nesters. Few propose regulating or actively disincentivizing consumption.

> The Archdruid Report: The Prosthetic Imagination [False Data] (J. M. Greer).  The jubilation about a current 5.5% unemployment rate makes perfect sense so long as you don’t happen to know that the official unemployment rate in the United States doesn’t actually depend on the number of people who are out of work, but rather the number receiving unemployment benefits. It’s worth noting that 92,898,000 Americans of working age are not currently in the work force—that is, more than 37 per cent of the working age population.

EQUITY (• Equality • Health • Social Concerns)

> Yes! Magazine: Do Corporations Really Need More Rights? Why Fast Track For The TPP Is A Bad Idea (David Korten). The TPP is presented as an agreement to increase U.S. exports and jobs. But what is really at stake is democracy—in the United States as well as in the 11 other Pacific Rim countries that are parties to the TPP. By strengthening corporate rule, its provisions will likely have significant implications for nearly every aspect of American life, including jobs.

> Resilience: How Agriculture Grew On Us (Vera Bradova). Homo sapiens lived in relative equality, in small foraging bands all its existence from the time they emerged about 200,000 years ago. Then, around 30,000 years ago, during a bit more clement time within the last ice age, glimmerings of inequality arose at sites known in Europe — in places that were unusually plentiful in game.

ENGAGEMENT (• Goals • Activism • Solutions)

> Transition US: Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage: Living Abundantly On 10%. In 1996, attracted to the low cost of land and the lenient zoning restrictions, a group of young Stanford graduates raised money from friends and family and headed to northeastern Missouri to set up what is now known as Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, a successful intentional community and 270-acre community land trust. Their idea was to “move beyond protesting ecological destruction towards finding a positive alternative for ecological living.”

> ENSIA: Environmental Activism Needs “Good Cops” And “Bad Cops (Marvin Smith). Environmental activism shouldn’t be an either/or proposition. While bad cops can disagree with good cops, both roles are critical.

> Yes! Magazine: Beyond The CSA: Four Ways Communities Support Everything From Books To Beer (Dana Drugmand). You know the model: Consumers purchase a share of the season’s harvest upfront and get a box of fresh produce each week from the farm. Now you can get your medicine and artworks that way too.

> Star Tribune: Tiny (House) Idea Has Big Promise For Helping The Homeless. (Jenna Ross). The village has inspired international curiosity and could become a template for similar projects. ­Activists, nonprofits and students from hundreds of cities — including Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud — have e-mailed, called and visited. One guy recently stopped by from Australia. Google is interested.

> Star Tribune: Minneapolis, Food-Sellers Prep For A Ban On Foam Food Containers  (Erin Golden). Restaurants, hotels and other businesses that sell takeout food in Minneapolis have six weeks to go before they’ll no longer be able to package food in foam containers — or in any container that isn’t recyclable, reusable or compostable.

EVENTS—INFORMATION

> Global Solutions Forum: Overpopulation Is Solvable, David Paxson, Director, World Population Balance (http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/), Thurs., Mar.19, 6:45 p.m., Plymouth Congregational Church (Jackson Room, lower level), 1900 Nicollet Ave. S. Mpls.

> Women, the New Economy, and Anti-Poverty: Let’s Talk Strategy To Achieve A Basic Income, Friday, March 20^th, 6:30–8:30 pm, 4200 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. Speakers: Kristine Osbakken, Jurgen De Wispelaere, Liane Gale. Free event. Information: www.facebook.com/events/1559710660963183/

> MN350: Action Projects. Several are planned for this spring, including meetings related to Tar Sands, divestments, climate change, energy legislation, teach-in/solutions workshop, and oil shipping. See info on the MN350 website: http://mn350.nationbuilder.com/ ; Also see: Calendar of events, Community meetings, Campaigns, Join an action teams

> Midwest Solar: Midwest Solar Expo 2015, May 13-14, Hilton, Minneapolis. Info: Midwest Solar Expo 2015

> Mississippi Watershed Management Organization: Spring Water & Energy Stewardship Workshops for Congregations, Thurs., Mar. 26^th, 6-9 p.m., 2522 Marshall St NE, Mpls. (Lowry and Marshall Ave NE). Free! RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/aforsrsvp). Learn more (www.afors.org/congregations; Sean Gosiewski, Alliance for Sustainability: 612-250-0389; sean@afors.org)

Sustainability Education Forum March 14th

(Clifton Ware, Editor/Publisher)

Bettye and I returned Tuesday from a winter getaway trip to the Southwest, so my commentary and this newsletter will be abbreviated. I hope to be back in normal publishing mode by next week.

The main thoughts I have to share relate to SEF’s educational mission, including the occasional forums we organize to address sustainability issues and concerns. I sent a notice last week about the SEF Meeting (Saturday, March 14^th, 2:30-4:30, at the St. Anthony Village Library), but I wanted to issue a final invitation, as a gentle reminder. Our main topic will be focused on Chris Martenson’s ‘Accelerated’ Crash Course, a one-hour video/text participants are encouraged to watch or read in preparation for group discussion.

Our intimate group has enjoyed some very stimulating discussions of various sustainability topics in our previous three forums, and we welcome other committed seekers and learners to join us. Seating is limited to 20 persons, so please let me know if you’re coming.

ENVIRONMENT (• Natural Resources • Wildlife • Climate)

> MinnPost: A Q&A With Paul Douglas, The Evangelical Christian Republican Poster Boy For Climate Change (Brian Lambert).  “At this point, debating climate science is roughly equivalent to debating gravity.” And the thing is, the “debate,” if you can call it that, really is just here in the United States. China gets it. The debate is over in Europe. Only here, with the powerful vested interests, the special interests and the money in play, is it still a “debate.”

> MPR: St. Paul Mayor Calls For Cities To Play Larger Role In Climate Change Talks (Elizabeth Dunbar).  Leaders from St. Paul and other cities around the country gathered in Washington, D.C. on Friday to discuss the role cities should play in global climate change efforts. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said cities have been active on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and find ways to build resiliency in the face of climate impacts.

> On Earth: You Won’t Believe How Much Plastic We Dump in the Ocean (Brian Palmer).  Humans release between 5.3 million and 14 million tons of plastic into the ocean annually. Here’s some perspective on that hard-to-fathom number. Nine million tons of plastic is the equivalent of 136 billion plastic milk jugs! Stack them up and they’d reach more than halfway to Mars.

ENERGY (• Carbon Based • Renewable)

> Peak Oil: The Science Of Peak Oil (Andrew McKay, Southern Limits). One of the many barbs often pointed at peak oil proponents is that they are constantly shifting the goal posts. Peak oilers are accused of changing the definition of what peak oil actually means, therefore the entire concept of oil production peaking is rubbish. Far from a valid criticism however, this is actually a scientific virtue.

> The Guardian: Keep Fossil Fuels In The Ground To Stop Climat Change 
(George Monbiot).  The extraction of fossil fuels is a hard fact. The rules governments have developed to prevent their use are weak, inconsistent and negotiable. In other words, when coal, oil and gas are produced, they will be used. Continued production will overwhelm attempts to restrict consumption. Even if efforts to restrict consumption temporarily succeed, they are likely to be self-defeating. A reduction in demand when supply is unconstrained lowers the price, favouring carbon-intensive industry.

ECONOMY (• Finances • Commerce • Global-Local)

> Sierra Club: A Fast Track To Disaster (Michael Brune).  Who might profit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),  a massive trade deal with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, and seven other countries? Answer: Multinational corporations — including some of the planet’s biggest polluters. Are corporate profits more important than protections for clean air, clean water, climate stability, workers’ rights, and more?

> Resilience: Can Public Banks Become America’s New Engines Of Prosperity? (Mike Krauss, Occupy.com). New bedfellows are writing what may be the next chapter in the story of American democracy: a network of public banks to facilitate a lateral and collaborative distribution of affordable credit, enabling the diversity of American enterprise and initiative to challenge Wall Street and the Federal Reserve’s control of banking and finance.

ENLIGHTENMENT (• Expectations • Ideas • Beliefs • Psychology)

> The Archdruid Report: Peak Meaninglessness (J.M. Greer).  Last week’s discussion of externalities—costs of doing business that get dumped onto the economy, the community, or the environment—is reinforced by a previous article in Grist. It pointed out the awkward fact that none of the twenty biggest industries in today’s world could break even, much less make a profit, if they had to pay for the damage they do to the environment.

> Resilience: Pulling The Plug, Part 2 (Vera Bradova; Read Part 1-).  The only way for us to win is not to play. At the core of the Machine is a whirlwind of human and planetary energy sucked into a global positive feedback loop that’s formed a funnel of destruction and death, mowing down everything in its path. An out-of-control vicious circle is very difficult to stop; there is no point underestimating the daunting nature of this task.

EQUITY (• Equality • Health • Social Concerns)

> Sierra Club: A Win for Walmart Workers (Dan Byrnes). Rarely would an environmental organization put “Walmart” and “win” in the same headline, but when a company increases wages for half a million employees and makes big gains in clean energy, it’s a victory for grassroots activism in our books.

ENGAGEMENT (• Goals • Activism • Solutions)

> Treehugger 11 Easy Ways To Reduce Your Plastic Waste Today (Margaret Badore). Learn about 11 different ways you can reduce the plastic use and waste in your life and help your local and global communities be less burdened with plastic waste management.

> Associated Press (US News): Solar-Power Plane Takes Off From Abu Dhabi. A Swiss solar-powered plane takes off at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, early Monday, March 9, 2015, marking the start of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel.

EVENTS AND INFORMATION

> Global Solutions Forum: Overpopulation Is Solvable, David Paxson (http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/), Thurs., Mar.19, 6:45 p.m., Plymouth Congregational Church (Jackson Room, lower level), 1900 Nicollet Ave. S. Mpls.

> MN350: Action Projects. Several are planned for this spring, including meetings related to Tar Sands, divestments, climate change, energy legislation, teach-in/solutions workshop, and oil shipping. See info on the MN350 website: http://mn350.nationbuilder.com/ ; Also see: Calendar of events, Community meetings, Campaigns, Join an action teams

> Midwest Solar: Midwest Solar Expo 2015, May 13-14, Hilton, Minneapolis. Info: Midwest Solar Expo 2015

Look Around, What Do You See?  (Clifton Ware, Editor-Publisher)

I’ve often wondered why most people register little concern about the increasing growth of materialism, which also includes the 78-million human bodies added to the planet each year, plus accumulations of ever more stuff. In addition to having essential life support items (food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.), we “developed-world” citizens enjoy an enviable level of material prosperity, thanks primarily to the plentiful and cheap carbon-based energy used to fuel economic growth in the modern era, beginning with the Industrial Age.

      One explanation for humanity’s “materialism blindness” may be attributed to our highly adaptive nature. We tend to accept familiar socio-cultural, economic, political, religious, and environmental conditions with the attitude “that’s just the way things are”. In general, we lack knowledge of “how things used to be”, and sufficient wisdom and imagination concerning “how things could be”.

      I recall having read somewhere that people born into a collapsing or collapsed society (Mayan, Incas, Grecian, Roman, etc.) are typically unaware of how life could be otherwise. In other words, our default mechanism seems to be acceptance of the status quo, especially when most people around us share similar conditions, favorable or unfavorable.

      For example, I recall my parents explaining that their Mississippi farming families managed to live quite well during the Great Depression. Although they owned small farms and homes, and had plenty to eat, they were relatively poor in comparison to our modern material lifestyle, which we take for granted. Because everyone they knew shared sustenance-farming lifestyles, they were mostly contented with their lives and grateful for having life-sustaining essentials. As materialistic expectations have risen over the past century, most contemporary Americans might view such lifestyles as quaintly austere. In other words, we’re spoiled silly.

      Beginning in the mid 1960s, I became acutely aware of materialistic growth; first, wondering “Is there an end to all this growth, including human population?” With ongoing awareness of deteriorating infrastructure—streets, sidewalks, pipelines, plus buildings and all human-produced goods—I’m reminded that constant maintenance is the only method that effectively addresses entropy. Of course, maintenance can be very expensive, as illustrated by the enormous projected costs (three trillion dollars) associated with restoring our nation’s deteriorating highways and bridges.

      This topic popped into my mind when reading Peter Berglund’s commentary in the Star-Tribune titled  “The Climate-Change Debate, Simplified”. Berglund reduces the climate-change issue to a simple exercise: just look around! In sum, he suggests we need to develop our visual awareness skills, so we can clearly see what’s going on with all of our human constructs. Some questions we might raise: How much construction and consumption is truly necessary? Can we use more simple and frugal approaches in providing essential constructions that benefit all life forms? What will future generations need, and how can we help them, beginning now!  Please read Berglund’s commentary, which follows in the Environment section.

Also, I strongly urge you to read A Brief History Of Happiness: How America Lost Track Of The Good Life—And Where To Find It Now (also listed in Equity section). This informative article provides a brief history of America’s devotion to an economic system based on material growth, rather than adopting a humane, natural system that’s focused on creating body-mind health, worthwhile pursuits, and an overall state of happiness for ALL citizens.

ENVIRONMENT (• Natural Resources • Wildlife • Climate)

> Star Tribune: Commentary: The Climate-Change Debate, Simplified (Peter Berglund). Another way to think about the question of whether climate change is caused by humans is to simply contemplate how we’ve changed the landscape. Ask yourself if all of these changes, all of these sources of CO2, could grow without having some effect? Then, ask yourself: “So what?”

> MPR (Series: Climate Change In Minnesota): • As Climate Changes, Cities Grapple With Big Rains • A Forest Dilemma: What Will Grow In A Changing Climate? • As State Warms, A Few Spots Keep Their Cool • Henry Paulson And Greg Page On The Business Risks Of Climate Change • More Carbon, More Misery For Allergy Sufferers • The Birth Of “Cli-Fi”: Books That Tackle Climate Change • What Climate Change Means For Minnesota Moose (See more on MPR)

> On Earth: Small Streams Need Protection, Too. Our Drinking Water Depends On It (Jason Bittel). Making sure the Clean Water Act covers small streams and headwaters would protect the drinking water of millions of Americans.

> Business Wire: Sustainability Of U.S. Cities Held Back By Transportation, Environmental Factors. North American cities lag behind European and Asian cities on sustainability, according to inaugural global ARCADIS Sustainable Cities Index.

> Environmental News Network: Seafloor Volcano Pulses May Alter Climate (Earth Institute, Columbia U). Volcanically active mid-ocean ridges crisscross earth’s seafloors like stitching on a baseball, stretching some 37,000 miles, and might produce eight times more lava annually than land volcanoes. If the undersea chains became more active, their CO2 output would shoot up.

ENERGY (• Carbon Based • Renewable)

> Grist: 6 Charts That Show Renewable Energy Is Getting Cheaper (David Roberts). The latest numbers on electricity costs show that various forms of renewable energy are already competitive with fossil fuels, and will only strengthen their position in future years, with costs expected to continue falling. It’s a ” new world ” available.

> Our Finite World: Charts Showing The Long-Term GDP-Energy Tie (Part 2 – A New Theory Of Energy And The Economy) (Gail Tverberg). In Part 1 Tverberg explained why cheap fuels act to create economic growth. In this post, her data show how this connection works. Low prices are a signal that we are reaching other limits of a networked economy, such as too much debt and taxes that are too high for workers to pay.

> Energy Balance: Why Cheap Oil Does Not Mean That Peak Oil Is A Myth: Some Salient Points. (Chris Rhodes). Here are 26 points that explain the concept of “peak oil”—all of the what, why, where, and how. Since most people misunderstand the concept, this article provides a brief summary overview.

> Resilience: Review: The World After Cheap Oil (Frank Kaminski, Mud City Press). World After Cheap Oil, a report by Finnish energy analysts, offers an exhaustive, up-to-date dissection of the world oil situation. It looks at the issue from every angle, starting with the looming supply shock for which the world’s developed nations are tragically unprepared, and moving on to the concomitant crisis with Earth’s climate that our oil use has unleashed.

> Resource Insights: Alternate Opinions: The World’s Energy Information Duopoloy Comes To An End. (Kurt Cobb). Most energy forecasts are based on information from the two leading energy information agencies: the EIA and the IEA. That’s about to change. Policymakers, investors and the public should take heed.

ECONOMY (• Finances • Commerce • Global-Local)

> The New York Times: Climate Change’s Bottom Line (Bert Helm). The ray of hope is that businesses changing their business plans–to cope with a changing climate that doesn’t really need to happen–will help people understand that we can still avert the worst impacts of climate change.

> Positive Money: What Does $200 Trillion Of Debt Really Mean For The Global Economy? (Mike Roscoe). We can summarize the global economic problem in one sentence: Not enough people are doing the right kind of work anymore, that is, the real wealth-creating sectors of the economy are employing fewer and fewer workers as a percentage of total population.

> Project for Public Spaces: The Trouble With Modernization: Lessons For Endangered Markets Everywhere. Despite their many benefits, public markets, particularly in the context of developing countries, can be endangered by many forces – and often by a combination of forces. The good news is that with focused local action that is sensitive to an area’s existing cultural fabric, struggling markets can once again become vital centers of commerce and community.

> Peak Prosperity: Nomi Prins: The Sinister Evolution Of Our Modern Banking System. Today, the ‘revolving door’ connecting our political and financial systems is evident to anyone with eyes. Prins’ latest book, All the President’s Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power, is a groundbreaking narrative about the relationships of president’s to key bankers over the past century and how they impacted domestic and foreign policy.

ENLIGHTENMENT (• Expectations • Ideas •  Beliefs • Psychology)

> Resilience: Utopians Are Ruining Everything (Vera Bradova). Utopianism is motivated by a desire for social perfection and ideal worlds, typically involving four aspects:
1) privileging of ideals over messy human realities, of future over the present, of ideas over nature; 2)  imposition of top-down design: 3) refusal of responsibility and of paying close attention to untoward consequences (ends justifying means); and 4)
 social pressure or propaganda to induce people to “like” the results.

> CASSE-The Daly News: Who Moved Obama’s Win-Win Cheese? (Brian Czech). Let’s hope Obama comes full circle, back to the more innocent Obamanomics, with recognition that economic growth is unsustainable, and increasingly harmful—in a century already slated for extinctions, climate change, water supply shocks and the like, all in proportion to our obsession with increasing production and consumption of goods and services, otherwise known as economic growth.

> ENSIA: M. Sanjayan: Nature And Humans, Together Again (David Dooley).  Humans have been “framed out of the picture” when it comes to documenting nature, says Conservation International executive VP and senior scientist M. Sanjayan in the opening of a new series, “EARTH A New Wild,” which premiered Feb. 4th on PBS. For humans, saving nature is a very self-serving necessity. Episodes are available online: EARTH A New Wild | Watch Online | PBS Video

> Common Dreams: War And Perpetual Adolescence (Robert Koehler). “What’s truly ‘exceptional’ in twenty-first-century America is any articulated vision of what a land at peace with itself and other nations might be like . . . “Instead, war, backed by a diet of fear, is the backdrop against which the young have grown to adulthood. (William J. Astore, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel)

> The Guardian: Anti-Intellectualism Is Taking Over The US (Patricia Williams). There has been an unfortunate uptick in academic book bannings and firings, made worse by a nationwide disparagement of teachers, teachers’ unions and scholarship itself. Happily, there is pushback occurring against such anti-intellectualism. One of the most vibrant examples is a protest group called Librotraficante, or Book Trafficker (librotraficante.com).

EQUITY (• Equality • Health • Social Concerns)

> Common Dreams: The Super-Rich Can’t Hide From The Rest Of Us (Michael Winship). “Even though corporate profits are at their highest level in 85 years, corporations aren’t pumping it back into the economy. Instead they’re holding it. S&P companies last year spent an incredible 95% of their profits on stock buybacks to enrich executives and shareholders.” Wages grew just 1.7 percent last year, “the slowest rate since at least the 1960s,” Bryce Covert at ThinkProgress reports.

> Alternet: Robert Reich: Why Work Is Turning Into A Nightmare. What about an economy where robots do everything that can be predictably programmed in advance, and almost all profits go to the robots’ owners? Meanwhile, human beings do the work that’s unpredictable – odd jobs, on-call projects, fetching and fixing, driving and delivering, tiny tasks needed at any and all hours – and patch together barely enough to live on. Brace yourself. This is the economy we’re now barreling toward.

> Yes! Magazine: A Brief History Of Happiness: How America Lost Track Of The Good Life—And Where To Find It Now (Sarah van Gelder). For decades, we’ve been taught that economic growth and buying more stuff will make us happy—while trashing the planet. The good news is, there’s a better kind of happy: It starts with meaningful work, loving relationships, and a thriving natural world. (Based on an excerpt from Sustainable Happiness: Live Simply, Live Well, Make a Difference, an anthology of work from YES! Magazine.

> Pew Research Center: America’s ‘Middle’ Holds Its Ground After The Great Recession (Rakesh Kochhar & Richard Fry). Middle-income households, by our definition, earn as much as twice the median income or as little as two-thirds the median. This results in a range of $40,667 to $122,000 for a middle-income American household of three in 2013. Data provide further confirmation of the nation’s growing economic inequality.

> Common Dreams: New Evidence That Half Of America Is Broke (Paul Buchheit). Half of our nation, by all reasonable estimates of human need, is in poverty. The jubilant headlines above speak for people whose view is distorted by growing financial wealth. The argument for a barely surviving half of America has been made before, but important new data is available to strengthen the case.

ENGAGEMENT (• Goals • Activism • Solutions)

> CUESA: How Will We Grow New Farmers? (Brie Mazurek). Farmers perform one of society’s most essential functions, yet farming is one of the most undervalued and endangered professions in the U.S. There’s a deep cultural need for exposure to our food system at all ages, and a need to create bridges between rural producers and urban consumers. Such education is crucial in building community support for young farmers, so that farming is seen as a viable and valuable occupation.

> Organic Consumers Association: Carbon Sequestration: A Climate Change Solution Often Ignored (Dr. Mercola). Rarely do you hear climate activists address the issue of soil and land regeneration, yet it is perhaps the most comprehensive solution to everyone’s concerns.

> Common Dreams: ‘Fighting For The Places We Love’: A Vision For The Climate Battles To Come (Naomi Klein & May Boeve). There are various reasons why, if we get the right set of incentives in place—both political and economic—it can be a really, really good time to get off fossil fuels and push very aggressively toward a decentralized, renewables-based economy.

>Star Tribune: DNR Halts Pines-To-Potatoes Conversion In Central Minnesota. Alarmed by rapid deforestation in an ecologically sensitive swath of central Minnesota, state regulators have ordered a broad environmental review that will temporarily halt conversion of the region’s jackpine stands to potato fields.

EVENTS AND INFORMATION

> UM IOE: Frontiers in the Environment: Big Questions, Wednesdays, 12-1 p.m., Feb. 11-April 29, IonE Seminar Room R380, Learning & Environmental Sciences Bldg., St. Paul February 11 — How Can Individual Cities Make A Global Impact On Climate Change? February 18 — How Can Art And Story Heal The Disconnect Between Modern Humans And The Environment? Join us online via UMConnect

> Move MN: Transportation Day at the Capitol, Mon., Feb. 12^th, 2 p.m. Register here

> Eastside Food Co-op Movie Nights – Power of Community, Thurs., Feb. 19^th, 6:30-8:30 p.m., • Food for Change, Wed., Mar. 4^th, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Granite Studio.  Free – RSVP required – luna@eastsidefood.coop or 612-843-5409

> Community Rights Movement: A Grassroots Strategy To Protect Our Climate (Paul Cienfuegos, speaker), Mon., Feb., 23, 5:30-8:30 p.m.,Sabathani Community Center, 310 38^th St.S., Mpls. 5:30 p.m.-Networking; 6:30-Talk; 7:30-Q/A. Donation, $5-20. Info: twincitiescommunityrights@gmail.com

> MN350.Org: Upcoming Team Meetings & Events (http://www.mn350.org/) • Local Campaigns: http://www.mn350.org/category/local-campaigns/ • Climate and Energy Calendar: http://www.mn350.org/calendar/ • Global Divestment Day, Sat., Feb. 14^th, 10 a.m., Joule Microbusiness Network. Info/RSVP

> MN Renewable Energy Society: Classes–Solar Photovoltaics 101; Zero Net Energy Homes; Passive House Design; For more information, explore Minnesota Renewable Energy Society.

> CERTs: CERTs 2015 Conference: Community Driven Clean Energy, March 10-11, 2015, St. Cloud, MN Agenda & Register to Attend

> Midwest Solar: Midwest Solar Expo 2015, May 13-14, Hilton, Minneapolis. Info: Midwest Solar Expo 2015

Creating Resilience: Why and How?  (Clifton Ware, Editor-Publisher)

Admittedly, most of the information provided in the SEF newsletter tends to focus more on negative news and views, rather than on positive action and solutions. Why, you may ask? Well, I like to think my role as that of a messenger who’s compelled to deliver a cautionary warning about future converging crises to anyone willing to listen, learn, and respond. There’s no question that my “greenness” is colored in deep, dark green, not bright green or lite green, though I embrace all shades of green in daily life, including such lite-green habits as reducing, reusing, and recycling as much as possible.

Aside from becoming more informed about all aspects of the converging crises we’re experiencing, and as a result, also assuming more activist-oriented initiatives, what can a person do? A loyal but frustrated reader posed this question to me recently. All the bad news weighed heavily upon him, and he was eager to receive some helpful guidance. So thanks to his prompting, I have some reputable sources to recommend.

      To gain a trusted expert’s introduction to the overall world scene, as related chiefly to the interconnections of economy, energy, and environment, I highly recommend Chris Martenson’s The Crash Course, a 4.5-hour series of 26 chapters in a free video format that’s available on the Peak Prosperity website. Chapters vary in length, from 3 to 25 minutes each, so a chapter per day might be the most feasible approach for most readers. But first, one might begin by viewing the ‘Accelerated’ Crash Course, which takes an hour to view and highlights essential information.

      After gaining some valuable insights from The Crash Course, you might want to check out the very practical Peak Prosperity webpage Resilient Life—“What Should I Do?” (http://www.peakprosperity.com/page/what-should-i-do). Suggestions are provided that address every aspect of living more resiliently and sustainably. Other websites are also filled with suggestions, including Resilient Living Tips and Living: TreeHugger.

      May we continue finding ways to prepare for an unknown future, one that promises to be increasingly different from the past.

ENVIRONMENT (• Natural Resources • Wildlife • Climate)

> E&E Publishing: Bloomberg, Paulson And Steyer Release Bipartisan Report On Climate Change Risks To Midwest. The analysis, called “Heat in the Heartland,” is a granular look into the United States’ Midwest and threats the region’s cities and agricultural stakeholders will likely face due to unmitigated climate change and the continuation of present business and political practices.

> Star Tribune: Editorial: As Midwest Warms, Its Economy Will Suffer. That’s the conclusion of a vast majority of climate scientists, data-driven environmental organizations and responsible elected officials fighting a rising tide of irresponsible denial. It’s also the verdict of a group of bipartisan business and political leaders who are aligned with the Risky Business Project on climate change, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Cargill Executive Chairman Gregory Page.

> MPR: Climate Change In Minnesota: 23 Signs. Without question, the state’s climate has changed in recent decades. And that’s had an impact on the lives of its wildlife, its plants, its people.

> National Geographic: Mass Death Of Seabirds In Western U.S. Is ‘Unprecedented’ (Craig Welch).  Bill Sydeman, a senior scientist at California’s Farallon Institute, believes the most likely scenario is that the deaths are related to a massive blob of warm water that heated the North Pacific last year, contributing to California’s drought and 2014 being the hottest year on record. “I think there’s a strong possibility of it escalating to affect other species in the near future,” he said.

> Resilience: The State Of Our Soil (Ellie Althanasis). Jointly published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, the Soil Atlas highlights the current state of our soils and the ways in which we are draining this precious resource: “We are using the world’s soils as if they were inexhaustible, continually withdrawing from an account, but never paying in.”

> US Geological Society: Report: The Quality of Our Nation’s Waters. Findings: Contaminants from geologic or manmade sources were a potential health concern in one of every five wells sampled in the parts of aquifers used for drinking water; differences in geology, hydrology, geochemistry, and chemical use explain how and why aquifer vulnerability and concentrations of contaminants vary across the Nation; and changes to groundwater flow have also altered groundwater quality.

ENERGY (• Fossil Carbon • Natural Resources • Renewables)

> E&E Publishing: 5 Reasons Why Oil Prices Won’t Be Recovering Anytime Soon (Saqub Rahlm). Why? 1) The US still has momentum; 2) No one likes a quitter; 3) Shale is getting cheaper; 4) Once in, it’s hard to get out; and 5) For some countries, it’s oil or bust.

> ENSIA: Climate Change Mitigation’s Best-Kept Secret (Jim Motavalli). Methane is derived from multiple sources, including hydrates, melting permafrost, and living creatures. It is also a by-product of oil and gas production, and emissions come from widespread leakage and intentional venting when there’s no commercial use for it. According to The Washington Post, oil and gas operations in the U.S “lose” 8 million metric tons of methane annually.

> Pacific Standard: Yes, Oil Is Behind A Lot Of Wars (Nathan Collins). It’s not just some superstition: Oil really is behind a great deal of military conflict. Third-party states are more likely to intervene in civil wars when the conflict is in an oil-rich nation or the third party is particularly oil-thirsty, new research finds.

> Star Tribune: Ethanol Industry Gets Its Own Biotech Corn.  Six Midwestern ethanol plants now use the hybrid called Enogen, the first corn genetically enhanced for ethanol production. Seven other ethanol makers, including Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. in Benson, Minn., are trying it out.

> Renewable Energy World: Seven Reasons Cheap Oil Can’t Stop Renewables Now (Tom Randall, Bloomberg).  Global investment in clean energy increased 16 percent last year, to $310 billion, according to data compiled by BNEF.

ECONOMY (• Finances • Global • Local)

> National Geographic: A Year Without The Colorado River, As Seen By Economists (Sandra Postel). Imagine if delivered water from the Colorado River –suddenly went dry for a year. What would happen to the West’s economy? A research team at Arizona State University produced some startling results: The region would lose $1.4 trillion – that’s trillion, with a “t” – in economic activity, along with 16 million jobs.

> Commons Transition: Co-Operative Commonwealth: De-Commodifying Land And Money Part 3 (Kevin Flanagan). Here is part 3 from Co-operative Commonwealth: “De-Commodifying Land and Money” a paper prepared by Pat Conaty for the 13th International Karl Polanyi Conference at Concordia University, Montreal on 6-8 November 2014. We published Part 1 on Monday Dec 29th and Part 2 on Wednesday.

> Common Dreams: Can Capitalism Save Itself? (Gary Olson).  In May ’14 Lady Lynn Foester de Rothschild voiced to a gathering of business conference titans claiming “…it is really dangerous for business when business is viewed as one society’s problems. And that is where we are today.”  The challenge for panicky plutocrats and their wholly owned politicians is to convince the 99.0% that capitalism is the answer, not the problem.

> Yes! Magazine: Six Ways The US Is Building A People-Powered Economy (Sarah Van Gelder). Alternative business models such as worker-owned cooperatives are gaining ground, proving that a more just and sustainable future is possible.

> The New York Times: How 2014’s Huge Market Moves Are Affecting The Economy In 2015 (Neil Irwin). Global financial markets made a series of epic moves in the second half of 2014: toward a sharply lower price of oil, much lower interest rates, and a far stronger dollar. We’re now seeing how, for better and worse, those moves will affect the American economy in 2015.

EXPECTATIONS-ENLIGHTENMENT (• Ideas • Psychology • Beliefs)

> The Archdruid Report: The One Way Forward (J.M. Greer). For just that little bit too long, too many people have insisted that we didn’t need to worry about the absurdity of pursuing limitless growth on a finite and fragile planet, that “they’ll think of something,” that the newest technological vaporware might solve our species’ imminent collision with the limits to growth. Greer’s suggestion: Implement intentional technological regression as a matter of public policy, using the technology of the 1950s as a model.

> Post Carbon Institute: After The Peak (Richard Heinberg). Today, society is about to begin its inevitable, wrenching adaptation to having less energy and mobility, just as the impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change are starting to hit home. How will those of us who have spent the past years in warning mode contribute to this next crucial chapter in the unfolding human drama?

> Culture Change: Challenging The Dominant Culture’s Insidious “Screenism” (Jan Lundberg). It should be self-evident that the computerization of society, including the Internet and cell phones, are mostly about profit and mass control. These global-warming pollution-boxes’ usefulness for communicating radical or dissident ideas is secondary, and do not undo the damage done by computerization and constant “connectivity” on a global scale.

EQUITY (• Equality • Health • Social Concerns)

> Common Dreams: The Collapse of Europe? (John Feffer). The EU is faltering. Unity in diversity may be an appealing concept, but the EU needs more than pretty rhetoric and good intentions to stay glued together. If it doesn’t come up with a better recipe for dealing with economic inequality, political extremism, and social intolerance, its opponents will soon have the power to hit the rewind button on European integration.

> The New York Times: The Shrinking American Middle Class and Middle Class Shrinks Further As More Fall Out Instead Of Climbing Up. The middle class has shrunk consistently over the past half-century. Until 2000, the reason was primarily because more Americans moved up the income ladder. But since then, the reason has shifted: There is a greater share of households on the lower rungs of the economic ladder.

> Transition US: Where Do The Transition Environmental Movement And The Social Justice Movement Intersect? (Pamela Boyce Simms).  Resource depletion and climate changes affect various demographic groups in vastly different ways. Recovery from natural disasters looks radically different within historically disenfranchised than the overall Transition Town demographic, which tends to be predominantly white, educated, post-materialist, and middleclass.

 > Common Dreams: Further Proving One-Sided Recovery, One In Five US Children On Food Assistance (Nadia Prupis) One in five U.S. children relied on food assistance in 2014—a figure higher than before the recession—highlighting the uneven results of the so-called economic recovery, new information from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals.

> Overgrow The System: You Are What You Eat—And What It Eats Too (Liz Carlisle). Recent research suggests it does matter what our plants “eat”. Testing results showed that organically grown crops contained an average of 17 percent more antioxidants than the conventional ones and in certain crops managed organically, as much as a 60 percent antioxidant boost was offered. This study offers some of the best evidence yet that healthy soils lead to healthier plants—and healthier people.

ENGAGEMENT (• Goals • Activism • Solutions)

> A Growing Culture: Homeless Garden Project: Cultivating Community Through Urban Farming. The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California is one of the many community garden projects in the area, yet is unique in its mission and its everyday actions. This particular site is still known for its organic produce and sustainable practices, but it is the devotion to the city and its homeless populations that makes the Homeless Garden Project unique.

> MPR: Citywide curbside composting coming to Minneapolis. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges ran for office on a platform of transforming Minneapolis into a “zero-waste city” and announced the citywide curbside composting plan in her State of the City address. The Hennepin County Board has also pushed the city to incorporate curbside composting.

> Grassroots Economic Organizing: $5 Million For Co-Op Development In Madison (Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo). Madison, Wisconsin’s Capitol Improvement Plan, “Co-operative Enterprises for Job Creation & Business Development,” would authorize the city to spend $1 million each of five years starting in 2016 to fund “cooperative/worker-owned business formation for the purposes of job creation and general economic development in the city.”

> Yes! Magazine: Community-Owned Energy: How Nebraska Became The Only State To Bring Everyone Power From A Public Grid (Thomas M. Hanna). In this red state, 100-year old publicly owned utility grid provides electricity to all 1.8 million people. Here’s how Nebraska took its energy out of corporate hands and made it affordable for everyday residents.

> ENSIA: Aviation Is The Key To Reducing Climate Emissions (Robert Litterman). With its hard-won expertise in risk management, the aviation industry understands that there is uncertainty about how much capacity Earth’s atmosphere has left to safely absorb emissions — tremendous uncertainty that creates tremendous risk. The International Civil Aviation Organization is already designing the world’s first internationally harmonized market-based-measure to reduce emissions.

This Year, So Far . . . (Clifton Ware, Editor/Publisher)

2015 is off to an eventful start, with several notable happenings in the past week. Perhaps the most publicized event was President Obama’s “State of the Union Address”, but since this is such a hot-potato political topic, I’ll pass on commenting—except to say that most of the initiatives he proposed are exciting to ponder. His comments related to climate change were particularly timely:

The best scientists in the world are telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger. The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.

On the environmental front, we received confirmations that 2014 was the hottest year on record, and that a series of “hottest years” has occurred since 2000. In addition to major oil spills in recent months, we were appalled to learn of two major oil-related disasters this past week; first, the massive 50-thousand gallon dumping that is polluting the pristine Yellowstone River in Montana; and next, the 3-million gallons of drilling waste spilled from a North Dakota pipeline. When will the reality that no pipeline is perfectly safe penetrate the public’s consciousness? For certain, the fossil-carbon energy industry will continue denying culpability in disseminating questionable information they use to advance their selfish interests. Also, there’s more evidence that the oceans continue to face humanity’s barrage of indignities.

      Richard Heinberg, with the Post Carbon Institute, ranks among the most reputable energy experts today. His article, “Our Renewable Future”, provides an excellent overview of the energy scene and what’s needed to build a low-energy-use future. Financially speaking, Deborah Lawrence posits that savvy investors may benefit from wealth-creating opportunities in the growing renewable-energy economy.

The two articles in the Economy section that describe the current economic scene are by Gail Tverberg—and Chris Martenson, my favorite dispenser of non-conventional information. His article, “When This Ends, Everybody Gets Hurt”, is a “must read” for understanding the pitfalls of an economic system committed to the paradigm of constant economic growth.

      John Michael Greer, a futurist expert and noted author of many books, presents deep, dark-green perspectives that are founded on his extensive knowledge of history, particularly as related to the rise and fall of empires, which at some point he suggests will likely include the U.S. I read his blogs regularly, and I find “The Mariner’s Rule” is up to his usual high standard of writing. If he were to reflect on the chilling announcement published this past week in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists: “It Is Now 3 Minutes to Midnight”, Greer would probably respond with “I told you so”!

Concerns about equity and equality are addressed in articles referring to the ongoing discussions of inequality in wealth distribution, largely attributed to the unfortunate Citizens United ruling. which continues to rankle progressives. More and more Americans agree that democracy is gravely threatened by the growing extremes in wealth distribution. The unregulated freedom granted a cartel of undeservedly rich Americans to “buy” inordinate political influence and power to further their ideological, socio-economic, and political objectives most Americans consider immoral.

On the bright side, in the engagement section you’ll find some articles that report on some positive initiatives (at last) in identifying and rectifying wrongs, in addition to ways of creating greater resilience and sustainability. Of particular interest are the informative articles describing the underhanded “Seedy Business” of GMO promoters. Additionally, there’s the stimulating video “Don’t Swallow the Lies” (of GMO companies), a must-see presentation. Another interesting video provides an overview of the 2014 Slow Money Conference, with excerpts featuring noted speakers, including Wendell Berry, and a number of participants expressing their enthusiastic views.

I hope you find this newsletter helpful in providing news and views relevant to creating resilience and sustainability. Please let me know any suggestions you may have to offer.

ENVIRONMENT (• Natural Resources • Wildlife • Climate)

> Climate Central: A Broken Record: 2014 Hottest Year (Andrea Thompson). A Climate Central analysis shows that 13 of the hottest 15 years on record, all occurring since 2000, 1 in 27 million odds. Ocean warming really stood out, with sea surface temperatures for the planet at a record 1.03°F above the 20th century average, surpassing 2003 and 1998. See also summary data, downloadable report, and infographic: Off The Charts: 2014 Was Officially The World’s Hottest Year On Record

> New York Times: 2014 Breaks Heat Record, Challenging Global Warming Skeptics. The vast majority of climate scientists say the earth is in a long-term warming trend that is profoundly threatening and caused almost entirely by human activity. They expect the heat to get much worse over coming decades, but already it is killing forests around the world, driving plants and animals to extinction, melting land ice and causing the seas to rise at an accelerating pace.

> CNN: Up To 50,000 Gallons Of Water Spilled In Yellowstone River; Residents Told Not To Drink Water.  The massive oil spill happened when the 12-inch pipeline, which crosses the Yellowstone River ruptured Jan.17^th, about 5 miles upstream from Glendive, Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality. The Bridger Pipeline Company shut down the pipeline. See also: Nearly 3 Million Gallons Of Drilling Waste Spill From North Dakota Pipeline (Think Progress) 

> The Bent of Tau Beta Pi: Pipelines Safety And Security: Is It No More Than A Pipe Dream? (Trudy E. Bell). The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) calculates that 542,500 more miles of pipeline must be installed between now and 2035 to convey hydrocarbons from a projected 1.2 million new wells (307,000 gas and 914,000 oil). Three quarters of that mileage would be laid in the next five years. This lengthy article provides an excellent pipeline primer.

> NRDC: Our Oceans Are On The Verge Of Collapse. Here’s How We Can Help Save Them (Sarah Chasis). A new study published in the journal Science claims that oceans are headed for mass extinctions of fish, marine mammals and other aquatic life, possibly within decades. And the authors further claim that industrial activities are responsible for destroying precious ocean habitats across the globe. But they also say we have the power to solve it–if we act quickly.

ENERGY (• Fossil Carbon • Natural Resources • Renewables)

> Resilience: Our Renewable Future (Richard Heinberg).  Is our energy destiny located in a Terra Incognita that neither fossil fuel promoters nor renewable energy advocates talk much about? As maddening as it may be, this conclusion may be the one best supported by the facts. If that uncharted land had a motto, it might be, “How we use energy is as important as how we get it.”

> Oil Voice: The Most Important Thing To Understand About The Coming Oil Production Cutbacks (Kurt Cobb). What the current oil price slump means for world oil supply is starting to emerge. “Layoffs,” “cutbacks,” “delays,” and “cancellations” are words one sees in headlines concerning the oil industry every day. That can only mean one thing in the long run: less supply later on than would otherwise have been the case.

> Energy Policy Forum: Wealth Creation And The New Energy Economy (Deborah Lawrence). There appears to be an underlying current that is gathering momentum, and laying the groundwork for significant new opportunities in wealth creation. Examining climate change through this more expansive lens seems infinitely more palatable than the hollow rhetoric of “less is more”. Indeed, opportunities probably have never been greater.

> Resilience: Energy Crunch: Clean Energy Gains Ground. Ever since oil and gas prices started to plunge, speculation that cheaper fossil fuels would mean a serious setback for renewables has been rife. Considering the latest data, however, it seems renewables are still going strong and it is the fossil fuel industry that is running into both short and long-term difficulties.

ECONOMY (• Finances • Global • Local)

> Our Finite World: A New Theory Of Energy And The Economy – Part 1— Generating Economic Growth (Gail Tverberg). The way the economy is bound together is by a financial system. In some sense, the selling price of any product is the market value of the energy embodied in that product. There is also a cost (which is really an energy cost) of creating the product.

> The Telegraph: Central Bank Prophet Fears QE Warfare Pushing World Financial System Out Of Control (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard).  William White, an economic prophet, deplores the rush to QE as an “unthinking fashion”. Those who argue that the US and the UK are growing faster than Europe because they carried out QE early are confusing “correlation with causality”. The Anglo-Saxon pioneers have yet to pay the price. “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings”.

> Peak Prosperity: When This Ends, Everybody Gets Hurt (Chris Martenson). It is our system of money, as controlled by central bankers, that is most likely to break first and hardest, simply because its very design demands endless growth, without which collapse ensues. It’s our view that 2015- 2016 will mark the end of a long run of overly ambitious central bankers and over-complacent markets. A 5-minute video—“A Word of Caution”—is available in connection with the article, A Quick Sanity Check

> Grassroots Economic Organizing: P6: Enacting Cooperative Values (Ruby Levin). Principle Six (P6) provides a pathway for people to use cooperatively owned community institutions to move money into the hands of small, local, and cooperative businesses, the backbone of healthy and sustainable regional food systems everywhere, and powerful models for creating economies based on equity, democracy, and community-based economic development. More info: p6.coop.

> MinnPost: Business-Minded Forecast Sees Climate As Threat To Minnesota Jobs And Culture (Ron Meador). Risky Business project’s first analysis was published last June; it looked at probable climate impacts across the United States. Today’s follow-up is one in a series of regional or state-level close-ups, and focuses on a mid-western zone consisting of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri.

> World Economic Forum:The Global Risks Report 2015 (See Download PDF)

EXPECTATIONS-ENLIGHTENMENT (• Ideas • Psychology • Beliefs)

> The Archdruid Report: The Mariner’s Rule (J. M. Greer). A great many people are only interested in seeking answers that will allow them to keep enjoying the absurd extravagance that passed, not too long ago, for an ordinary lifestyle among the industrial world’s privileged classes, and is becoming just a little bit less ordinary with every year that slips by. And now, having reached peak oil, the party’s over. We best make preparations in advance to create resilience and become more sustainable.

> Common Dreams: The Time Has Come For Local Agriculture (Robert Shetterly). In the 1970s, Joan Dye Gussow, a pioneer of local, organic agriculture, understood the connection between the industrial farming of both crops and animals and climate change: Fossil fuel based fertilizers and pesticides, massive pollution and runoff, soil depletion, dead zones, chemical residue, vegetables without nutrients, mono-cropping, absurd energy usage to move fresh crops all over the world—on and on.

> Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists: It Is Now 3 Minutes To Midnight. Warning that “the probability of global catastrophe is very high” unless quick action is taken, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today cited unchecked climate change and global nuclear weapons modernization as the basis for their decision to move the hands of the historic Doomsday Clock forward two minutes. The full statement is vailable online: http://thebulletin.org.

> ENSIA: Novel Ecosystems” Are A Trojan Horse For Conservation. The claim is that human influences — especially introduced invasive species, land use changes and global climate change — are altering a large proportion of Earth’s ecosystems at unprecedented rates in a way that could cause assemblages of organisms to “tip” towards new steady states, which should be considered as emerging or, to use the catchier phrase, “novel” ecosystems. (See: novel ecosystems the “new normal”).

> Resilience: Ptolemaic Environmentalism (Eileen Crist). The strategy of creating and sustaining a human-ruled biosphere reaffirms the legitimacy of anthropocentrism, avoids interrogating our relationship with the biosphere and its whole ensemble of life as an ethical matter, and resolutely eschews confronting global civilization as a totalitarian system on Earth.

EQUITY (• Equality • Health • Social Concerns)

> Common Dreams: Single-Payer: It’s What The People Want (Andreas Germanos). A majority of Americans support a single-payer, Medicare-for-all healthcare system, a new poll shows. Almost 80 percent of Democrats supported such a plan, while 25 of Republicans did.

> PR Watch: 5 Years After Citizens United, Democracy Is For Sale (Brendan Fischer). Big money politics means that elected officials are primarily responsive to the policy preferences of their financial supporters rather than average people. Policymakers are primarily responsive to the preferences of a rich, white donor class, and people of color and the poor have their voices marginalized, even as the country grows increasingly diverse.

> Common Dreams: On 5th Anniversary Of Citizens United, Groups Nationwide Decry Corporate Influence In Politics (Deirdre Fulton). Last week, a set of eight reports were released simultaneously, showing that Citizens United “opened the floodgates to big money influence in our democracy, giving special interests and the wealthy more control over our government and economy than they’ve enjoyed since the Gilded Age of the late 19th century,” as Common Cause phrased it.

> Common Dreams: Super Bowl For The Rich: Upper-Class 91, Middle-Class 9  (Paul Bucheit). As the rest of us dutifully pay our taxes, we get blind-sided by wealthy individuals and corporations thata defer their taxes, stash income in tax havens, enjoy a special capital gains tax rate, invest their money in tax-free foundations, or simply don’t pay. 7 international companies, with a combined income last year of $74 billion, paid no taxes, and instead received a combined refund of nearly $2 billion.

ENGAGEMENT (• Goals • Activism • Solutions)

> Equities: The Journey Of Setting Up A Reuse And Repair Centre (Sophie Unwin).  We need to tell the stories of where things come from and where things go to, not just the waste of chucking things out, but the waste of all the energy put into mining and making the household goods and gadgets we so take for granted.

> Transition Network: Could You Live Zero Waste For A Year? (Rob Hopkins).  Jenny Rustemeyer, the woman behind thecleanbinproject blog, decided to live zero waste for a year”. She was struck by how the extravagant consumerism of modern society, and claims that her life became so much more enjoyable when she really simplified and didn’t have to think about buying unnecessary things.

> US/RTK: Seedy Business: What Big Food Is Hiding With Its Slick PR Campaign On GMOs (Gary Ruskin). This report, in pdf format, details how since 2012, the agrichemical and food industries have mounted a complex, multifaceted public relations, advertising, lobbying and political campaign in the U.S., costing more than $100 million, to defend genetically engineered food and crops and the pesticides that accompany them. Also related, a very informative 12-minute video: Don’t Swallow The Lies (Alan Lewis).

> Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: Agribusiness And Food Corporations Are Not People (Ben Lilliston). The good news is that a wide cross-section of advocacy organizations are uniting to turn the tide and reclaim our democracy. More than 120 organizations (including IATP), with priorities ranging from racial justice, to workers, to food and farming, to the environment, have signed Unity Principles to reform our political system.

> Slow Money: Slow Money Conference Follow-Up Video. This inspiring 10-minute video presents highlights of the 2014 Slow Money Conference Louisville, KY, including comments by Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Joel Salatin, and others speakers and participants. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wibR31YdDUY&feature=youtu.be).

EVENTS AND INFORMATION

> Minnesota Clean Energy & Jobs Day On The Hill, Mon., Feb. 2, 9:30am-4pm, Christ Lutheran Church (105 University Ave., St. Paul) and MN State Capitol, St. Paul. Registration Online: http://bit.ly/1392C4W; Info: 612-963-4757

> CERTs: CERTs 2015 Conference: Community Driven Clean Energy, March 10-11, 2015, St. Cloud, MN Agenda & Register to Attend

> Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/): Lots of Helpful Do-It-Yourself Information; See: 6 Ways To Make An Emergency Candle With Household Objects.

> Video Report: Sustainability Fair 2014, Nov. 20, Silverwood Park, St. Anthony Village, MN (http://youtu.be/ArKEk3Actlo)