Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Brad Smith The Occupy movement represents not only a stand against the tyranny of finance capitalism, but also a revival of the role of the commons for a vital civic life. People are once again coming together face-to-face and shoulder-to-shoulder to confront their common challenges and craft new ways to meet them. They are exploring what kind of life they can share with which to create a free, just, sustainable society.
The only way to describe what has happened to myself and a number of Occupy Vancouver organizers (and I suspect many other occupy organizers across the world) is to realize that we have been occupied by occupy! We have been captured and consumed by something that we don’t understand but that has served to rock our world; and that we know is something deeply important. Fortunately as we transition to Phase II (post encampment phase), we have some time to reflect.
Have you ever looked at a bizarre building design and wondered, “what were the architects thinking?” Have you looked at a supposedly “ecological” industrial-looking building, and questioned how it could be truly ecological? Or have you simply felt frustrated by a building that made you uncomfortable, or felt anger when a beautiful old building was razed and replaced with a contemporary eyesore? You might be forgiven for thinking “these architects must be blind!” New research shows that in a real sense, you might actually be right.
As fossil fuels become more expensive, so will chemical agriculture. The emerging science of soil ecology shows ways that food can be grown with less energy and pollution.
