Bill McKibben on “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough Planet” (video)

As part of his current book tour, author and climate activist Bill McKibben spoke at the First United Methodist Church in Boulder, CO on April 27, co-sponsored by Boulder Book Store and Transition Colorado. The video of his presentation is below, following the introduction that was given by Michael Brownlee, co-founder of Transition Colorado.

Peak Moment 167: Bag it! Packaging bulk foods with nitrogen

Nevada County locals Jim Wray and Loraine Webb demonstrate the how and why of packaging bulk foods with nitrogen. They’re using equipment available for community members to use at minimal cost. Jim demonstrates packaging: make plastic bags using a heat sealer, fill with foodstuffs, suck out the oxygen with a small vacuum, then replace the air with nitrogen and seal.

Arizona, Immigration, and the Demise of Manifest Destiny

By now, most of you have probably heard about Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, just signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer this past Friday. Surely this is an unjust law, by any definition. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (“Letter from Birmingham Jail”, par. 16).

The costs of complexity

Joseph Tainter’s The Collapse of Complex Societies has become one of the most-referenced books in those peak oil circles that have confronted the severity of the predicament the industrial world faces in the age of peak oil. From the offices of Goldman Sachs to the scorched wreckage of Deepwater Horizon on the bottom of the Gulf, an uncomfortable number of today’s iconic news stories are beginning to echo his argument.

Fix the economy, not Wall Street

Financial reform is the Congressional political issue of the month. Democrats say their bill will place essential controls on Wall Street to prevent abuse and a repeat of the financial crash. Republicans say it will encourage further Wall Street risk-taking by giving the big banks a guarantee of a future taxpayer bailout if reckless decisions trigger another financial crash.

Food and agriculture – Apr 27

-Food Preservation 101: Putting Canning In Perspective
-In Connecticut, Community-Supported Agriculture Gaining In Popularity
-Gardening by community growing in appeal
-A garden on every block
-Cuba’s urban-ag revival offers limited lessons
-The Triangle: The South’s Locavore Gem
-The AKG Sustainable Living Project podcast episode #4 transcript- Rain Water Harvesting
-Ancient orchards restored to save fruit and wildlife
-Community Land Sharing
-Global biofuel drive raises risk of eviction for African farmers

The consumption conundrum: driving the destruction abroad

Our high-tech products increasingly make use of rare metals, and mining those resources can have devastating environmental consequences. But if we block projects like the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, are we simply forcing mining activity to other parts of the world where protections may be far weaker?

Cochabamba postscript: lessons, reflections, and the road to Cancun

The World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (CMPCC, for its Spanish acronym) ended on Thursday in Cochabamba and every airport I’ve stopped in (more than a few now) has been filled with people heading home with new energy, new direction, and excitement to get back to work. But before the movement moves on I want to share some last reflections that we’ll be taking forward.