The good news: The changes we must make to avoid ultimate collapse are identical to the changes we must make to create the world of our common dream. By David Korten The story of purple America is part of a yet larger human story. For all the cultural differences reflected in our richly varied customs, […]
Reducing Our Speed
Why do we call life a journey and rush through it like it’s a race with a prize at the end? Or is it that all these racing metaphors for life are simply wrong?
Bees for My Backyard
I’ve been interested in keeping bees for at least a couple of decades, probably since reading Sue Hubbell’s A Book of Bees. Hubbell, once a New York librarian, had moved to the Ozarks and taken up beekeeping as a livelihood. She wrote lyrically of the yearly rhythm of beekeeping, and the keen observation of bee behavior and of flowers in bloom that the bees inspired.
The Story of Electronics
In this innovative video, Annie Leonard explains why “designed for the dump” electronics are toxic to people and the planet … and what to do about it.
Why Talk to Strangers?
I don’t know why I started the Stranger Dinners. Maybe it was out of loneliness. I was living in a new town with my two best friends, having just graduated from college where hundreds of familiar and interesting faces would greet me as soon as I walked out my door…
Rocking the Cynical World
Why iconic political singer-songwriter Billy Bragg confronts fascists, Tea Parties, Glenn Beck — and his own fans.
The Last Hospice
“I’m a volunteer at Maitri, the only remaining AIDS hospice in San Francisco,” writes Lisa Katayama. “Once a week, I hang out with its 15 residents, run errands for them, and — sometimes — sit at their bedsides as they go through the process of dying. I do it because I like to face my fears, and death is the one thing that I fear the most.”
Raffi: Building A World Fit for Children
“A world fit for children.” Would you vote for that?” asks Raffi Cavoukian, the famous singer-songwriter who is championing a global movement to put children’s rights at the center of our collective decisions.
Stereotype Me
When my boyfriend tells Americans he’s dating a Swedish girl, eyebrows invariably rise. Women flutter a smile, and an “Oh,” tinged with disapproval. Men whoop “Way to go!” and wink suggestively. If American pop culture is to be trusted, a Swedish girl is: blonde, big-breasted, willing, kinky, slutty.
Letter from a Bully
A writer remembers a girl she was unkind to in school — and wishes she could say “I’m sorry.”