A handbook for rebellion

Michael Welch, writing at The Uniter

Whatever the cause, be it climate justice, indigenous solidarity, labour activism, Palestine solidarity, feminism, etc., there is very often a book or books that have helped to shape the dialogue around today’s societal challenges and moulded today’s shit disturbers.

I wasn't able to attend this years Anarchist Bookfair, it's too bad it's only an annual event. I would have loved to take part in the type of discourse that took place with so many activists and causes all in the same place.

Valuing the Earth and Future Generations: Imagining Post-Capitalism

I recently discovered the plethora of talks Kim Stanley Robinson has done about how human society may conceivably operate in the future.

Unlike many other science fiction authors Robinson embraces the complexity of human evolution and our relationship with technology. His books do not read like science fiction action movies, rather they are epic speculations looking at all the frameworks of society including the economic and political systems and how they may be forced to change and adapt as a result of the global environmental crisis and new technologies.

Robinson says he is an optimist, you can take this as such in that many of his books take place in a future where humans have managed to survive beyond peak oil, global warming, and global Capitalist-Feudalism.

In this particular talk^* Robinson outlines many of the realities humans will be forced to address and what the future 200 years from now might look like. If you've read his most recent novel 2312 many of these ideas will be familiar to you.

^*FYI it's a fairly lengthy talk, don't let that discourage you from watching it, but be forewarned it's not just for passive consumption.

Growth Is the Problem

Chris Hedges, from Truthdig:

Survival will be determined by localities. Communities will have to create collectives to grow their own food and provide for their security, education, financial systems and self-governance

Once again Chris Hedges iterates what I keep hearing from progressives and people worried about the state of the world: we need strong communities to survive.

I linked to this article on Twitter the other day and got a lot of criticism due to the pessimistic nature of the article. Many feel that this "doomsday" attitude is something that every generation feels and that it is unfounded. This may be true, however I'd argue that there is significant evidence that ecological crisis will be the catalyst for radical global change. Even if you don't believe this is the case it's hard to debate Hedges main point that encouraging strong communities is the best way to safeguard the future.

Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt: Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco

I just pre-ordered Chris Hedges' newest book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. The book is a collaboration with graphic artist, Joe Sacco, who brings the desperate realities of class warfare to life with his beautiful and tragic illustrations alongside Hedges' words.

In preparation for the book's release Chris Hedges has been making the rounds to some of the more civilized talk shows. His recent interview with Moyers & Company can be seen on Bill Moyer's blog.

(Via Truthdig)

How the West Was Lost

The Atlantic Wire:

The green represents Native American land, and any part that turns white was ceded. She writes: "Made because I was having trouble visualizing the sheer scale of the land loss, and reading numbers like 'blah blah million acres' wasn’t really doing it for me." Numbers wise, the amount of green land shown after 1895 is about 2.3 percent of the original size.

The animated gif was created by sunisup and posted to her tumblr account.

Two things came to mind after seeing this image: 1) Not only does this map illustrate the loss of land it also illustrates the mass murder of a diverse group of cultures; 2)I'd like to see a similar image of Canada.

There is no doubt that current inhabitants of North America are living on occupied land and it would best if we all kept that in mind when we start feeling all warm and fuzzy and patriotic.

Food production in remote locations

Anna Mehler Paperny, writing for the Globe and Mail

Researchers have figured out how to build high-tech, winter-resistant vegetative incubators. The hard part is making northern greenhouses capable of supporting themselves financially. That means operating year-round, employing locals and selling enough produce to break even.

I'm currently reading 2312, a novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, in which humans have created self-sustainable colonies all over the solar system, from Mercury to carved out asteroids. I realize the year 2312 is quite a ways away, however even now as I type this NASA is working on ways of producing food in controlled environments in preparation for future manned missions to Mars.

Ramit Plushnick-Masti, writing for the Associated Press:

One option Cooper and her staff in the Johnson Space Center in Houston are considering is having the astronauts care for a "Martian greenhouse." They would have a variety of fruits and vegetables — from carrots to bell peppers — in a hydroponic solution, meaning they would be planted in mineral-laced water instead of soil. The astronauts would care for their garden and then use those ingredients, combined with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals.¹

If we can develop the technology and sustain the resources necessary for colonizing planetary bodies other than Terra Prime, than I have complete confidence that providing high quality reasonably priced produce for communities in the far north is well within the realm of possibility.

Anna Mehler Paperny, again from the Globe and Mail

One of the biggest hurdles is making this more than just a government handout that’s airlifted in and withers when federal funding runs out. Planners hope greenhouses will help communities to feed and employ themselves, creating a local food initiative far outside the natural terrain of the produce they grow. “I don’t see government subsidizing this in the long haul,” said agri-environment technical director Larry Lenton, who is spearheading the project. “This has to stand on its own.”

I get the need to have these greenhouses be sustainable without years of government subsidies. Yet, I find the emphasis on the fact that the government is not willing to devote much money to keeping the project alive suspicious given the fact that the same government has been subsidizing the asbestos export industry and are well known for their support of the oil industry. Compared to those massive and environmentally destructive industries, greenhouses seem like a much more worthy source of government money.

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¹Fun fact: menu options for astronauts headed to Mars will be strictly vegan because meat and dairy have proven to be too difficult to preserve on long voyages.