Green Social Thought

Produce less. Distribute it fairly. Create a greener world for all.

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  • The Philosopher of Utopia

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    by

    rsburke
    in

    Herbert Marcuse was so far in advance of his time that in many ways the world-left has yet to catch up with his legacy. He glimpsed the implications of women’s rights, environmentalism, and sexual liberation for a new kind of socialism at a time in which these concerns were largely downplayed and ignored by the…

  • Forgiving Debt to Invest in Environmental Healing

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    by

    fitzdon
    in

    Forgiving Debt to Invest in Environmental Healing   Fir seedling, in author’s hand [photo by author] “I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is.” —Greta Thunberg The US economy is awash in debt. As of the fourth quarter of 2018, household debt in the US totaled $13.54 trillion.…

  • Fantasy and Fatality in the Facebook Era: A Lamentation for My Father

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    by

    fitzdon
    in

    Fantasy and Fatality in the Facebook Era: A Lamentation for My Father Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. –James Baldwin Seven weeks ago, my father died – abruptly, unexpectedly, and prematurely. I say that as a simple matter of fact because despite my utter…

  • Ozone-Depleting CFCs Return

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    by

    henryr874
    in

    In August of 1987 the world came together after a panic attack over ongoing depletion of atmospheric ozone: The Ozone Hole.  Subsequently, global agreements to stop ozone depletion became the first ever “universally ratified treaties in UN history.” The world banned chlorofluorocarbons CFCs. Thereafter, an era of good feeling about ozone restoration swept the world…

  • The Bankers’ “Power Revolution”: How the Government Got Shackled by Debt

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    by

    rsburke
    in

    This article is excerpted from my new book Banking on the People: Democratizing Money in the Digital Age, available in paperback June 1. The U.S. federal debt has more than doubled since the 2008 financial crisis, shooting up from $9.4 trillion in mid-2008 to over $22 trillion in April 2019. The debt is never paid off. The government…

  • As Reactors Shut in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Nuke War Rages in Ohio and New York

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    by

    henryr874
    in

    As the nuke power industry slumps toward oblivion, two huge reactors are shutting in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.  The shutdowns are a body blow to atomic energy. The soaring costs of the decayed US reactor fleet have forced them to beg gerrymandered state legislatures for huge bailouts.  Just two US reactors are still being built. Stuffed…

  • Meditation Cannot Save the World

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    by

    rsburke
    in

    Many of the so-called spiritual people–who are into meditation, exploring higher states of consciousness or   nondualism,   psychic phenomena,  and other   spiritually transformative experiences–have the belief that if a sufficient number of people are transformed by these experiences, then that alone will dramatically improve the world.  Many have expressed the sentiment that we don’t need to…

  • Venezuelan Communes Protect the State

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    by

    rsburke
    in

    Direct democracy works like a charm. Check out Venezuela’s Communes….   Venezuela’s ubiquitous Communes are proof that direct democracy works. And, interestingly enough, those same Communes are powerful buffers to attempted coups, protecting the sanctity of direct democracy in their country.   In all likelihood, John Bolton and Trump and Pence and Pompeo and Rubio…

  • Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes

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    by

    rsburke
    in

    America’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at the prestigious Arctic Council biannual meeting in Finland, christened the Arctic meltdown: “A wonderful economic opportunity for international trade.” In a nutshell, here’s a critique of the Secretary’s advice: An ice-free Arctic reduces travel time for shipping lanes between Asia and the West by three weeks, which…

  • Silent Spring’s Encore

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    by

    henryr874
    in

    Rachel Carson’s famous and brilliant book Silent Spring (1962), which single-handedly ignited the environmental movement, has never been more relevant than it is today.  A mimeo of Silent Spring is scheduled for publication by the UN as the most comprehensive study of life on the planet ever undertaken, an 1,800-page study by the world’s leading…