Green Social Thought

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

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Topic: Less of What We Don’t Need

  • What is the ‘Green’ in ‘Green Growth’?

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    briant

    The discourse of “green growth” has gained ground in environmental governance deliberations and policy proposals. It is presented as a fresh and innovative agenda centered on the deployment of engineering sophistication, managerial acumen, and market mechanisms to redress the environmental and social derelictions of the existing development model. But the green growth project is deeply…

  • So where are the battery electric trucks?

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    henryr874

    Heavy-duty diesel-engine trucks (agricultural, cargo, mining, logging, construction, garbage, cement, 18-wheelers) are the main engines of civilization. Without them, no goods would be delivered, no food planted or harvested, no garbage picked up, no minerals mined, no concrete made, or oil and gas drilled to keep them all rolling. If trucks stopped running, gas stations,…

  • The Dark Side of Clean Energy in Mexico

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    fitzdon

    The Dark Side of Clean Energy in Mexico A palm hat worn down by time covers the face of Celestino Bortolo Teran, a 60-year-old Indigenous Zapotec man. He walks behind his ox team as they open furrows in the earth. A 17-year-old youth trails behind, sowing white, red and black corn, engaging in a ritual…

  • Diablo Shutdown Marks End of Atomic Era

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    rsburke

    Harvey Wasserman celebrates the end of the atomic era, but cautions that the fight is not over quite yet.

  • From Copenhagen to Delhi, ‘smart cities’ call for smart solutions – like cycling

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    by

    fitzdon

    The world's big cities are choking with pollution and endless traffic jams, writes Colin Todhunter – except one. Copenhagen, faced with these problems half a century ago, decided to act. Now it is showing the world that cycling is not just the basis of a sustainable transport strategy, but is key to making our cities…

  • Basic Income, Basic Issues

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    fitzdon

    Europe is an outsized indicator of the “shocking levels” of worldwide inequality. OXFAM’s September 2015 press release, “Increasing Inequality Plunging Millions More Europeans into Poverty”, makes a stark comparison between the “123 million people – almost a quarter of the EU’s population – at risk of living in poverty and its 342 billionaires”. Other reports…

  • The Desperate Plight of Petrostates

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    rsburke

    Once they were mighty, today they're in trouble! Michael T. Klare examines the fate of the "petrostate," ie; a state which funds itself primarily on oil procceds. In an age of the overproduction of that commodity leading to falling prices, facing the need to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, what were once seen as economic…

  • This Could be the Death of the Fossil Fuel Industry – Will the Rest of the Economy Go with It?

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    henryr874

    It's not looking good for the global fossil fuel industry. Although the world remains heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural gas — which today supply around 80 percent of our primary energy needs — the industry is rapidly crumbling. This is not merely a temporary blip, but a symptom of a deeper, long-term process…

  • Debacle at Doha: the Collapse of the Old Oil Order

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    rsburke

    Michael T. Klare examines the recent OPEC meeting in Doha, and extrapolates the future of oil producing countries.

  • Growing Vegetables in High-Rises: It’s Wrong on So Many Levels

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    by

    scox
    in

    Five-plus years after the publication of Dickson Despommier's book The Vertical Farm: Feeding Ourselves and The World in the 21st Century, his dream—originally conceived as the production of food in the interior of tall urban buildings—is gaining momentum despite many unanswered questions about its feasibility.   Although the fanciful skyscrapers depicted in countless architectural renderings…