Today, I went to see director Joe Berlinger’s new documentary Crude, about the toxic mess left behind when Texaco withdrew from the Ecuadorian Amazon in the 1990s. I listened to a man talk about how his little boy died 24 hours after a Texaco oil spill tainted the water supply. I watched mothers crying about […]
No Impact Man
Getting arrested in DC–or not
I wanted to put in one last plug for Monday, March 2nd’s Capital Climate Action, which begins at 1PM at Spirit Park of Justice (C St. SW and Capitol St SE, two blocks west of Capitol South Metro): Join thousands of people in a multi-generational act of civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant — a plant […]
How to skip the work travel, have a more leisurely life and save the planet
Want to know how to climb out of the cramped airline seats and stay home? Below is a guest article by Lloyd Alter of Treehugger, but by way of introduction, here’s a little excerpt from a New York Times piece by Joe Sharkey about his friend, Mr. Allen: I spoke with [Mr. Allen] a few […]
Pregnant with potential
Click on the image to enlarge. A friend told me today how, when traveling in Tuscany, she stopped in a chapel in Monterchi and was inspired by this painting by Piero della Francesca of the pregnant Madonna (La Madonna del Parto or the Madonna of childbirth). Francesca’s is the only known depiction of Madonna in […]
The most important factor in a balanced, sustainable lifestyle?
“I believe living a life that involves meditation, reflection, and/or prayer is the single greatest factor in moving to more balanced sustainable lifestyles. I think quiet retreat from the dominant culture is vital. I also think that individuals are incapable of staying the course alone, so I think supportive communities and groups are vital.” –Betsy […]
Want help a film about child poverty get made?
My friend Perch Ducote wrote to me: Hello my friends, as many of you know for the past year I have been working as an executive producer with Dan Karslake on a full feature documentary called EVERY THREE SECONDS. It’s about how we can bring an end to hunger on the planet. It is going […]
Want to come to Washington, DC with me?
As Kate Sheppard from Grist puts it: Some 10,000 young people will be descending on Washington, D.C., from Feb. 27 to March 2 for the Power Shift 2009 conference, where they’ll be organizing to put pressure on political leaders to take action on climate change. On the last day of the event, they’re planning a […]
Some good news, some bad
Yesterday I watched a video of Harvard psychologist Daniel Goleman’s talk at the 2007 TED (you can watch it here). Goleman discussed brain research which says we are hardwired for empathy and compassion. If we see someone in pain, we automatically want to help. Unless we aren’t paying attention. Goleman said that we get so […]