“Soy América Latina/un pueblo sin piernas pero que camina1.” Calle 13 Calle 13, a Puerto Rican duo made up of brothers René Pérez Joglar and Eduardo José Cabral Martínez, started out as a reggaetón group whose songs have always had an intellectual and literary depth rarely found in contemporary reggaetón2. They began to expand their musical style repertoire in around 2009 to … [Read more...] about Venezuela, Capitalism, and White Supremacy
Save the Bees (& all pollinators)
The 5 best steps Lehigh Valley homeowners can take to increase pollinator populations. Our reliance on pollinators as a human race should not be understated—one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of them. In the United States, honey bees and wild bees contribute $20 billion each to agriculture and industries that depend on agriculture. But pollinators are … [Read more...] about Save the Bees (& all pollinators)
Whither the Poor People’s Campaign?
by Gary Olson Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn me ‘roundTurn me ‘roundAin’t gonna let nobody Turn me aroundI’m gonna keep on walkin’ Keep on talkin’ Marching into freedom land I joined the Poor People’s Campaign because I sensed that it has more transformative potential than anything that’s come along in over five decades. In a previous post/article I praised the PPC for its … [Read more...] about Whither the Poor People’s Campaign?
A Brief Thought Experiment
by Gary Olson Recently I‘ve tried to make the case that only presidential aspirants who are vetted by the oligarchic elite, deep state, plutocracy or whatever nomenclature you prefer, have any chance of reaching the Oval Office. Further, as the chief administrative officer for the capitalist state, they often implement policies consistent with those of a psychopath. And they … [Read more...] about A Brief Thought Experiment
Tackling TINA: Imagining a World Beyond Capitalism
by Adam Heidebrink-Bruno Two years ago, I entered the Literature and Social Justice Masters program at Lehigh University anxious to study the relationship between narrative and political action. Having just left the digital publishing and advertising industry, I knew too well how popular media narratives structure contemporary U.S. values, often in ways that trouble me. … [Read more...] about Tackling TINA: Imagining a World Beyond Capitalism
Let’s Shoot for the Moon! Again!
by Sheila Gallagher It’s 2015. Have we reached the point of “Now or Nothing”? Climate chaos is reigning. We know we cannot survive on a dead planet, yet we forge forward, fracking for that ever elusive, pre-historic fossil fuel locked deep within our native rocks, literally under our feet. It will give some untold wealth! Others, jobs! Heat for our homes and businesses! … [Read more...] about Let’s Shoot for the Moon! Again!
What Do We Want? When? How?
by Martin Boksenbaum “What do we want?”, someone would call out in a sixties civil rights protest line. The protest line would respond, loud and clear, "Freedom!" Given the many troubling matters we are facing, there could be many different kinds of protest lines, each with its own what-do-we-want answers: Freedom, Democracy, A Healthy Environment, LGBT Rights, Peace, … [Read more...] about What Do We Want? When? How?
Climate Action Planning –Acknowledgments
About the Alliance and the 2019 Summer Internship Project on Climate Action Planning The Alliance for Sustainable Communities–Lehigh Valley is a nonprofit organization that focuses on a wide variety of environmental and social justice issues that contribute to more-sustainable communities. Based in Bethlehem, PA, the Alliance has been active since 2003 and offers summer, … [Read more...] about Climate Action Planning –Acknowledgments
Climate Action Planning for the Lehigh Valley
→ Executive Summary Introduction Across the nation, cities are responding to climate change by implementing local policies and initiatives. In particular, municipalities have created climate action plans as a way to assess and plan for the issues that they face, and will face. These plans contain mitigation strategies to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and … [Read more...] about Climate Action Planning for the Lehigh Valley
Sustainability Practices for Cafés & Restaurants
→ Executive Summary Introduction We live in a world filled with concerns about climate change, food and health, pollution and degradation of the environment, and other aspects of sustainability. Unfortunately, the problems are growing at exponential rates. When we look at the causes, it becomes clear that many of our current practices cause or contribute to the problems. … [Read more...] about Sustainability Practices for Cafés & Restaurants