A recent op-ed in the Morning Call, 'Bike Lane on Broad street in Bethlehem: Why it's dangerous', dismisses all bike lanes as inherently dangerous. The worst thing about this op-ed is that it brings out many legitimate dangers created by poorly-designed bike lanes — but it’s like a propaganda piece, because it doesn’t explore alternatives. For example, it doesn’t even … [Read more...] about Bike Lanes for Broad Street?
Peter's blog
Thoughts on sustainability, regeneration, social justice, and more….
Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan – a call to Action!
During the summer, several students worked on a climate action project that’s especially relevant in light of the latest ‘Red Alert’ from the U.N. and the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]. While the students' work this summer centered on implementing Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, most of the information and ideas apply everywhere. This is … [Read more...] about Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan – a call to Action!
Israel & Palestine today
Because the corporate media and our elected officials refuse to tell the truth about what's happening in Palestine, here are a few articles that reveal the ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and apartheid of Israel. NOTE: It's important not to conflate Israel or zionism with Judaism or the Jewish people, who have a long history of advocating for universal human rights. In this … [Read more...] about Israel & Palestine today
2021 Summer internships
We've posted internship opportunities for this summer. Instead of centering on a single large project as we did in recent years, we're offering special versions of several internships we've offered during the year: Climate Action | Climate Justice (Summer 2021)Communication (Summer 2021)Community & Restorative Justice (Summer 2021)Editing & Publishing (Summer … [Read more...] about 2021 Summer internships
What was it like on January 6?
If you haven’t seen it yet, you might be interested in this video of AOC and what was a live conversation about the events of January 6, what needs to happen now, and the effects of trauma. AOC makes clear that hers is not the only story or the most important story — but it will give you an idea what it was like and why just 'moving on' is not a reasonable or acceptable option. … [Read more...] about What was it like on January 6?
More deadly than COVID
Recent studies confirm what scientists have long suspected: that air pollution kills about 250,000 people in the United States—every year! And that's in addition to the hundreds of thousands with strokes, respiratory infections, and other diseases caused by air pollution. The cost in life and in dollars is enormous, but we don't see our so-called leaders doing anything to save … [Read more...] about More deadly than COVID
Science on fracking harm
Health Professionals of NY and Physicians for Social Responsibility have released a newly-updated compendium of the medical and scientific evidence of the great harm done by fracking, a widely used and trusted resource. Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking [PDF] From the introduction: Public health harms now … [Read more...] about Science on fracking harm
Clean energy, batteries, & mining
Clean, renewable energy is essential for sustainability. The main problems with getting to 100% renewable energy are that solar and wind energy spend on weather and time of day, and this makes some sort of storage important. Improved and less expensive batteries are often touted as the solution to the intermittency of truly renewable energy. Unfortunately, the demand for … [Read more...] about Clean energy, batteries, & mining
Connecting the Dots (2)
PBS recently republished a column by Rusul Airubail titled 'Why educators still need to talk about 9/11 — and Islamophobia'. I think this applies equally to adults and is actually very closely related to current experiences of racism and violence. It is still critical to provide safe spaces for children and adults to discuss the wave of Islamophobia that swept the US, with … [Read more...] about Connecting the Dots (2)
Connecting the Dots (1)
The shutdown of many businesses and activities during the coronavirus lockdown resulted in a significant reduction in fossil-fuel use, and the low oil prices make it cheaper to make plastic from fossil fuels instead of recycling plastic. And this leads to lower demand and lower prices for recyclables — in many cases, they now go straight from your recycling bin to the … [Read more...] about Connecting the Dots (1)