Long a strong advocate for healthier food and small growers, Health Care Without Harm points out in a recent fact sheet what should be obvious: ag policy is also health policy (& climate policy). By supporting agribusiness and unsustainable crops, the US government makes a choice to undermine small growers that follow true organic principles, thus rebuilding the … [Read more...] about Ag policy is health policy
Peter's blog
Thoughts on sustainability, regeneration, social justice, and more….
Thank you, Greta!
I think we all owe a debt of thanks to Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old from Sweden, for her speech calling out 'leaders' for their failure to lead! Some excerpts from her remarks (at COP-24 in Katowice, Poland): We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. So we have not come here to beg the world leaders to care for our future. … [Read more...] about Thank you, Greta!
Peter’s blog: A Tale of Two Disasters — and U.S. Response
On 9-11-2001, terrorists (mostly Saudi) attacked the World Trade Center in New York, killing 2996 people. The US allowed Saudis to leave the US after the attack and has maintained good relations with Saudi Arabia — while pouring trillions of dollars into war on Afghanistan and the Iraq. Those wars killed least half a million people, with estimates ranging as high as 1.2 … [Read more...] about Peter’s blog: A Tale of Two Disasters — and U.S. Response
Do you buy chocolate produced by slaves?
Those who buy chocolate (or coffee or tea or bananas or …) that does not follow international FairTrade standards are saving money by buying the products of exploitation. Demand that shops carry FairTrade and eliminate products based on exploiting others! Here's an update on the cacao/chocolate business. Hershey, Nestle, & M&M Mars are all part of the problem, … [Read more...] about Do you buy chocolate produced by slaves?
Peter’s blog: ‘Slavery & Prisons today’
Thanks to the 13th Amendment, a person convicted of a crime can be forced to work as punishment. And thanks to widespread racism in society, law enforcement, the courts, and the prison system, Black people are vastly more likely to wind up in prison. (See the two highly-recommended films listed at the bottom of this post.) In addition to working in the laundry or serving … [Read more...] about Peter’s blog: ‘Slavery & Prisons today’
Peter’s blog: ‘What could we be learning from others?’
A recent article by Janice Lee ('What Humanity Can Learn From Plants'), raises this question. It's well worth reading! Lee asks why we value 'scientific' knowledge over all other ways of knowing and points out some other limitations of our ways, such as rendering non-human living beings as 'it', as if they were inanimate objects. She suggests we could learn a lot from trees … [Read more...] about Peter’s blog: ‘What could we be learning from others?’
Peter’s blog: ‘Development can be sustainable — or destructive’
Some municipalities require impact assessments for proposed projects, but they often are inadequate or focus primarily on economic considerations. An integrated and comprehensive sustainability impact assessment is essential to understanding the range of inter-related impacts a project will have on climate change, community, health, environment, and economy. This summer, a … [Read more...] about Peter’s blog: ‘Development can be sustainable — or destructive’
Call to Action: Stop the FirstEnergy Bailout
Please send the following letter to protest the bailout requested by FirstEnergy: DATE President Donald J. Trump 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 37188 Honorable Rick Perry, Secretary Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20585 Dear President Trump/Secretary Perry I purchase electricity through the PJM Interconnection. I am writing to ask … [Read more...] about Call to Action: Stop the FirstEnergy Bailout
Voices of the Valley 2018
As we wait for copies of the 2018 Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet (now being printed), we invite you to check out the many great ideas in the Voices of the Valley section. Essays from the 2018 edition of Sustainable Lehigh Valley: Is There Hope for the Future?, by Alex Fischer The Paradox of “Nature”, by Andrew Goldman The Cycle of Discarding, by Briana VanBuskirk … [Read more...] about Voices of the Valley 2018
Acknowledging the original inhabitants of this area
We are located in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, an area that is a small part of what was Lenni-Lenapé territory. The Lenni-Lenape apparently were friendly and accommodating, until the settlers gradually — and often violently — forced them from their territory. We acknowledge the injustice and mistreatment indigenous people faced as a result of colonialism, and we recognize that … [Read more...] about Acknowledging the original inhabitants of this area