David Swanson U.S. high schools should teach courses on Guantanamo: what not to do in the world, how not to make it even worse, and how not to compound that catastrophe beyond all shame and recovery. As we tear down Confederate statues and continue brutalizing victims in Guantanamo, I wonder if in 2181, had Hollywood still been around, it would have made movies from the … [Read more...] about Guantanamo Past the Point of All Shame
Focus on Pages
The "Focus On" section provides in-depth information and opinion on many facets of sustainability. (Although these topics may appear quite distinct and separate, it’s important to remember that they are interconnected and interdependent in multiple ways — in general, the 4 basic principles of ecology apply to all complex systems.)
When you select a Focus On… topic, the system will select all the articles and posts in that category with the most recent pages at the top, just under a brief introduction to the topic. (Many articles appear in multiple categories.)
Background & detail information is organized into the main categories listed in the left sidebar.
Activism & Advocacy
A Green New Deal Program for California
C.J. Polychroniou: California has been at the forefront of the climate fight for years now, but the truth of the matter is that its efforts have been falling short. Now, you and some colleagues of yours at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have just completed a commissioned climate stabilization project for California … [Read more...] about A Green New Deal Program for California
Labor Unions Rally Behind California’s Zero-Emissions Climate Plan
C.J. Polychroniou: Since the idea of a Green New Deal entered into public consciousness, the debate about climate emergency is becoming increasingly polarized between those advocating “green growth” and those arguing in support of “degrowth.” What exactly does “degrowth” mean, and is this at the end of the day an economic or an ideological debate? Robert Pollin: Let me … [Read more...] about Labor Unions Rally Behind California’s Zero-Emissions Climate Plan
Notes from the Editor
Global capitalism’s race to the bottom (and for the bottom line) is not only generating runaway economic inequalities, social unrest, and political dysfunctionality, but also a race off the ecological cliff in the near future. A study that looked at average temperature and precipitation changes only, excluding the most extreme impacts, found that At least 85% of the world’s … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor
Implementing Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan
Editor's Note: All three reports were prepared before the IPCC's August 9 release of part 1 of the Sixth Assessment Report, which only confirms the urgency of the interns' recommendations! Editor's Note: This is the primary report from the Climate Action Project (summer 2021) ; it is complemented by reports that focus on development ('Build Sustainably — for Business … [Read more...] about Implementing Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan
Be Very Revolutionary
FRANCA ROIBAL FERNANDEZ I would like to invite everyone to think and reflect upon the intersectional ways in which so many of us are marginalized, and the ways we continue to fight to abolish the systems of oppression responsible for so much of the injustice that, while many have the privilege of assuming it is a new phenomenon or of having learned about this recently, it … [Read more...] about Be Very Revolutionary
Skylab and the Sit-Down Strike in Space
LENNY FLANK It was a one-of-a-kind event: in 1972, during a mission on the Skylab space station, a group of American astronauts, frustrated by an unreasonable work schedule, organized their own version of a sit-down strike in space. They won all their demands, but in the end, NASA had its final revenge. In 1972, NASA launched “Skylab”, a space station cobbled together … [Read more...] about Skylab and the Sit-Down Strike in Space
We Must Fight the System, Not Each Other
ELAHEH FARMAND Once a year on our immigration anniversary, my mother and I reflect on our journey from Iran to the United States. In the past, we would celebrate the freedoms we were given in America, embrace the struggles we endured as immigrants to settle in a new home, and learn not only a new language, but also a new way of living, a new culture, a new dream. But if … [Read more...] about We Must Fight the System, Not Each Other
Class Conflict and the Amazon Union Drive in Alabama
TED MORGAN Karl Marx identified the central contradiction of capitalism as the antagonistic relationship between workers and their capitalist employers. As Michael Yates has put it, “the essence of this relationship is the exploitation of the workers, the extraction of a surplus by the employers from their labor, necessary to fuel the accumulation of capital in a milieu of … [Read more...] about Class Conflict and the Amazon Union Drive in Alabama
The Pandemic Housework Dilemma Is Whitewashed
NICOLE FROIO Since the start of the pandemic, an old dilemma has been revived: the unequal gendered division of housework in the home. For middle-class workers who have been working from home to avoid the coronavirus, the home now functions as an office, online school, gym, leisure space, and whatever else is necessary, which has doubled — if not tripled — the housework to … [Read more...] about The Pandemic Housework Dilemma Is Whitewashed