The following pages invite a radical type of societal and self reflection prompted by the connections drawn between climate change and other systemic issues. They are all related symptoms of a defunct system based on overconsumption and resource inequality. We invite you to imagine a world that’s more equitable for everyone — not just a select few with extreme wealth or luck. … [Read more...] about Welcome to our 20th issue!
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.
Community & Culture
Strong communities allow more sustainable practices to empower the people to create a more sustainable society.
Working together on common interests creates opportunities for both personal and community growth, promotes involvement in the arts and local government, and fosters equality.
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
A Few Comments on the Origins of Great Wealth
GARY OLSON F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The rich are very different from you and me,” to which Ernest Hemingway replied, “Yes, they have more money.” Another retort might be a variation on the quote attributed to Honore de Balzac, “The secret behind every great fortune is a great theft.” There are 657 billionaires in the United States whose combined wealth grew more than $1.7 … [Read more...] about A Few Comments on the Origins of Great Wealth
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
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
What Would a Deep Green New Deal Look Like?
DON FITZ The Green New Deal has attracted perhaps the greatest attention of any proposal for decades. It would guarantee Medicare-for-All, Housing-for-All, student loan forgiveness and propose the largest economic growth in human history to address unemployment and climate change. But the last of these hits a stumbling block. Creation of all forms of energy contributes to … [Read more...] about What Would a Deep Green New Deal Look Like?
Whiteness
ROBERT JENSEN Is the United States making progress in the quest to transcend its White-supremacist history? After the end of Jim Crow and legal racial segregation, the debate was over how and to what degree racism endured in less visible ways, with some arguing that the United States had become a “post-racial” society? That debate evaporated with the re-emergence in the … [Read more...] about Whiteness
Do You Belong Here?
Miranda Davis Miranda is a Graphic Design/Illustration student at East Stroudsburg University. She describes her work as “a love letter to the black community and an acknowledgment of the trials found within and how the absolute comfort of the privileged majority prevents a seat at the table for minorities”. Return to spring 2021 Table of Contents … [Read more...] about Do You Belong Here?
20/20 Vision: Eyes On Hunger
To make the slides larger, try having your browser zoom in (Ctrl+ on Windows, ⌘+ on a Mac). Alternatively, download the PDF version of Sustainable Lehigh Valley so you can view with complete control. A collaboration of Easton Hunger Coalition, Nurture Nature Center, and nine high-school artists. … [Read more...] about 20/20 Vision: Eyes On Hunger
Recognizing the Original People of This Area
We are located in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, a small part of Lenapehoking, the home of the Lenape people for thousands of years. We understand that the Lenape were friendly and helpful — until the settlers gradually, and often violently, forced them out. We acknowledge the injustice and mistreatment Indigenous people faced (and still face) as a result of settler … [Read more...] about Recognizing the Original People of This Area