We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, January 14, 2011

Extreme Weather Site

from The Huffington Post

Unlike any other post so far on my blog, this is a page, not an article on the Huffington website. However, as the incidents of extreme weather have increased in recent years, I felt that their postings on this page really capture the extreme weather occurring today. Although now we are witnessing mostly devastating floods, it was only last summer we saw severe droughts most notably in Russia and Australia. Mainstream media usually covers the events, but also usually omits any connection with climate change.

I found one exception yesterday at ABC News. Although as you can see, they still ask the question, "Is Wild Weather Evidence of Climate Change?", I find this rather encouraging.