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

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Paris Climate Talks: What's at Stake for the World's Coasts

Click here to access article by Zahra Hirji and Paul Horn from Inside Climate News.
Infographic outlines how sea level rise triggered by climate change will permanently alter coastlines and how much the resulting damage will cost.
Rising sea levels are mostly a future threat, but an article entitled "Blame Western companies for Southeast Asia’s toxic haze" describes a current threat to the health of people in some parts of the world where industries are concentrated to produce goods for Western consumers.