Photo by ProgressOhio via flickr
Thanks to the natural gas industry, toxic waste and earthquakes are the next big thing in interstate trade. Ohio has been accepting the wastewater from Pennsylvania’s natural gas wells since July 2011, paying 20 cents or more per gallon. And now that same fracking wastewater is thought to be the cause of a string of earthquakes in Ohio.
Photo of Vandana Shiva by MillionsAgainstMonsanto via flickr
We live in a culture that is unsustainable and unjust. Our economic system is based on the objectification and exploitation of the planet, its “resources,” and of the workers who “develop” those “resources.” But perhaps there is no other group that understands the dynamic of objectification and oppression more than women.
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Based on a recent study of Congressional votes in 2011, there is no hope at all. 2011 is recorded as the most anti-environment Congressional year to date. And if the last 72 hours are any indication, this bill is sure to solidify this year’s place in history.
Photo by Zieak via flickr
A battle is raging on Capitol Hill over a bill that – among other things – would extend payroll tax cuts to 160 million American workers and extend unemployment benefits. Met with Republican opposition, provisions were added to the bill, supposedly intended to inspire compromise between parties. In reality, these new provisions effectively hold our economy and environment hostage for the sake of industry.
Photo via flickr by Alberto OG
Nuclear energy is touted as a green alternative to coal-fired power plants, as nuclear power plants release considerably lower emissions. The argument does not usually go much further than this. Soon, however, the state of Virginia will dig much deeper into this issue, and the health of its waterways depends on it.
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The Occupy Movement’s radical spirit continues to spread this week. It is forcing Americans to rethink their relationship to corporations in every aspect of their lives. The movement has quickly become the amplifier for the voices of a dozen smaller social movements, and each one that allies itself with OWS gains momentum.
Photo by compujeramey via flickr
Occupy Wall Street inspired numerous satellite Occupations around the world. The movement is forcing Americans to reconsider the connection between capital and government. It is inspiring students, the unemployed, elderly, and middle class to engage in revolutionary conversation and radical democracy. And judging by the increase in police brutality and state show of force, someone very powerful is getting uncomfortable.
Photo by David_Shankbone via flickr
As Occupiers continue to fight Wall Street’s monopoly on wealth and democracy, they are creating the world they want to live in, from organizing committees to generating their own media. We must realize that the process of organizing this movement is inextricable with the movement itself. Organizing and mobilizing participants is organic and democratic.
Photo by GunGirlNew via flickr
It has been a painstaking process, but Americans are waking up from a mind-numbing consumerist stupor.
In February the nation witnessed labor struggling against capitalist influence in Wisconsin politics when protesters occupied Madison’s capitol building. Tens of thousands marched in the streets in a fight to protect their rights, save their jobs, and end corporate influence on their state government.
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Silent People, Silent Spring
Americans are learning that their rights are deeply connected to the Rights of Nature. For quite a while, we had the luxury (stupidity) of trashing foreign lands for profit and our own energy needs. But now that we are increasing domestic extraction of resources – right from under our own feet – we are witnessing firsthand the consequences of our addiction to fossil fuels. We do not like what we see or smell or taste or drink.
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