Think Like a Commoner: A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons by David Bollier (2014), https://www.newsociety.com/Books/T/Think-Like-a-Commoner. References below are from the kindle edition. This summary was produced in memory of and is dedicated to Goldman prize winner Isidro Baldenegro López and others working against illegal logging and land enclosure. Isidro was a leader of the Tarahumara community in the country’s northern …
Building new options to the extractivist sharing model
By Nathan Schneider, 21 Dec 2014 Image from OpenSource.com’s post, “Don’t Build a Better Mousetrap. Change the Business Model.“ One chilly morning last winter, I reconnected with an old friend, Joel Dietz, on a video chat. We hadn’t seen each other for years, and we’d each had several starts and stops in our lives since. He began telling me about his latest undertaking, …
47% of Jobs Will Disappear in the next 25 Years, According to Oxford University
By PHILIP PERRY, 27 Dec 2016, Big Think British Musicians. Ms. Dynamite. Getty Images. The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses …
Wind and solar cheaper, employ more – see where and how
We already published a great article from Nexus Media regarding Lazard’s new report showing the extremely low (and falling) costs of solar power and wind power. However, I’ve been wanting to highlight these awesome new findings since Larmion shared the updated report with us earlier this month, and I want to break out the amazing news in 5 specific ways. These are …
Climate aware economics being built from the bottom up, in five primary ways
By Steve RUSHTON, 8 December 2016, cross-posted Part I in this series explored seven ways that climate change could trigger the next financial crash. Part II looked at the ways big finance and oil use self-reinforcing mechanisms of power to remain seated atop the capitalist system. In Part III we turn our attention toward a climate-aware economics that is already being built from the …
Picking up the tab: small businesses pay the price for offshore tax havens by the large and wealthy
RELEASED BY: U.S. PIRG EDUCATION FUND, RELEASE DATE: TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, READ NEWS RELEASE, DOWNLOAD REPORT (PDF) Every year, corporations and wealthy individuals use complicated gimmicks to shift U.S. earnings to subsidiaries in offshore tax havens – countries with minimal or no taxes – in order to reduce their federal and state income tax liabilities by billions of dollars. While tax haven …
To deal with climate change we need a new financial system
Jason Hickel Cross-posted from The Guardian, 5 Nov 2016 Abolishing debt-based currency isn’t a new idea, but it could hold the secret to ending our economies’ environmentally damaging addiction to growth When it comes to global warming, we know that the real problem is not just fossil fuels – it is the logic of endless growth that is built into our …
Justice Department announces they will end the use of private prisons
“They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security.” The Justice Department just announced they would end the use of private prisons. Letting …
A simple fix with a big benefit: California lawmakers consider closing loophole to curb gas leaks
On Breaking Energy, August 16, 2016 After passing the State Assembly Appropriations committee on Wednesday, a little known bill – SB 1441 – is headed for the assembly floor, which is slated to deliver big benefits for consumers and the environment. Not only will the bill create a strong market driver for utilities to operate tighter infrastructure and save California consumers tens …
Employee ownership gaining popular and political support
By Neal St. Anthony, 4 Aug, Star Tribune A poll conducted several weeks ago by Public Policy Polling showed that two thirds of Americans “support the concept of companies being owned by their employees so that all workers share in their success.” Only 13 percent oppose the idea; 19 percent are unsure. The poll also found that 58 percent of …