Herd Immunity, Deathmaking and the Limits to Growth
Brian Davey describes how that the meaning of concepts such as 'herd immunity' tends to become degraded, and warns against complacency about the future.
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King Donald and his Court
Brian Davey argues that Trump's administration is a symptom of a crisis in US democratic institutions and US society, arising from over-complexity. This administration has made clever use of both old and new forms of media to galvanise support. Resistance needs to start on a local level.
Theresa O’Donohoe on empowering the disempowered
Theresa attended the Nov 4 workshop held by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on the national white policy paper on energy. Overall she found the workshop “a well run event, plenty of interaction with online input as well as those in the room”. But the power of the energy lobby made itself felt too. In her blog she writes “My only hope is that more public participation will dilute the energy lobby willing to capitalise on our planets resources for their own profits while they pollute the land, air and water. It is true that as consumers …
A Potent Nostalgia: Foreword
In his new book, organic farmer and Feasta member Patrick Noble makes the case that those of us who do real, tangible work - "trade's people" - hold the key to the future. He believes that we should not try to subdue or overthrow those who hold disproportionate power: instead we should simply ignore them and get on with things. This week we're publishing the book's foreword and in the course of the next few weeks we'll be publishing several other extracts from the book.
Danger ahead: prioritising risk avoidance in political and economic decision-making
In this week's excerpt from Fleeing Vesuvius, Brian Davey argues that since the financial and political components of the present system have now discredited themselves, a fluid situation exists that might allow more viable options to emerge. Local green initiatives, in particular the Transition Towns movement, are gaining in strength and number(s), but do they have the potential to develop the capacity needed at a national level to transform societies' energy and transport infrastructures?
