Envision a society where economic opportunity, social justice and sustainable culture all spring from environmental stewardship. Imagine a world where nurturing the health of the planet is the catalyst for global financial success and social stability. Can you? -- Ten years ago, fourteen business owners in Portland, Oregon did just that. Using a sustainability tool called The Natural Step...
This film, produced by a student workshop in Arizona State University's School of Sustainability, documents communities creating visions and strategies for justice and sustainability in South Phoenix. It tackles issues of health, environmental justice, urban history and segregation, food security and neighborhood organizing through the eyes of local community leaders.
My aim in this essay is to explore the history of the terms sustainable and sustainability , and their various published definitions, and then to offer a set of five axioms (based on a review of the literature) to help clarify the characteristics of a durable society. The essence of the term sustainable is simple enough: “that which can be maintained over time.” By...
Agenda 21: It’s the biggest threat to your freedom, and unless you regularly attend yahoo-filled local planning and zoning meetings , you’ve probably never even heard of it. Until recently, this 20-year-old United Nations plan to promote “sustainable development” was known only to stalwart defenders of Liberty and Freedom like the John Birch Society. But the...
In a solidarity economy, our needs are met by exchanging goods, services, resources and knowledge in ways that advance core values of justice, democracy, cooperation, and ecological sustainability. Produced by Caroline Woolard, Cheyenna Weber, and Michael Johnson of SolidarityNYC. Photographed and Edited Alex Mallis. Music by Michael Rosen. Help us share this and other stories of New...
Natural World: Farm for the Future BBC documentary on the precient global farming and food crisis, filmed in the UK. Topics covered are the influence of oil on the food production, peak-oil, food security, carbon emissions, sustainability and permaculture.
Trading on Thin Air explains the methods used by the financial oligarchy to extract the wealth of the nation and how the same strategy is being used to subvert a movement for conservation and sustainability and harness it to create the next big bubble.
Tour Scott McGuire's "White Sage Gardens" in the back yard of his rental home -- a demonstration site for suburban sustainability. He ponders, "How might a household produce and preserve a significant portion of its own food supply?" Composting, a water-conserving greenhouse, and seed-saving are all facets of this beautiful work in progress.
Earth needs humans to figure out our shared destiny, says Alan Seid, whose interest is both the outer and inner dimensions of sustainability. Outside there's ecology, social systems and economics (e.g., in Permaculture). Inside is the psychological dimension of personal and group values and intentions. How do we meet people where they are, engender respect, promote crucial information-sharing...
In a new video series on sustainability, filmmaker Alexia Prichard focuses on shelter, food, water, waste & community. In this first installment we meet architect and author Sarah Susanka (the "Not So Big House" series) to learn about the true meaning of "home."
In this final installment of the "Shelter" segment of the Sustainability Series, we meet Dr. Eugene Tsui, a non-traditional architect whose design inspiration comes from nature and all the brilliant systems and methods found therein. Dr. Tsui shows us city designs inspired by termites, and gives us a tour of his parents' house, a futuristic-looking structure that has some calling it "The Fish...
How do we change the world? Change the story. "The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation." ~ Once the story our world is built on reflects the reality of interconnection, we will be on a true path towards sustainability. The speaker is Charles Eisenstein (author of 'The Ascent of Humanity' and 'Sacred Economics').
The world wants green energy and low-priced fat. To meet these demands, international conglomerates build oil palm plantations as far as the eye can see -- and cut down the rainforest in exchange. Sustainability certificates and eco-labels are meant to set the consumers' minds at ease.
This week, Cenk Uygur sits down with Peter Joseph, founder of the Zeitgeist movement and creator of Zeitgeist: Moving Forward . The Zeitgeist movement's goal is to create global sustainability by changing established social systems. Can people save the world by changing socially? Is the market economy responsible for corruption, and is it serving its original purpose? Does the market...
In a solidarity economy, our needs are met by exchanging goods, services, resources, and knowledge in ways that advance core values of justice, democracy, cooperation, and ecological sustainability. Portraits of the Solidarity Economy is a film series exploring the stories and motivations of New York City's solidarity economy leaders. You can view a map of solidarity organizations and...
A Thousand Suns tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region. This isolated area has remained remarkably intact both biologically and culturally. It is one of the most densely populated rural regions of Africa yet its people have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years. Shot in Ethiopia, New York and Kenya, the...
Nature teaches us that no system is truly isolated and positive synergies are often at work. Yet the isolation of the various technological disciplines in our educational and industrial institutions has limited synergy in the human-built world. These walls are starting to break down. A seminal founder of Green Chemistry, Dr. John Warner explores the opportunities to learn from nature...
If we can make radical changes in how we think about our relationship to nature and economic growth, we will see restored, vibrant ecosystems and healthy, prosperous farmers, cows, consumers, employees, investors and future children. So says the iconic food entrepreneur Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield Farm, the world's largest organic yogurt company that he helped start 27 years ago. In...
The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day) employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive...
Asking “wouldn’t it be wonderful if our city could feed itself?” Joe Leitch ponders everybody in Portland planting a chestnut tree. Pam Leitch relates how they both left the corporate world after reading the book “Your Money or Your Life”. As educators on sustainability and resource depletion, permaculture and social justice, they soon learned of Peak Oil. Pam initiated bringing a Peak Oil...
Oct 8th 2011, Marina Del Rey California. This program considers the quality of our beliefs, actions and intents within the overarching context of what supports good public health, prosperity and sustainability and what does not. The subjects of Politics, Economics and Religious Philosophy is broadly considered, with one basic question asked: Are the dominant views of reality today and the...
David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' -- what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die". Filmed before a live audience, in front of a memory box of moving, distilled images, he articulates a core, urgent message: we have exhausted the limits of the biosphere and it is...
As corporate media fails to provide accurate news of the world's dire environmental predicament, the Earth sends a clear message in the form of record-breaking natural disasters, famine and epidemics. People are mobilizing for what lies ahead. In May 2007, the 8th International Permaculture Convergence (IPC8) was held in Brazil, bringing together visionary activists from 43 countries in the...
The Española Farmers Market and Cultural Center is at 1005 North Railroad Avenue in Española, New Mexico. The market opens in mid June of each year and runs through October. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., every Monday. The outdoor farmers market has fresh fruits, vegetables, and specialty items. Plus plenty of parking, lots of fun, food samples, and more. The market is about educating...
Honorable Tony Burke MP, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, PO Box 6022, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600. Dear Minister I and a broad section of the Australian Community are absolutely sickened by the events that are taking place at the James Price Point gas hub site in the Kimberley's. I have attached two pictures...
In Brief : There will be at least 100 million more Americans by 2050, and likely 150 million more. Yet the cities that will house them are so spatially and economically unstable that it is impossible to do much beyond superficial sustainability planning. One solution is to anchor and recycle wealth in communities, using locally owned businesses as bulwarks against uncontrolled economic forces...
Bali does have a garbage problem. But it also has the solutions. Garbage is increasingly becoming a concern for locals and tourists alike, detracting from the natural beauty of Bali. Illegal dumping, burning of garbage, and a lack of access to recycling facilities means that Bali’s air, land and water, and all those who live, work and play in it, battle pollution daily. But the problem...
Sustainability in Exile: Tibetan Farmers Cultivating Compassion. Produced by Dr. Jonathan Scherch , Mr. Lobsang Tsering and a team of university students and professional advisors, the film builds on Scherch's
The political and economic policies that have shaped our world today systematically favor large, transnational corporations over small local businesses and farmers, ecological health and community well-being. In short, they favor economic growth and corporate profits over the needs of people and the planet. A new approach to economic policy, from the global to the local, is desperately needed...
CALL TO ACTION: Tell Kamehameha Schools to end genetic and chemical contamination of Ali'i Trust Lands! Dee Jay Mailer CEO, Kamehameha Schools demaile@ksbe.org Christopher Pating VP of Strategic Planning & Implementation, Kamehameha Schools chpatin@ksbe.org Kamehameha Schools Administrative Office: 808.523.6200 For over 20 years, Hawai'i has been the global center for the...
Chris Bedford and Shelley Morhaim made this award winning 56 minute long film on the sustainability revolution in materials and manufacturing. "The Next Industrial Revolution" tells the story of architect William McDonough's and chemist Michael Braungart's work to redesign the industrial material economy to "work with Nature, not against it." McDonough is also well known for advocating the...
What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you're renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building...
“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Emmanuel of Oakland, California, responded when asked about carrying a reusable shopping bag. “It looks like a man-purse.” 1 Emmanuel was part of a recent OgilvyEarth study entitled, Mainstream Green: Moving Sustainability from Niche to Normal , which investigated the discrepancy between Americans’ actions and intentions...
The Bottleneck. The Great Disruption. Peak Everything. The Great Turning. Whatever you call it, it's the big enchilada. In the words of filmmaker Tom Shadyac, "The shift is hitting the fan." We're experiencing the dawn of a revolutionary transformation. This awkward 'tween state marks the end of pre-history - the sunset of an ecologically illiterate civilization. Like a baby being born, a...
An irony of modern life is that, in spite of spectacular increases in material abundance and centuries of technological progress, hunter-gatherers, people who have lived with almost no material possessions, have enjoyed lives in many ways as satisfying and rewarding as lives led in the industrial North. Many hunter-gatherer societies have been affluent in the sense of having everything they...
This 30-minute documentary focuses on Permaculture and Organic Farming in South Africa and what it can do to transform society at a grass roots level, to create sustainable lives for individuals, communities and South Africa as a whole. The documentary aims to educate the youth of SA on the importance of food security and introduces a holistic approach to utilize our countries abundant, yet...
Growing Change follows the filmmaker's journey to understand why current food systems leave hundreds of millions of people in hunger. It's a journey to understand how the world will feed itself in the future in the face of major environmental challenges. Part 2 is the Trailer Show Your Support for the Film-Makers. Donate $5 or Buy the DVD. The documentary...
Interest charges are a strongly regressive tax that the poor pay to the rich. A public banking system could realize savings up to 40 percent - allowing taxes to be cut, services increased and market stability created - with banks feeding the economy rather than feeding off it. In the 2012 edition of Occupy Money released last week, Professor Margrit Kennedy writes that a stunning 35...
Preamble We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common...
Started in late 2008, The Zeitgeist Movement exists as the communication and "Activist Arm" of an organization called The Venus Project. The Venus Project was started many decades ago by Social/Industrial Designer Jacque Fresco and his life's work has been to address and overcome the lack of sustainability existing currently across the world and to work to incorporate new methods and values...
This 70 minute presentation by Zeitgeist/Zeitgeist: Addendum creator Peter Joseph was given on July 25th 2009 in London, and expands on the ideas presented in the Zeitgeist Movement Orientation Presentation. A must watch for those keeping up with the series of films. Topics include: There is no "they." What are the root causes of our global problems? Why traditional green activist...
Films For Action's City Chapter websites aim to provide a definitive web-based resource for the activist community of that city. By providing a robust set of information and communication tools geared to amplify the impact of local efforts, the website serves to build synergy and momentum to affect dramatic and radical change at a city-wide level. We believe an informed, well connected, and...
Ted Trainer is one of the wisest, boldest, and most dedicated advocates of The Simpler Way. In 2010 he published a book called, The Transition to a Sustainable and Just World , and I have to say that it is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. If you only have time to read one more book in your life, consider reading this one. It speaks directly to our global situation and...
When we try to engage people politically we never know who will respond, or when someone will shift from reveling in their apathy to taking powerful public stands. Here's a striking example of one such transformation. Virginia Tech freshman Angie De Soto didn't vote in the 2004 election. The president, she thought, had nothing to do with her life. She didn't care who won. Instead, she and...
Have you ever had a dream that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? The Matrix Just imagine having no choice but to undergo a mental and spiritual reconfiguration process, having to update your internal belief and operational faculties due to being privy to new...
Films For Action is a local and international organization dedicated to providing you with the information and perspectives essential to creating a more just, sustainable, and democratic society. Along these lines we are many things. We're community film screening organizers. We're an alternative news center. We're a problem/solutions learning library. We're an international and city-focused...
Lawrence, KS -- After 12 months in development, Films For Action has launched its new website - a head-to-toe redesign that lays the foundation for a vibrant community-powered news site dedicated to inspiring positive social change. At the heart of the new site is a constantly growing learning library of over 200 documentaries and 500 short films that can be watched free online, daily...
Editors Note: This document was loosely translated from Spanish, so you can expect the translation will be a bit off in parts Manifesto #25s surround the Congress We, ordinary people are fed up to live with the consequences of a system conditioned by and forced to adapt itself to the markets, which is in every respect insupportable, and has led us to be victims of a large scale...
Off-set your infidelity by paying someone else to be faithful. Just as good as carbon off-setting. http://visionon.tv http://climatecamp.org.uk Editor's note: While climate change is indisputably real, two of the most prominent solutions promoted by big business are, as you'd expect, short-sighted half-measures invented to profit off of climate change without addressing the root problem...
The city has been shut down. Bridges and subways and airports are closed. There is no school, no shopping, no work. The stock exchange is shuttered. The circuits of capital are disrupted indefinitely. A state of emergency--but not the sort we had hoped for on May Day. This is not a General Strike but a Climate Strike. The banks are lined with barricades. But they are not there to...