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When I lived in San Francisco, I often would marvel at the movement of goods through the ports across the bay in Oakland. Full container ships would enter the bay one after another and unload their cargo, which ultimately would be making its way to the many big box stores...
In mid-November of 2016, I was a Water Protector at Standing Rock. At first my goal was to play investigative journalist; documenting then writing about every detail for my article readers and online followers. However, by the time I actually got there, all my goals had changed.
Last week I had two brushes with the mainstream of American culture and politics. The first was an appearance on a PBS television show, the Tavis Smiley show. As far as I can remember, this was only the second time I’ve been on a national TV program. The other time was in...
A tweet moves Rob Hopkins to share a personal experience from his family’s life.
Habari Gani! (What's the News in Swahili, the greeting during Kwanzaa) Christmas Day in Willingboro, South Jersey - right outside of Philadelphia - was spent recovering from the road trip from Lawrence, Kansas and gearing up for the first day of Kwanzaa, the Principle Umoja...
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.” ― R. Buckminster Fuller
This is exactly what we all need right now. Here is a great secret of life that you can use to change the hearts and minds of everyone in your world. Speech by Garret John LoPorto
It is getting harder to keep a secret these days. The collective shadow of our society, once safely relegated to the dark basement of the unmentionable, is now exposed to daylight, forcing us to face our contradictions. I’ll offer three examples: Donald Trump’s leaked...
He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself; and if thou gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into thee. —Nietzsche
Compassionate activism is activism that is rooted in an underlying compassion for all beings. It is an activism that resists the strong urge we all face to dehumanize our opponents, as they often do to us, and we often do to them. This collection of articles and videos...
I am told by Native American friends active at Standing Rock that the elders are counseling the Water Protectors to undertake each action prayerfully and to stay off the warpath.
When you find yourself in a suddenly darkened room, what do you do?   Some rush blindly to where they think the door might be.  Others stand still, let their eyes get adjusted to the different environment, re-orient themselves, then cautiously and sensitively, move forward. ...
This is why we are here. And this is what we need to remember.
Normal is coming unhinged. For the past eight years it has been possible for most people (at least in the relatively privileged classes) to believe that society is sound, that the system, though creaky, basically works, and that the progressive deterioration of everything...
It's hard to believe Films For Action has been around now for 10 years. From our early years focusing on local film screenings to our more recent years, focusing on raising awareness globally via our website and social media, our mission has been to provide a DIY alternative...
Anarchism : The word “anarchy” comes from Greek and means “no rulers”. As a political philosophy, anarchism is based on the idea that organization does not require rulers—that people can get together and deal with all the problems facing them, without an authority directing...
On August 1 the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), a coalition of over sixty organizations, rolled out “A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom & Justice,” an ambitious document described by the press as the first signs of what young black activists...
Dallas, Ferguson, Nice. Turkey, Trump & Brexit. The simultaneous rise of global terrorism, of authoritarian strongmen and the far-right are the twin faces of our current moment. Even though Trump-type politicians and terrorism pretend to fight each other, on a deeper level...
It is a delicate balance to know how much the world is messed up and still be hopeful about the future. This is something I dance with on a daily basis — while writing about systemic corruption, the angst that arises from&nb
I have made a promise to this world that I will carry with me to my last days. It is my vow to lessen the suffering of the world while I am here - it is to ensure that every toxic legacy that I inherited from our culture ends with me - and, ideally, ends with all of us, in...
Finding and connecting with your soul tribe is more important than ever—not just for connection but also to thrive in our modern society
Let’s say you’ve found a new sense of awareness or elevated consciousness —  suddenly you feel connected to the beauty of the world, you understand yourself better, and you’re filled with a drive to become better, to nurture yourself and the world around you.
Let’s jump off the train and build a boat.
Take 60 seconds to learn about one Māori tribe's struggle to reclaim their ancestral land from the government. In New Zealand, division of land between #Māori and European settlers is a complicated issue.
Regardless of the outcome of November’s U.S. elections, what will count most is what happens in the streets. As Frederick Douglass put it plainly a century and a half ago, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did...
Bringing together the inner and outer aspects of transformation may be the revolution of our times
Charles Eisenstein is one of the first people I heard talk about the "new story," synthesizing a diverse movement that has been emerging for the last several decades. When I go back far enough, I first heard about these ideas from reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn when I was...
One of the downsides of presenting such a visionary solution to our global crisis is that it's hard to know where to begin, beyond raising awareness. The gap between where we are now, and where we'd like to go appears so great that it is not at all obvious how the transition...
When Donald Trump gets more air time than Bernie Sanders, the media misses the mark on grassroots change.
The belief that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking. - Murray Bookchin
Tom, Sarah, and their daughter Neesa all live in a tiny 20sqm off grid cabin on a property on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Instead of paying rent, they share the work of looking after the land with the owners and both families share in the farm's abundant produce.
We live in the beginning phase of a global revolution which will turn societal conditions upside down. We cannot stop this transformation, but we can influence where it will go. Will the disintegration of the globalized systems lead to fascist violence and molecular civil...
Non-stop war-making, climate chaos, lost harvests, poisoned seas and bodies, refugees in the millions pouring over borders while millions of Americans are locked in prison... How do we relate to such immensities of suffering?
When attending meetings with peace and justice activists, I often find myself the only business person in the room. Inevitably, someone makes a comment about the evils of business, or greedy capitalists, or some other negative comment that implies business people are the...
I recently attended a ceremony at the Tamera village in Portugal in which the officiant invoked “the healing of money.” Immediately a vivid image popped into my head of a man, vast and muscular, bound to the earth with stakes and tethers, straining with every atom of his...
I received the following email from a young woman, a student at an elite law school. I want to quote it in full, because it cuts so deep to core issues so many change agents face.
The novelist Terry Pratchett once wrote, “people think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.” However it seems these types of dichotomies are often both/and more than they are either/or. It is true that we are shaped by the stories that we...
In any great adventure, there are always obstacles in the way. The first hurdle is just to be aware that we, as a civilization and as a species, are facing a crisis point. When looking at the mainstream of our society, and the priorities expressed or goals pursued, it is hard...
Oscar Nominated director Josh Fox (Gasland) continues in his deeply personal style, investigating climate change – the greatest threat our world has ever known.
My interview with Tiziano Bonini has ben published in Italian at Che Fara. Here is the English version:
The modern era is built on a theory of the Universe as a giant mechanical clock — dead matter with gears and springs.
United Natures explores the rights of Mother Earth, environmental philosophy, wisdom, spirituality, and the potential for a neo-indigenous future for humanity.
Lucy Purdy explores how the concept of ‘rewilding’ could be applied not just to the natural world, but to ourselves
This documentary closely follows the eco-village Cabrum, a recent community in northern Portugal; Cooperativa Integral Catalana, in Barcelona, which practices self-management with its own coins, the Eco; and finally, the self-sustaining community Tamera also in Portugal. The...
This is a shortened version of the award-winning feature-length documentary film, The Economics of Happiness. Cut down from 68 minutes to less than 20, it provides an introduction to the concept of localization - a systemic alternative to corporate capitalism - and shows how...
In facing up to the many profound crises of our time, we face a conundrum that has no easy resolution: how are we to imagine and build a radically different system while living within the constraints of an incumbent system that aggressively resists transformational change?...
My first impression at OuiShare Fest was a weird utopian blockchain mania: a poorly understood but massively hyped technology that will somehow fix all our social, political, and economic inequities. As I got to know some of the people here though, I started to see through...
I’m dealing with massive cognitive dissonance right now. Multiple, contradictory beliefs and perceptions inhabit my mind, each compelling on its own terms. How do I choose?
Progressive renewal lies in a deep recognition that we are not choosing our current lives.
Many changes happening around us remain unclear. We need better names and stories for them.
French logging company and official partner of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is deforesting a huge area of rainforest in southeast Cameroon without the consent of local Baka who have lived there and managed the land for generations
RE-LEARNING THE LAND is the story of a Blackfoot community in southern Alberta, Canada, and how they have re-taken control of their education system within Red Crow Community College. The film traces the decolonization of their learning and the development of an innovative...
In September 2015 the BBC recorded an interview with Hamsa, a Syrian mother and refugee, as she neared the end of a desperate four-year journey from Homs, Syria to Germany. Her determination and spirit caught the attention of thousands of people around the world, including...
Millions of migrants seeking asylum in Europe face hostility, racism, and red tape. John Oliver does one admittedly tiny thing for one of them.
"Class Dismissed shows parents a glimpse into the future of education. Everyone concerned with education would benefit by watching this film." - John Taylor Gatto, Former New York State Teacher of the Year and author
Rather than waiting for society to all agree how we need to live in a different way, by focusing here in the suburban household, people can actually get on with making changes… a lot can happen right where people are. – David Holmgren, co-founder of Permacul
Own the Change: Building Economic Democracy One Worker Co-op at a Time is a short documentary meant to give an overview of what a worker co-op is, how it can transform lives and communities, and the realities of starting one. Watch as we go through concrete steps for building...
“Once in a while a film comes along that has profound impact – this is a delicious taste of what can be.” - Polly Higgins
A perfect storm is brewing as agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler races against time to protect the future of our food. Gene banks of the world are crumbling, crop failures are producing starvation inspired rioting, and the accelerating effects of climate change are already...
The intersection of Central and Lowry Avenues in northeast Minneapolis is bustling. On the northwest corner is a trifecta of local businesses: A bike shop, a cooperative brewery, and a bakery, in buildings with eye-catching exteriors of rough-hewn wood and silvery porcelain...
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