The Earth Isn’t Dying, It’s Being Killed by Realtors

In 2013 the US was still reeling from the collapse of the housing market in 2008. While hundreds of thousands of Americans unjustly lost their homes, many foreclosed on illegally, there was one upside to this collapse. For a few years at least, irresponsible sprawl development was put on hold across most the nation. I… Continue reading The Earth Isn’t Dying, It’s Being Killed by Realtors

Car-Free Cities Need to be a Goal of Climate Justice

The prospect of car-free cities, or at the very least car-free streets in dense downtowns has been a goal of livable street advocates for decades. Their reasons revolve around safety and social connectivity, citing the envelope of harm and loss of humanity created in places overrun with automobile traffic. Rarely do such advocates talk about getting… Continue reading Car-Free Cities Need to be a Goal of Climate Justice

Fighting for Life Against the Death Cult of Capitalism

In a week this total fraud of an election will be over, and among the great number of things they have in common, one of the two disaster candidates elected will be in full support of the Dakota Access Pipeline. We could have had Bernie Sanders. We could have had Jill Stein. But nope. The… Continue reading Fighting for Life Against the Death Cult of Capitalism

The New Gentrifier Tactic: Copy Climate Change Deniers

It seems for every critique of today’s monied urban revival there’s another paid life-style columnist arguing why gentrification should be cherished, if they even admit gentrification exists at all. “Gentrification isn’t happening, but if it was happening, it would be a good thing.“ That was the crux of a Slate article last year that prompted many… Continue reading The New Gentrifier Tactic: Copy Climate Change Deniers

There Won’t Be Resilient Coastal Cities in the 22nd Century

In the lexicon of urbanist jargon, the term ‘sustainability’ has become virtually meaningless. We know cities will never be sustainable, not in their energy use, their food production, or their ability to afford economic or housing stability to large numbers of their populations. This is, of course, largely by design. Cities are epicenters of global… Continue reading There Won’t Be Resilient Coastal Cities in the 22nd Century

Bicycling, Brandalism, and Black Bloc at the Paris Climate Talks

It’s that time of year again, when world leaders and masses of activists convene to grapple with a dying Earth. Largely indifferent to the effects of climate change, overpopulation, and ecological collapse, this year we’ve seen a slight intensifying of rhetoric from Barack Obama and Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel. Even notorious climate denier Vladimir Putin made a… Continue reading Bicycling, Brandalism, and Black Bloc at the Paris Climate Talks

Charlie Hales Propane Scheme Contradicts Portland’s Climate Action Plan

This article was originally published on Blue Oregon. This September, a few noteworthy news stories broke that seemed to escape public consciousness. One was on Portland winning global honors for it’s Climate Action Plan. From a city press release: “Portland is among 10 cities worldwide to receive the C40 City Climate Leadership Awards 2014. Portland is developing ‘complete neighborhoods’… Continue reading Charlie Hales Propane Scheme Contradicts Portland’s Climate Action Plan

Raiders of the Lost Arc Logistics

In a world only beginning to suffer the onset of climate change, ocean acidification, desertification of farmland and countless other maladies caused by greenhouse gas induced global warming, it’s hard to find a villain more evil than the fossil fuel industry. When conjuring this evil, we usually think of the heavyweights like Exxon, Shell, British Petroleum.… Continue reading Raiders of the Lost Arc Logistics

Liberals and their Love of Law Enforcement

Growing up I’d always thought of being Liberal as a virtue. During the last Bush administration, it was liberals who were anti-war, who marched for peace, who demanded action on global warming, who were the backbone of the struggling labor movement. With Obama in the white house, being liberal now means making excuses for war,… Continue reading Liberals and their Love of Law Enforcement

Kids These Days: Climate Conscious & Car-Free

While observing the reporting on America’s decline of car use for many years now, what stands out is the market-based viewpoint, often claiming GenX/Y/Millenials are simply cogs in a system temporarily unable to afford the responsibilities of adulthood and car ownership. Rarely, if ever, does such coverage ever ask youngish people about their conscious decisions… Continue reading Kids These Days: Climate Conscious & Car-Free