17/05/09 15:38
This is one of my favorite essays on the kind of future we could all enjoy. As Obama navigates rough waters and attempts to steer the country in a new, sustainable, and more prosperous future Sanders’ essay came back to mind. For the most part, his vision is one I share.
Read More...16/05/09 15:45
This was an essay I wrote in 2005. I make the case that sustainable economic models are essential for our continued survival...
Biological diversity is under assault, the ozone layer is being depleted, weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and human society, particularly industrial society, is the primary culprit. This scientific reality is so well-documented that it hardly bears citation (Boyd, 5, 6); in fact, these scientific realities are the premises of all the books cited in this argument. It is not a question of whether sustainable economics is possible. It is a question of when, how easy the transition can be made, and what the implications of implementing sustainable economics will be.
Read More...15/05/09 15:52
This was an essay I wrote in critique of a certain strand of New Agrarian, Sustainable Agricultural thought that sees technology as antithetical and destructive of the natural environment. While some of these arguments have salience, I see the central critique of technology as flawed in the extreme. New Agrarianism is itself a new technology. Technology -- properly used and incentivized in law -- is the salvation of this planetary society. The abuse of technology and legal systems that do not quantify or penalize the destructive effects of misused technology are the culprits, not the technology itself.
Read More...14/05/09 15:57
Corporate ownership of the major media channels as well as the destruction of the “fairness doctrine” with media deregulation have lead to both an explosion of entertainment media and a simultaneous erosion of informative programming; in short, the news has become “infotainment”, not the information diet a democracy requires be present for an informed electorate. This essay is an attempt to capture the problem in one piece of legislation that could reinvigorate news media while preserving our diverse entertainment landscape.
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