The Economics of Happiness (2011) Film Review The term “economic relocalization,” which has been around about four years, describes the global movement of loosely knit Transition Towns and other grassroots networks working to strengthen local and regional economies and systems of food and energy production. I myself was unacquainted with the term until I came across it in the promotional materials for the E ...

Picture of Judi Bari's car after it was bombed A new film produced by Darryl Cherney that white washes the entire Judi Bari saga is out and is being shown next weekend in Sonoma County. Darryl is claiming that he wants an investigation of the 22 year old bombing when in fact he is someone who has worked hard to prevent that from happening.  With the money he got from the FBI settlement he could have made it ...

By Michael Collins We don’t have a substantial cushion between today's climate and dangerous warming. James E. Hanson The head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James E. Hansen, announced the results of break through global warming research last week. The earth's temperature is rising at a much quicker pace than previously anticipated according to research by the nation's preeminent climate sci ...

 picture of the Saugatuck Dunes forest Citizens of Michigan and those following the proposed changes in the legal system in the state know that the issue that the state is facing is growing authoritarianism and totalitarianism that strips citizens of decision making and puts control in the hands of corporations and tyrants.  Corporations and their silk-backed thugs are looking to simply take the land they w ...

A few months ago, I was lying in bed enjoying the morning sunrise over the mountain range. Out my winddow I can see the coastal fog had settled upon the open field next to the apple orchard. A gentle breeze was blowing in from the Pacific Ocean. From a distance, I heard an unusual sound. At first it sounded like a giant was on the march. I heard a slow and steady thump, thump, thump. It seemed like it was c ...

[caption id="attachment_20026" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Congressional Pugilists"][/caption]   When it comes to state's rights and the environment, the Right-wing is all over the board on this issue. Two recent events illustrate this point, this month's Supreme Court American Electric Power Company v. Connecticut decision and the Republican proposed bill HR 2018. Last week, writing on th ...

While the world has been focused on the unfolding nuclear disaster in Fukushima Japan, here in the U.S. two nuclear power plants situated along the Missouri Rivers have been threatened by flooding.  The Cooper nuclear power plant near Brownville, Nebraska and the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant near Blair, Nebraska are both scrabbling to take emergency measures to protect the plants. The A.P. reported toda ...

CENSORED IN 1978: NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS -- ATOMIC LEMONS The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a national public interest group, has for years been trying to tell the story of nuclear hazards to the American public with little success. Last year, the UCS released a report titled “Scientists’ Group Judges Federal Nuclear Safety Inspection Effort” which received little coverage. The report criticized the Nu ...

[caption id="attachment_19791" align="aligncenter" width="520" caption="Photo by Greenpeace"][/caption] On Saturday June 18, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPO) which operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plants, released a new report admitting the plant was grossly unprepared for the disaster. The report states workers had to borrow air compressors, batteries, and cables from local contractors all the wh ...

If you are an average American, chances are that you have donated to a “cause' at some point in your life. Whether it be giving 5 bucks to Red Cross when a disaster strikes a third-world country, dropping 10 cents into the red Salvation Army container, or donating your entire estate to the worthy cause of your choosing, most of us have at least the intent of helping others. I for one was never like that. I ...