Create!

Along with direct action and other forms of resistance, a transformational movement must also have a constructive program that builds new institutions based on the values that the movement aspires to achieve. These may eventually replace the old systems. From small, worker-owned cooperatives to national advocacy groups, hundreds of thousands of people around the country are working to create democratic and sustainable systems that meet the basic needs of all people.

Eco-Collapse Hasn’t Happened Yet, But You Can See It Coming

April 30, 2024 Stan Cox, Resilience. Create! climate crisis, Degrowth, Ecological Collapse, Environment

Something must be up. Otherwise, why would scientists keep sending us those scary warnings? There has been a steady stream of them in the past few years, including “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency” (signed by 15,000 of them), “Scientists’ Warning Against the Society of Waste,” “Scientists’ Warning of an Imperiled Ocean,” “Scientists’ Warning on Technology,” “Scientists’ Warning on Affluence,” “Climate Change and the Threat to Civilization,” and even “The Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future.” Clearly, there’s big trouble ahead and we won’t be able to say that no one saw it coming. In fact, a warning of ecological calamity that made headlines more than 50 years ago is looking all too frighteningly prescient right now.

Energy Descent: Public Letter

April 26, 2024 Energy Descent Collective, Resilience. Create! Clean Energy, climate crisis, Energy, Fossil Fuels

Energy transition is essential. But it’s not enough. We also need to prepare to live with less energy in the future. It is not enough to adopt clean technology. We also need to prepare to live with less energy. This preparation includes new cultural norms, new institutions, and new infrastructure – not just new technology. And it’s a collective preparation. It’s something we need to do together. We can’t do it alone. Scientists say we have less than two decades to avoid the worst effects of climate change. We therefore must transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible.

Philly Is Giving Free SEPTA Rides To 25,000 Low-Income Residents

April 26, 2024 Maylin Tu, Next City. Create! Philadelphia, Poverty, Public transportation, Transportation

Getting to where you need to go is a matter of economic and social justice. Now, low-income Philadelphia residents are getting a boost. In August, the city began a two-year Zero Fare pilot program, distributing 25,000 SEPTA Key cards (valued at $204 each) for unlimited free rides — and the majority of participants don’t need to take any action to enroll. “Transportation has been identified as a barrier for folks seeking employment, especially in Philadelphia, because of the high poverty rate,” says Nicola Mammes, Zero Fare program director. Over 20% of Philadelphians live below the poverty line, and 50% of those households don’t own a car.

FCC Reasserts Its Authority To Protect The Open Internet

April 25, 2024 Timothy Karr, FreePress.net. Create! FCC, Internet Freedom, Net Neutrality, Telecoms

Washington, DC - On Thursday, in a 3–2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission voted to restore Net Neutrality protections and reclassify high-speed-internet access services as telecom services subject to Title II of the Communications Act. The decision is a major victory for the public interest: Title II authority empowers the FCC to hold companies like AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum and Verizon accountable for a wide range of harms to internet users across the United States. Prior to the historic vote, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: “[We] take this action today to help ensure that broadband is fast, open and fair for all of us.”

New Documentary Film Urges Us To Rethink Our Relationship With Soil

April 23, 2024 Siri Chilukuri, In These Times. Create! Earth Day, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Regenerative Farming

Comment on industrial agriculture mostly appears in the mainstream only when something has gone awry. The current avian flu epidemic comes to mind, but it’s rare for the general public to step back from the alarm of novel threats to take a more comprehensive look at why our current system doesn’t work for its supposed purpose of feeding people. Common Ground, a new documentary now screening in AMC theaters across the country (and 2023 Tribeca Film Award winner), isn’t afraid to point its finger at Big Ag for the problems with industrial agriculture.

Letting Your Grass Grow Wild Boosts Butterfly Numbers

April 23, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Create! Butterflies, Environment, Rewilding, United Kingdom (UK)

Have you ever noticed that meadows of long grass seem to be teeming with butterflies, bumble bees, beetles, crickets and other insects? Meanwhile, short-cropped, bright green lawns appear devoid of critters in comparison. A six-year study of butterfly sightings in 600 gardens in the United Kingdom has confirmed that letting your lawn grow wild can significantly increase butterfly and moth numbers. “Nature is in crisis; 80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s, so we need to take action now to protect them. We wanted to be able to give tried and tested gardening advice that will benefit butterflies as we know lots of people want to help.

Why America Needs Public Wind Power

April 22, 2024 Ashley Dawson, Bridget Moynihan, and Desen S. Özkan, Next City. Create! Energy, public power, Renewable Energy, Wind

Off the northeast coast of the U.S., a budding offshore wind industry has led some to see the region as the “Saudi Arabia of wind.” As promising as it may have seemed for our fight to mitigate the effects of climate change, a recent spate of problems has laid bare the fallacies inherent in the way America builds renewable energy. It’s time to rethink our approach to the energy transition and to climate change. New York State was in the news this winter after announcing new contract agreements for two major offshore wind developments, Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind.

‘National Popular Consultation’: Voters Choose State-Funded Projects

April 21, 2024 Ricardo Vaz, Venezuelanalysis. Create! Communes, Elections, Participatory Democracy, Venezuela

The Venezuelan people are called to the polls on Sunday, April 21, to decide on projects that will receive government support. The so-called “National Popular Consultation” will be held in 4,500 communal circuits spanning the entire Venezuelan territory. Each circuit is centered in a commune, an assembly-driven popular power organization. All citizens 15 and above are eligible to participate. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) will oversee the election in over 15,000 voting centers but without automatic voting machines.

Clean Energy Investments Must Prioritize Climate-Resilient Housing

April 18, 2024 Sara McTarnaghan and Oriya Cohen, Next City. Create! Affordable Housing, Clean Energy, climate crisis, Energy, green housing, Housing

Whether it’s a homeowner wanting to install a heat pump, a restaurant looking to invest in solar panels, or a neighborhood organization hoping to add local green energy capacity, cost and ease of financing pose barriers to improving climate resilience for many people businesses, and organizations nationwide. Too often, traditional banks are skeptical of or have not previously supported climate investments. Filling this gap requires intentional policymaking, which the Biden Administration has prioritized through its new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a first-of-its-kind $27 billion fund to finance a sustainable climate future for generations to come.

People’s Health Assembly Calls For Transformation Of Health Systems

April 16, 2024 People's Dispatch. Create! Argentina, Health Care

The 5th People’s Health Assembly (PHA 5), held in Argentina from April 7 to 11, deepened discussions on the much-needed transformation of health systems. Since the adoption of the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, health systems have increasingly strayed from the goals of Comprehensive Primary Health Care and Universal Health Care, becoming victims of financialization and corporatization, the activists warned. “Health goals have been subjugated to shareholder values, market fluctuations, and financial failures,” commented Nicoletta Dentico of the Society for International Development (SID) during the Assembly.

Report: Debt-For-Nature Swaps Could Help Fight Climate Crisis

April 16, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Create! climate crisis, Climate Justice, Conservation, Environment, Report

According to a new analysis by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), more than $100 billion of developing countries’ debt could be made available to spend on nature restoration, protecting ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs and climate change adaptation. The research is part of IIED’s “hidden handbrakes” campaign, designed to reveal and explain unseen obstacles to climate action. “Many of the countries most threatened by rising temperatures have huge debt burdens, and are forever paying interest to wealthier nations that have contributed much more to the climate crisis,” said Laura Kelly.

Vacant Storefronts Are Killing Our Downtowns

April 15, 2024 Ilana Preuss, Next City. Create! COVID-19, Finance and the Economy, Manufacturing, Retail

One of the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is the way it has transformed office use, threatening the viability of storefront retail in downtown office buildings. Owners of such commercial properties are now often exploring converting vacant retail space into restaurants and other experiential venues. But the range of alternative options needs to be expanded – and small-scale manufacturing offers a proven, yet often overlooked, solution. The need for alternative options is apparent from the scale of the problem. In the last quarter of 2023, the national office vacancy rate hit a record-breaking 19.6%, per Moody’s Analytics.

SCOTUS Is Set To Make A Watershed Ruling On Homelessness

April 14, 2024 Mandy Chapman Semple and Nathaniel Fields, Next City. Create! Homelessness, Housing, Human Rights, Supreme Court

This month, the Supreme Court will begin to hear one of the highest-profile court cases about homelessness in generations. City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson considers whether a local government can outlaw sleeping outside if adequate shelter is not accessible. If the Court sides with Grants Pass, cities will be able to rely on punitive policies that do little to nothing to decrease homelessness and often cause worse outcomes for unhoused people in the process. If it favors Johnson, local governments will be required to demonstrate adequate shelter is available for an individual before resorting to harsh enforcement tactics.

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