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YES! is all about working toward a positive future, but in our Summer 2006 issue, we pause to consider the alternative. A "perfect storm" of peak oil, climate change, and financial instability is on the horizon, according to David Korten, author of the issue's lead article, and the just-released book, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.
Quickly, however, we are reminded that we are on the doorstep of opportunity. Michael Marien, author of "How Likely is Collapse" explains it this way: "the first step toward a positive future at the individual, community, society, or global level is to address seriously the problems at hand and to take meaningful action."
But what action? What can we do in the face of an uncertain future? The YES! editors looked at other times when people have survived difficult periods:
- Long before European settlers came to this continent, indigenous people created what contributing editor John Mohawk calls "edible landscaping on a grand scale." By working with nature, native peoples were able to survive, even during times of climate change.
- How might the end of cheap oil change our lives? Cuba and North Korea had to go cold turkey when the USSR collapsed and their cheap oil was cut off. One switched to sustainable agriculture and the other is still on the edge of famine. What made the difference?
- How do you make a livelihood during hard times? Following the economic collapse of 1929, unemployed workers formed cooperatives that put their skills to work providing needed products and services, while providing an opportunity to support their families.
Today, too, people are joining together to try to avert ecological disasters (like climate change) and to be prepared to help each other if disaster of any kind does strike.
In Cleveland, a micro brewery has reduced its wastes to zero, and its veggie-oil van transports customers to sporting events. In New York City high rises, residents meet to discuss how they can help each other in the event of an emergency. In Prescott, Arizona, residents of an eco-hood are recycling gray water, planting organic gardens and orchards, and doing green retrofits of their simple homes.
David Korten warns of an unraveling of society if we cling to our now familiar models of domination, and exploitation. This is a moment when we can choose instead to turn to cooperation, collaboration, and partnership. Don't miss this issue!
Yours for a positive future,
Barbara Sehr
Online Editor
YES! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org
P. S. This issue of YES! is the first to feature the design of our new art director, Tracy Dunn, and I have to tell you, it is quite stunning. If you are a subscriber, you may already have seen what I mean. If not, you can read these articles on line, but to get the full impact of this issue, I encourage you to get the print magazine by ordering it through our Web site. Or look for it at your local newsstand.
Other articles from YES! Online
Spirituality and Movement Building
by Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee Boggs believes it is time to see ourselves not as victims, but to "recognize the sacredness in ourselves and others."
Shout "VIVA!" Anyhow:
On Being Black at a Latino March
by Van Jones
"Just as non-Blacks had supported our freedom movement in the last century, I was determined – as a non-immigrant – to give my passionate support to this righteous cause."
Iran: The Ball Is in America's Court
by Alice Slater
America can set an example for would-be nuclear powers by cleaning up its own nuclear ambitions.
Also from the Summer
Issue of YES!
Alternatives to a Wall
by Oscar A. Chacón, Amy Shannon and Sarah Anderson
After millions marched across the country, immigration is now cooking on the front burner of national attention. The authors take up the question of why people leave homes and families in search of work in a strange country.
YES! is an independent, ad-free, award-winning magazine that spotlights practical solutions and visionary ideas for creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
Filed under: cynthia mckinney, Ecology, Our Favorite Radio Stations, reform, social & economic justice, US Politics Tagged: | Uncategorized
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