We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Groundwater Depletion in Colorado River Basin Poses Big Risk to Water Security

Click here to access article by Sandra Postel from National Geographic. 

Although the recently released study using NASA data has alarmed many in the ruling One Percent, you won't see any reference to the gargantuan appetite of their capitalist operations to consume ever more amounts of resources in order to keep their economy growing--simply because it must. 

Whereas most media agencies typically leave off after providing their usual sensationalism, Postel offers solutions--but they won't upset any capitalist. She suggests four, but they boil down to water use efficiency and better water monitoring. Never mind the melting icecaps, forest fires, extreme weather events all caused by climate destabilization because of excessive burning of fossil fuels; likewise ignore the huge amounts of water necessary for shale-fracking operations to obtain oil and gas. No, let's avoid any wider perspective that might raise questions about the economic system.