Energy – Radical Ecological Democracy

Is Italy’s new vision for environmental protection a real commitment to carbon neutrality?

April 3, 2022April 7, 2022 1165 Views 0 Comments Alternatives, Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Environment, New Politics, Power Dynamic

As the need to address climate change and other environmental crises becomes increasingly critical, many countries have found it necessary to amend their national constitutions to strengthen existing provisions for environmental protection, and even introduce new ones. This past February, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament passed legislation to amend two crucial Articles in the Constitution to align the country with the rest of Western Europe’s progressive vision on climate intervention. Fausto Corvino and Mitja Stefancic discuss the promise and challenges inherent in this significant move, particularly as the energy fallout from the on-going Russia-Ukraine conflict causes complex and worrying problems for Italy.

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Thinking Outside the Grid

December 10, 2019April 13, 2022 2766 Views 0 Comments Community, Conservation, Energy, New Economy, New Politics

As the enormity of the contemporary environmental and climate crises dawns on the larger society, the power elite has not shied away from offering grand even if brazenly dubious answers to these challenges – Green Growth, Clean Coal, Genetically Engineered Biofuels and myriad other mirages. Steven Gorelick lifts the lid on the pseudo solutions to our severe energy issues and points us in the direction of systemic change based on local solutions to the complex undertakings of energy production and distribution.

Action Analysis Ideas Stories

Landscapes of Renewal – Jukajoki, Linnunsuo and the Finnish Boreal

November 28, 2019September 8, 2023 3598 Views 2 Comments Capitalism, Climate Change, Community, Conservation, Energy, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

Finland has been affected by mass extractivism since the end of the Second World War. Peatlands, marsh-mires and old-growth forest across the country have been converted into mines and forest plantations, with huge impacts on rural communities practicing hunting, fishing, berry-gathering and small-scale farming. Over the past decade, the Finnish community of Selkie has successfully revived lands and waters damaged by extractive industries, using a blend of traditional knowledge and science. Tero Mustonen, Head of the Village of Selkie, explains how they stopped a mine and brought life back to Selkie’s rivers and marsh-mires. This is the first case study in the on-going collaborative series between REDWeb and the global “Yes to Life, No to Mining” (YLNM) solidarity network exploring emblematic examples of community resistance to extractivism and the life-sustaining alternatives they are defending and innovating.

Action Ideas Stories

Market Fundamentalism vs. Community Rights on the Danish Coastline

April 30, 2019September 8, 2023 3714 Views 0 Comments Capitalism, Community Rights, Cooperatives, Energy, Environment, Europe, Market Fundamentalism

In the early 2000s, the market forces tried to upend the quiet lives of the fishing communities in northern Denmark, intending to make a fast buck on the fishing riches of the Bay of Jammerbugt coastline. Mathilde Autzen recounts the inspiring story of a smart and bold pushback organized by the Thorupstrand community to reclaim their fishing rights and lay the foundation of a sustainable future.

Analysis Ideas Stories

How noble was the Nobel this time?

November 23, 2018September 8, 2023 4561 Views 2 Comments Capitalism, Climate Change, Development, Ecology, Energy, Environment

William Nordhaus was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics for his work on how to address climate change using cost-benefit analysis of limiting greenhouse gases. Gurudas Nulkar helps us understand the intricate nature of Nordhaus’ research and explains why it needs closer scrutiny before any conclusions can be drawn about the long-term benefits of his work on climate change.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

RED Conversations Series – “Alternative Futures: India Unshackled”

July 14, 2018April 13, 2022 3685 Views 2 Comments Capitalism, Community, Conservation, Cooperatives, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Energy, Environment, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic

Ashish Kothari was recently on a book tour in the U.S., promoting “Alternative Futures: India Unshackled”, a book he recently co-edited with K.J. Joy. Here, he discusses the main themes of the book with Pallav Das and an audience at “Busboys and Poets”, an activist book-store in Washington D.C.