Localization v. Globalization: A False Dichotomy

Posted on December 9, 2011 by zoeweil

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent post I wrote for Common Dreams, a progressive news site. Here’s an excerpt from “Localization v. Globalization: A False Dichotomy”: “The economic localization movement is growing. Locavores have become widespread, with the “100 mile diet” representing the new eco-conscious food trend. Author Helena Norberg-Hodge begins her [...]

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The False Dichotomy of Localization vs. Globalization

Posted on November 23, 2011 by zoeweil

I recently watched Helena Norberg-Hodge’s TEDx talk, The Economics of Happiness. I’ve appreciated Helena Norberg-Hodge’s work for some time, but I was disappointed in her TEDx talk. Helena is an impassioned speaker, with much global experience underlying her perspectives, but I wanted more than what I perceived to be a simplistic, either/or solution to our [...]

Filed under: creativity, economy, globalization, MOGO (Most Good), systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day: What We Buy Matters

Posted on November 26, 2010 by zoeweil

Today is Black Friday. We’re told it is the biggest shopping day of the year. You’ll find massive sales to jump start your holiday shopping, and you can start very early in the morning. In fact, here’s a website that posts the hours for a bunch of chain stores. Why, you can start shopping at [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, consumerism, economy, habits, mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Local Versus Global, Consumerism vs. Simplicity

Posted on September 6, 2010 by zoeweil

I was reading an article in the July/August issue of Ode Magazine titled, “If you’ve got it, spend it: How consumer spending can help create a fairer, richer, greener and more stable global economy.” The article is an edited excerpt from Philippe Legrain’s book Aftershock: Reshaping the World Economy After the Crisis. Unfortunately, it’s edited [...]

Filed under: consumerism, economy, globalization, MOGO (Most Good), systemic change, third side thinking | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Moving Forward Toward a Sustainable World

Posted on April 26, 2010 by zoeweil

Among some environmentalists, there is a strong anti-civilization movement and the belief that the only hope for a sustainable world entails a return to a veritable Stone Age, a time when humans had neither the capacity, the desire, nor the wherewithal to create havoc within ecosystems, cause the extinction of myriad species, and utterly despoil [...]

Filed under: economy, Environmental Preservation, humane education, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Sir Ken Robinson on Why Education is Failing and a New Blueprint for NCLB

Posted on March 22, 2010 by zoeweil

This short interview with Sir Ken Robinson on why education is failing is quite thought-provoking and powerful. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has just issued its blueprint to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. At the Institute for Humane Education, we believe that we need to reconsider the very purpose of schooling and educate a [...]

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We Can’t Afford Politics Based on Silliness: Van Jones’ Resignation From the Obama Administration

Posted on September 23, 2009 by zoeweil

Just as John Mackey’s statements about health care reform in the Wall Street Journal caused a firestorm of criticism that sparked what I consider to be a misguided boycott of Whole Foods by many on the left (see my blog posts here and here), now the right has caused the resignation of Van Jones as [...]

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Telling the Ecological and Economic Truth

Posted on July 6, 2009 by zoeweil

In an interview in this month’s issue of Ode Magazine, Lester Brown, founder of the WorldWatch Institute refers to Oystein Dahle, a former vice-president of Exxon in Norway, to whom he attributes this quote: “Socialism collapsed because it did not allow the market to tell the economic truth and capitalism may collapse because it does [...]

Filed under: economy, education, food and diet, humane education, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Story of Stuff Helps Us Envision New & Better Systems

Posted on May 27, 2009 by zoeweil

The New York Times recently had an article about the growing use of the video The Story of Stuff in schools, and the controversy that sometimes surrounds it. The short, animated film provides an introduction to the impact of our stuff on the environment, and it’s a great way to introduce the effects of consumer [...]

Filed under: consumerism, critical thinking, Cultural Issues, economy, education, humane education, systemic change, videos | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Must Our Vision of the World Be Based on Consumption?

Posted on May 25, 2009 by zoeweil

I’ve been encountering a number of people who are ambivalent about this recession we’re in. On the one hand, they’re struggling personally because of economic hardship, but on the other hand they recognize that consumption needs to decline for the sake of biodiversity, climate stabilization, and restored ecosystems. I was listening to an economic historian [...]

Filed under: consumerism, economy, MOGO (Most Good), systemic change, third side thinking | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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