Archive Fever: Writing and thinking with oceans, memory, and attention.

I love the holidays. Yesterday I saw three different people cut off an elderly woman three different times for three different parking spots AND at least two of the perpetrators saw the others ace this woman. The older woman was waiting for a parking spot at a local shopping area in Carrboro, NC. I actually said something to the last person who snaked her and the response (she was a college-age female) was that she was "here" before the woman was. Of course, there was a parking/security guard watching all of this; he intimated to me that his role was to make sure cars did not get broken in to, not to regulate traffic. Now for context, this is a very small lot (maybe 60 spaces) in a small "progressive" town next to Chapel Hill. The stores there are anchored by a local co-op (i.e., Weaver Street ), an outdoor shop, and a fusion restaurant that's owned by the co-op's president. I could go on and on about these places and what irks me about them, but I wo...

I start with a simple question: What sort of consciousness does it take to change the world? Yes, we need a changed world, now. But, too, what sort of consciousness has it taken at various times throughout time and space? And, how might we map such paradigmatic shifts in thought onto current times? One could even posit that, with 2012 mere days away (and 12/21/12 about a year away), this is an extremely apropos time for such meditations and (conscious) actions. For me, it's this critical preoccupation with the environment and the ruin we are currently inflicting upon it. But, too, one can't simply say I want to stop environmental and ecological violence but neglect other atrocities (that are most always inextricably linked to our assault on the natural world and non-human others). It's a matter of social justice, if you will, where one cannot choose to dismantle certain forms of oppression (e.g., racism) while letting other forms of oppression slide (e.g., sexism)....

It's the end of the semester and my dutiful students are crafting their final research papers analyzing behavior and environment. Supposedly all eyes are trained on how students' chosen environments might be made better, maybe even "sustainable" (for whatever that word means now and in the future). To that end I came across this article in the Oregonian and am wondering what thoughts may be. I like it because of the slouching toward social science inquiry (our final course unit). There's a poll to assess the effectiveness of the Rose City's sustainability efforts...some of my students have used similar survey methodologies themselves and I'm interested in their comments.

Eco-spirituality is a problematic moniker. It's construction intimates a (false) partition between spirituality and the environment...which, to me, seems quite bogus. I would assert that for any spirituality to be viable, just, and essentially "good" it must include (maybe even privilege) the ecological/environment.

Stewart Brand has always been an environmental thought leader and progressive iconoclast. In this video he suggests a shift in the environmentalists' dogmatic approach, and describes a process of reasonable debate and experimentation. His iconoclastic proposals include transitioning to nuclear energy and ecosystem engineering, and are sure to provoke widespread debate. He has helped define the collaborative, data-sharing, forward-thinking world in which we live. Brand is the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, the Global Business Network , t he Long Now Foundation and the Well. Check this out!

What is Charles C. Mann's central premise in his article, 1491 ? Provide a quote to illuminate your response. And, to wit, what does Mann's article suggest about the state of what we have historically considered (Western) knowledge? What is the relationship between scientific revolution and re-evaluation of Western knowledge and "development" (compared to the pre-Columbian Americas)? Feel free to suggest or link to outside sources or web sites.

Why do Americans still resist the consensus among research organizations that humans are warming the globe. Check out this piece in Scientific American...it's a good example for our upcoming unit. Make some notes on belief in science, etc. OR post a comment below.

Bill and Dave...

This seems really cool, and much needed. Colorado has an environmental literacy plan , a coordinated strategy between PreK-12 teachers, environmental education providers, and leaders that aims to: Restore and increase field experiences as part of the school curriculum Improve state-wide access to existing environmental education programs and materials Make connections with Colorado Academic Standards and 21 st Century Skills to support classroom instruction Create opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional development of educators

Willie Nelson covering Coldplay for Chipoltle....cool and weirdly unsettling at the same time. All that said, it is basically good music, (really) nice animation, and shoots for a the supremely reasonable cause of eliminating factory farms.

So, what do you think? Like? Dislike? Are there points that you dislike, but seem to be good points? Why do you feel this way? Post remarks below.

Directions: Read Bill McKibben ’s blog post at: http://tinyurl.com/ydxo5v6 . Next, identify one sentence that seems to characterize a main point that Mckibben is trying to get across to readers. Write this sentence below. With this sentence in mind, answer the following two questions in 1-2 sentences each. Post your remarks to the class blog or use the space below to do this. • Who is MciKibben’s intended audience (or audiences)? What statements or characteristics exist in the blog post or blog that suggest this audience? • In what ways do you find McKibben’s argument to be compelling (or not)? What questions do you have after reading the article?

A worthwhile view...below blurb excerpted from energyNOW! energyNOW! Correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan moderates a discussion on clean energy innovation with Grist.org's David Roberts, McKinstry CEO Dean Allen, Ross Macfarlane of Climate Solutions and Bill Rebozo of GridPoint. The event was co-sponsored by energyNOW and Grist.org. Panelists discussed topics including the definition of clean energy, whether government can spur innovation in energy, the reliability of various energy sources and the smart grid. They also took some questions from the audience.

Circulated by Onward Oregon , please watch...

WebVisions was over a month ago, but Rushkoff's talk is still apropos. Critical theorists out there you'll note the fellow traveler in Rushkoff's rant. You'll also note that he missteps in thinking that there can exist an easily identifiable counter-hegemony, one that he (critical theorist that he is) can "see" completely. Envision the fatal flaw of my beloved critical theory paradigm here, but swoon anyway.

On a more useful notion of text for these times: “One of the formal criteria of humanistic scholarship is that it be concerned with the scrutiny of texts. A text is information stored through time. The stratigraphy of rocks, layers of pollen in a swamp, the outward expanding circles in the trunk of a tree, can be seen as texts. The calligraphy of rivers winding back and forth over the land leaving layer upon layer of traces of previous riverbeds is text.” (p. 71) Snyder, G. (2003). The practice of the wild: Essays. Washington, DC: Shoemaker & Hoard.

Tom Cruise...critical composition pedagogue!

I'd be interested to see an outline of proposed social science inquiry based on this chicken scratch...non-industrially farmed, of course.

A pretty spectacular phenomenon... The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo .

So, following up on NCSU's Ag Week momentum...is there "awareness" through juxtaposition? How so? Two videos below might edify any takers on this question. The first is from "Portlandia" on IFC and the other is a talk by NCSU's own Tom Regan some years ago.

Any thoughts here? 10 Things You Can Do To Change Our Food System . Also, some further edification vis-a-vis the Food Inc. trailer.

What can we learn from First Nations peoples about sustainability? I have to believe that there are important practices and epistemologies that can be learned and honored from peoples and cultures who have a proven environmental consciousness. For instance, if we read Jimmie Durham or even Chief Seattle's purported speech there must surely be some takeaway for those of us looking to build a 21st century environmental consciousness. I recently listened to Jay Walljasper discuss his new book "Field Guide to the Commons" and I am curious about what a synthesis of Durham and/or Seattle would look like when applied to some of the suppositions Walljasper introduces.

What sort of ethical or moral commitment does a government have to the environment? Does it matter if it's the federal, state, or local government? This story from Treehugger about the GOP's disdain for the EPA speaks to a certain contingent's notions about these concerns. Of course, I read the Treehugger account after a class discussion on public transportation, one that used Portland's TriMe t as a jumping off point. Pretty cool TriMet video below.

So, I wonder about the meanings that are made, symbolically and spiritually, in our everyday "environments". I especially wonder about what epistemologies have been levied upon us due to technology fetishism and detachment from our natural surroundings in favor of consumerist built surroundings (think detachment from and abstraction of nature here). It's for these reasons that I like the narrative of the spirit bear. Do we have these narratives today, or does our technology-driven industrialized scam only allow for consumerist fantasies articulated in the hyperreal ?

On the heels of the Derrick Jensen post, I wonder how many individuals can immediately identify where their drinking water comes from. That is, where is your watershed? How would you find this out? Google it? Try a search and see how "easy" that is. Can you get this information from your library or librarian? I'd argue that this is critical (information) literacy that we are missing . What research or practical questions are raised here? What, if any, academic disciplines offer a useful lens to examine this lack of information and broader environmental problems? After you've tried this little exercise you may want to check out any number of resources, and even post what you find here. I've got a couple below. The Global Water Policy Project and "Water: Adapting to a New Normal" Adopt a Watershed web site

Wow...Derrick Jensen continues to inspire and to call people on their proverbial shit. If you care about sustainability and consider life to be a good thing worth continuing, you should watch or listen.