CounterCurrents: Re-Imagining The Polity For A Networked Humanity, Peace Pipes, Not Oil Pipes, Edward Snowden, The CIA And Sioux Indian Converge In Man’s Life

Dear Friend,

Richard Heinberg of Post Carbon Institute is worried. So many people who understand the Limit to Growth has started openly speaking of inevitable collapse. He says, it's not  time to panic but for action. He says quoting from paper he co-wrote with  energy expert David Fridley "it may be possible to build enough solar and wind supply capacity to substitute for current fossil energy sources, much of current energy usage infrastructure (for transportation, agriculture, and industrial processes) will be difficult and expensive to adapt to using renewable electricity. In the face of these and other related challenges, we suggest that it likely won’t be possible to maintain a consumption-oriented growth economy in the post-fossil future, and that we would all be better off aiming to transition to a simpler and more localized conserver economy." He warns against PR-savvy environmentalists who promise endless “green growth”.

Ugo Bardi of  University of Firenze, Italy has another suggestion, "Creative Collapsing".  He takes a leaf from the sower's wisdom and makes a quantitative calculation of how much energy we must squeeze out of the remaining fossil fuels reserves in order to build up the renewable energy infrastructure that will smoothly replace the present, fossil based, infrastructure. And how to do that without going over the climate edge. If we can manage that, it will be only the fossil fuel industry that collapses, but not the rest of us. And the calculations show that it is possible.

Climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf  quotes newly elected Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts from his maiden speech: "It is basic. The sun warms the earth’s surface. The surface, by contact, warms the moving, circulating atmosphere. That means the atmosphere cools the surface. How then can the atmosphere warm it? It cannot. That is why their computer models are wrong." Stefan Rahmstorf says it's a neagation of second law of thermodynamics. Remember this whenever a climate denier confronts you, you can't change the laws of nature!

One and only Gail Tverberg analyses the historic data and finds out that falling productivity is related to lower fossil fuel availability. Well, a good news on the face of it. But it can, and it is driving down the economy causing job losses and perhaps creating another economic collapse. This calls for using whatever fossil fuel left in the ground to be used for a greener energy transition, like Richard Heinberg says towards a low energy "simpler and more localized conserver economy". This is an urgent task on our hand. Ignoring it can lead to the dreaded economic collapse. 

Third and last part of David Bollier's important article “Transnational Republics of Commoning: Reinventing Governance through Emergent Networks” . In today's article he re-imagines the polity for a networked humanity. But he warns, "the commons is no magic talisman, nor a panacea.    Nor are network platforms.  But they do enable us to rediscover that sovereignty does not ultimately reside in the state or market (especially in these times), but within ourselves, together." 

Irwin Jerome and Chip Ward see the Sioux uprising at Standing Rock as a historic moment heralding a movement to protect life on earth and saving what's left of our common heritage. 

As Kashmir remains shut for 75th consecutive day, Dr Chandra Muzaffar of JUST Internations says that "We The People" must stand up and speak for peace and justice in Kashmir. 

Everybody knows Malala Yousufzai, but who knows Insha Malik asks Mir Liyaqat Nazir. Insha Malik is the girl who lost both her eyes in pellet gun fire in Kashmir. He asks why there is no world outrage on the suffering of Insha Malik. 

Aylan Kurdi is another victim of war who shook the world conscience. Dr. Ramzy Baroud says even Aylan Kurdi's  image is disturbingly used by various parties to validate their reasons for war. Stop the war in Syria! That's the only way, we can do justice to the memory of Aylan Kurdi. 

And more stories from around the world. 

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In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org





Re-Imagining The Polity For A Networked Humanity
by David Bollier 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/re-imagining-the-polity-for-a-networked-humanity/

The commons is no magic talisman, nor a panacea.  Nor are network platforms.  But they do enable us to rediscover that sovereignty does not ultimately reside in the state or market (especially in these times), but within ourselves, together.





Exploring The Gap Between Business-As-Usual And Utter Doom
by Richard Heinberg 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/exploring-the-gap-between-business-as-usual-and-utter-doom/

We concluded that, while in theory it may be possible to build enough solar and wind supply capacity to substitute for current fossil energy sources, much of current energy usage infrastructure (for transportation, agriculture, and industrial processes) will be difficult and expensive to adapt to using renewable electricity. In the face of these and other related challenges, we suggest that it likely won’t be possible to maintain a consumption-oriented growth economy in the post-fossil future, and that we would all be better off aiming to transition to a simpler and more localized conserver economy.





Creative Collapsing: A Way To Avoid The Climate Disaster
by Ugo Bardi 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/creative-collapsing-a-way-to-avoid-the-climate-disaster/

Is it possible to collapse gracefully and glide down in style along the Seneca cliff? In principle, yes. The recent paper by Sgouridis, Csala and Bardi , titled “The Sower’s Way.” takes inspiration from a strategy well known to ancient farmers, the fact that they had to save something from their current harvest for the next one; it is the origin of the common saying “don’t eat your seed corn!” So, the paper reports a quantitative calculation of how much energy we must squeeze out of the remaining fossil fuels reserves in order to build up the renewable energy infrastructure that will smoothly replace the present, fossil based, infrastructure. And how to do that without going over the climate edge. If we can manage that, it will be only the fossil fuel industry that collapses, but not the rest of us. And the calculations show that it is possible





What Really Causes Falling Productivity Growth:An Energy-Based Explanation
by Gail Tverberg 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/what-really-causes-falling-productivity-growthan-energy-based-explanation/

What really causes falling productivity growth? The answer seems to be very much energy-related. Human labor by itself does not cause productivity growth. It is human labor, leveraged by various tools, that leads to productivity growth. These tools are made using energy, and they often use energy to operate. A decrease in energy consumption by the business sector can be expected to lead to falling productivity growth. In this post, I will explain why such a pattern can be expected, and show that, in fact, such a pattern is happening in the United States.





Can A Blanket Violate The Second Law Of Thermodynamics?
by Stefan Rahmstorf 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/can-a-blanket-violate-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics/

One of the silliest arguments of climate deniers goes like this: the atmosphere with its greenhouse gases cannot warm the Earth’s surface, because it is colder than the surface. But heat always flows from warm to cold and never vice versa, as stated in the second law of thermodynamics. The freshly baked Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts has recently phrased it thus in his maiden speech: "It is basic. The sun warms the earth’s surface. The surface, by contact, warms the moving, circulating atmosphere. That means the atmosphere cools the surface. How then can the atmosphere warm it? It cannot. That is why their computer models are wrong."




Edward Snowden, The CIA And Sioux Indian Converge In Man’s Life
by Irwin Jerome 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/edward-snowden-the-cia-and-sioux-indian-converge-in-mans-life/

The theme underlying the Snowden Story is the fundamental question of Allegiance. To whom must the citizenry ultimately devote their allegiance: to the blind, unquestioning support of the Nazi War Machine during WWII; the American government and its CIA, NSA & DIA’s mass spying on its people, or; the Standing Rock Sioux Indian people and their supporters in the world allowing Wall Street and the Dakota Access Pipeline to forever desecrate the sacred waters and lands of all the people? Snowden Live and Sioux Indian defiance challenges every human being to answer for themselves the question, “What country, philosophy, ideology or way of life do you subscribe to and to whom you are prepared to commit your life’s total allegiance?”





Peace Pipes, Not Oil Pipes
by Chip Ward 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/peace-pipes-not-oil-pipes/

An economy hooked on carbon is threatening life on Earth. The waters of seas and oceans are warming fast; the weather is becoming unpredictable and harsh.   Perhaps it’s time to finally listen to and learn from people who lived here sustainably for thousands of years. Respecting Sioux sovereignty and protecting the sacred sites of tribes in their own co-managed national monument could write the next chapter in our American story, the one in which the Indians finally get to be heroes and heroines fighting to protect our way of life as well as their own





Honoring Aylan Kurdi By Ending The War In Syria
by Dr Ramzy Baroud

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/honoring-aylan-kurdi-by-ending-the-war-in-syria/

Despite the international despair generated by Aylan’s photo, the image was disturbingly used by various parties to validate their reasons for war. In some way, the photograph had, itself, become a weapon in the hands of the warring parties, as opposed to a rallying cry for an urgent ceasefire and eventual peace.




Our Insha Malik Couldn’t Become Malala Yousfzai
by Mir Liyaqat Nazir  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/our-insha-malik-couldnt-become-malala-yousfzai/

Insha Malik’s tragic story defines all that Kashmir has witnessed since decades of violence due to its fragile political history marred by the broken promises





Kashmir: “We The People” Should Stand Up
by Dr Chandra Muzaffar 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/kashmir-we-the-people-should-stand-up/

The time has come for “we the people” in the language of the UN Charter to stand up for the sons and daughters of Kashmir.




Photo Essay: An Afghan Outing And River Heals Us
by Our Journey To Smile 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/photo-essay-an-afghan-outing-and-river-heals-us/

The Afghan Peace Volunteer community agreed unanimously, “Let’s go for a picnic, or let’s just be together for a day.” And this photo essay resulted





Inquiring Into The Role Of CPI(M) In The Annihilation Of Caste
by Dalit Camera 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2016/09/21/inquiring-into-the-role-of-cpim-in-the-annihilation-of-caste/

Vijoo Krishnan recently led a team of CPI(M) and its mass organizations to the historic Dalit Asmita Yatra (culminating in Una on 15-Aug 2016). In the light of this, and participation of the party in various anti-caste uprisings in the country, Dalit Camera poses a few questions to Vijoo about the party’s role in Annihilation of Caste and their effort to bring about a Left-Ambedkarite unity.