Periscope articles and content
Race is an illusion. So say we all! But what do we intend by this saying, this performative? Denise Ferreira da Silva is but the most recent of scholars to note that, in dispelling race from its improper place … Continue reading “So Say We All”
When it comes to dealing with misfortune and injustice, the most effective tool to use if we want to make sure that troubles will persist without relief is a simple sentence: That’s water under the bridge. No use crying over … Continue reading “The Water Keeps Flowing”
The Natives should have died off by now. To still be alive is a miracle. Can you taste two billion year old air on your breath or the remnants of primordial seas in your sweat? Do you feel e-coli breaking bread in your bowels? Does your heart synch up with these words, these poetic echoes of ancient ancestors? Self and other, simultaneously…
I think today must go down in history as the moment when humanity collectively failed to secure its own future. It also has to be seen as one of the greatest crimes of the rich and powerful of the world … Continue reading “Failure”
This is the final session in a two-day workshop organized by the Transnational Institute, a group that bills itself as “a worldwide fellowship of scholar activists.” The overarching theme of the workshop was Defying Dystopia: Struggle Against Climate Change, … Continue reading “People's Alternatives”
Rosa Gonzalez of Green For All in Oakland was the facilitator of this session. She began by talking about the talks. They’re very challenging. On the way into Joburg, she got into a conversation with a cabbie that underlined people’s … Continue reading “Oral Testimonies from the Climate Wars”
Monday, December 5 This afternoon I attended a panel about the Rights of Nature with some of the foremost international proponents of the notion: Cormac Cullinan (lawyer and author of Wild Nature) Shannon Biggs (lawyer and director of Community Rights … Continue reading “The Rights of Nature”
Sunday, December 4 To put some perspective on the passionate calls for systemic change that I’ve been detailing in this blog, an article just ran in the New York Times announcing that “global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning … Continue reading “We're fucked!”
Sunday, December 4 Winnie Overbeck, Coordinator of the World Rainforest Movement, begins this presentation on Fake Forests. He was introduced by Wally Menne of Timberwatch. Winnie, he told us, is going to explain why we oppose industrial tree monocultures. My … Continue reading “Fake Forests”
Saturday, December 3 Today was the Global Day of Action against the UN COP17. Here in Durban, a large and very spirited crowd wound through the city towards the site of COP17 negotiations. Here are photos of the day, all … Continue reading “Global Day of Action”
Friday, December 2 REDD stands for the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. The idea is that forest-dwelling peoples around the world will be paid not to cut down their habitats. … Continue reading “REDD Teach-In”
Friday, December 2 The day’s activities began with a Climate Justice Tribunal. The model here, of course, is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which became a model for conciliatory justice after hearings in the transition to democracy during the mid-1990s … Continue reading “Climate Justice Tribunal”
Friday, December 2 Kamoji Wachiira (Kenyan-born senior fellow with the Canadian International Development Agency) presented this evening on contemporary land grabs. According to Wachiira, it is estimated that an area the size of Europe has now been grabbed in Africa … Continue reading “Land Grabs”
Thursday, December 1 Today the Democratic Left Front, a new formation in South African politics, organized a conference on Ecosocialism. The conference began with a youth delegation arriving on the wings of rousing anti-apartheid choral singing: There was some difficulty … Continue reading “Amandla! For Eco-Socialism”
Thursday, December 1 This session was organized by groundWork, a South African environmental justice and service organization. The panel began with a presentation by Mithica, a worker with the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, a coalition of African civil … Continue reading “groundWork – building social movements in and beyond Durban”
