1/25/2010
Colbert on Mountaintop Removal
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/261997/january-18-2010/coal-comfort---margaret-palmer
Save Our Biodiversity, SOS
SAVE OUR SANDHILLS HOSTS EXPERT ON
IMPERILED INSECTS AND THEIR HABITATS
On January 28, 2010, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Dr. Stephen Hall to give a talk on “Insects and Habitats That Are of Special Conservation Concern in the North Carolina Sandhills.” Dr. Hall, an Invertebrate Zoologist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, conducts studies of insects associated with specialized habitats.
The importance of this topic is two-fold. First of all, scientists are trying to determine whether certain insects are facing extinction. They are trying to give as much weight to preserving rare and threatened insects as they do to vertebrates and plants. Secondly, they are trying to gauge the ecological integrity of the habitats of specific insects. For example, they have found a high degree of ecological integrity in some longleaf-wiregrass woodlands, and a strikingly low degree of integrity in some wetland habitats. Integrity of habitat is important to healthy interrelationships between insects and their host plants. Each species of insect, plant or animal plays an essential role in its ecosystem. Destruction of habitat is cause for alarm. When plants and insects disappear, the food source of birds and other animals is compromised and can even lead to the extinction of local wildlife populations.
Dr. Hall, who received a B.A. in Zoology from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina, has been the Invertebrate Zoologist for the NC Natural Heritage Program since. 1990. He has extensively surveyed insect populations and their habitats in the Coastal Plain. In the Sandhills, he conducted a survey that resulted in the Saint Francis’ Satyr butterfly being listed as a Federal Endangered Species. With regard to this project, he worked at Fort Bragg with both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army to determine how best to protect and manage its populations. For several years, he also worked at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, preparing an inventory of the Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and skippers) at the park.
Join us for an informative and interesting evening; refreshments follow. We will meet on Thursday, January 28 at 7 P.M. in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
IMPERILED INSECTS AND THEIR HABITATS
On January 28, 2010, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Dr. Stephen Hall to give a talk on “Insects and Habitats That Are of Special Conservation Concern in the North Carolina Sandhills.” Dr. Hall, an Invertebrate Zoologist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, conducts studies of insects associated with specialized habitats.
The importance of this topic is two-fold. First of all, scientists are trying to determine whether certain insects are facing extinction. They are trying to give as much weight to preserving rare and threatened insects as they do to vertebrates and plants. Secondly, they are trying to gauge the ecological integrity of the habitats of specific insects. For example, they have found a high degree of ecological integrity in some longleaf-wiregrass woodlands, and a strikingly low degree of integrity in some wetland habitats. Integrity of habitat is important to healthy interrelationships between insects and their host plants. Each species of insect, plant or animal plays an essential role in its ecosystem. Destruction of habitat is cause for alarm. When plants and insects disappear, the food source of birds and other animals is compromised and can even lead to the extinction of local wildlife populations.
Dr. Hall, who received a B.A. in Zoology from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina, has been the Invertebrate Zoologist for the NC Natural Heritage Program since. 1990. He has extensively surveyed insect populations and their habitats in the Coastal Plain. In the Sandhills, he conducted a survey that resulted in the Saint Francis’ Satyr butterfly being listed as a Federal Endangered Species. With regard to this project, he worked at Fort Bragg with both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army to determine how best to protect and manage its populations. For several years, he also worked at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, preparing an inventory of the Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and skippers) at the park.
Join us for an informative and interesting evening; refreshments follow. We will meet on Thursday, January 28 at 7 P.M. in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
1/24/2010
Making the Family Farm Pay
http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/100124-making-family-farms-profitable.html
Granny D on Supreme Crt. Decision
http://www.truthout.org/doris-granny-d-haddock-response-supreme-court56272
More on Copenhagen
Copenhagen 'fails forest people'
A multi-billion dollar deal to reduce deforestation could trigger conflicts in forest-rich nations, a report warns.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/8473652.stm
A multi-billion dollar deal to reduce deforestation could trigger conflicts in forest-rich nations, a report warns.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/8473652.stm
1/23/2010
Rooster's Wife Tonight, Jan. 23
Let's eat cake, and listen to music !
The Jon Shain Trio
and Special Guests, the Grandsons
January 23rd, 2010 , 8 pm
Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight Street, Aberdeen NC
A block east of US 1 at the intersection of Knight and Poplar
Tickets at the door with cash or check.
(910)944-7502
The Jon Shain Trio
and Special Guests, the Grandsons
January 23rd, 2010 , 8 pm
Poplar Knight Spot, 114 Knight Street, Aberdeen NC
A block east of US 1 at the intersection of Knight and Poplar
Tickets at the door with cash or check.
(910)944-7502
1/22/2010
Permaculture for Disaster Relief
http://allalongtheedge.blogspot.com/2010/01/permaculture-design-is-for-disaster.html
A Blog from Haiti
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2010/01/port-au-prince-dispatch-the-light-that-will-heal-haiti.html
Meditation Events at TAHC, Sou. Pines, Jan 26, 27
CONSCIOUS LIVING CLASS Jan. 26, 2010 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. $10.00 Everyone is welcome.
DISCUSSION: Great discussion and insights from the group last week! We will continue looking at the four personality styles, how they live in completely different "reality tunnels," and how to relate and communicate with each style, no matter what your style may be.
Each Conscious Living Class ends with deep healing relaxation and powerful, positive affirmations.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEDITATION Jan. 27, 2010 7 p.m. FREE! Everyone is welcome!
DISCUSSION: Silence is your true nature, your natural state of being and is uncreated, requiring no effort. Silence is the language of God.
Silent meditation follows the discussion. For more information about meditation, please see: http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/naturalmeditation.htm
and http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/joy_of_meditation.htm
Tom Thompson
The Awakened Heart Center for Conscious Living
130 North Ashe Street
Southern Pines, NC 28387
910.692.0995
http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/
DISCUSSION: Great discussion and insights from the group last week! We will continue looking at the four personality styles, how they live in completely different "reality tunnels," and how to relate and communicate with each style, no matter what your style may be.
Each Conscious Living Class ends with deep healing relaxation and powerful, positive affirmations.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT MEDITATION Jan. 27, 2010 7 p.m. FREE! Everyone is welcome!
DISCUSSION: Silence is your true nature, your natural state of being and is uncreated, requiring no effort. Silence is the language of God.
Silent meditation follows the discussion. For more information about meditation, please see: http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/naturalmeditation.htm
and http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/joy_of_meditation.htm
Tom Thompson
The Awakened Heart Center for Conscious Living
130 North Ashe Street
Southern Pines, NC 28387
910.692.0995
http://www.theawakenedheartcenter.com/
1/21/2010
Monsanto's Corn Link to Organ Failure
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/monsantos-gmo-corn-linked_n_420365.html
1/20/2010
Haiti Now, Haiti's History
With Foreign Aid Still at a Trickle, Devastated Port-au-Prince General Hospital Struggles to Meet Overwhelming Need * One week after Haiti suffered the worst earthquake in over 200 years, a strong aftershock hit this morning. Initial reports said the latest quake measured 6.1 on the Richter scale—one of the strongest aftershocks since the 7.0-magnitude quake crippled this country eight days ago. While tens of thousands of the wounded await medical help, the survivors are still burying the dead. The death toll is now estimated at a staggering 200,000. Some three million Haitians—a third of the country's population—have been directly affected by the earthquake, with one-and-a-half million now homeless. Amy Goodman files a report from the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/20/devastated_port_au_prince_hospital_struggles
* Journalist Kim Ives on How Western Domination Has Undermined Haiti's Ability to Recover from Natural Devastation * Shortly after Haiti was hit by a 6.1 aftershock earlier today, Amy Goodman and Kim Ives of Haiti Liberté report from the Port-au-Prince airport. Amy and Kim discuss how centuries of Western domination of Haiti has worsened the impact of the devastating earthquake, from the harsh reaction to Haiti's independence as a republic of free slaves in 1804 to the US-backed overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Ives says, "This quake was precipitated by a political earthquake—with an epicenter in Washington, DC."
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/20/journalist_kim_ives_on_how_decades
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/20/devastated_port_au_prince_hospital_struggles
* Journalist Kim Ives on How Western Domination Has Undermined Haiti's Ability to Recover from Natural Devastation * Shortly after Haiti was hit by a 6.1 aftershock earlier today, Amy Goodman and Kim Ives of Haiti Liberté report from the Port-au-Prince airport. Amy and Kim discuss how centuries of Western domination of Haiti has worsened the impact of the devastating earthquake, from the harsh reaction to Haiti's independence as a republic of free slaves in 1804 to the US-backed overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Ives says, "This quake was precipitated by a political earthquake—with an epicenter in Washington, DC."
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/20/journalist_kim_ives_on_how_decades
CSA Meeting a Grand Success, Carthage, NC
http://www.sustainablesandhills.org/docs/CSATrainingisaSuccess.pdf
1/18/2010
1/17/2010
Dem Women Events
Democratic Women of Moore Co. Announcements:
1. MLK Jr. Celebrations: January 18th 11:00am - Please be at the Park on New York Avenue and Broad Street in Southern Pines around 10:15 if you would like to participate in the MLK Jr. Parade. The parade starts at 11:00 am.
All are invited to come and march to Southern Pines Primary School
January 18th at 12:15 Moore County NAACP will be sponsoring a program at Southern Pines Primary School Auditorium /West New York Avenue. The speaker will be Ken Lewis who is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic Nomination for a US Senate seat.
2. DWMC Meeting Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 AM - Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger will be our February speaker. If you have any questions or concerns that you would like for her to address please send an email to Tonia Camina sigmon02@yahoo.com.
3. DWMC Annual Luncheon and installation of officers will be held on Saturday March 13th at 10:30am at the Seven Lakes Country Club. It will be a Brunch Buffet and the cost is $12.50. All members and friends planning to attend please mail your checks to our treasurer: Nancy Sandoval , 415 Bethesda Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387
1. MLK Jr. Celebrations: January 18th 11:00am - Please be at the Park on New York Avenue and Broad Street in Southern Pines around 10:15 if you would like to participate in the MLK Jr. Parade. The parade starts at 11:00 am.
All are invited to come and march to Southern Pines Primary School
January 18th at 12:15 Moore County NAACP will be sponsoring a program at Southern Pines Primary School Auditorium /West New York Avenue. The speaker will be Ken Lewis who is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic Nomination for a US Senate seat.
2. DWMC Meeting Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 AM - Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger will be our February speaker. If you have any questions or concerns that you would like for her to address please send an email to Tonia Camina sigmon02@yahoo.com.
3. DWMC Annual Luncheon and installation of officers will be held on Saturday March 13th at 10:30am at the Seven Lakes Country Club. It will be a Brunch Buffet and the cost is $12.50. All members and friends planning to attend please mail your checks to our treasurer: Nancy Sandoval , 415 Bethesda Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387
1/15/2010
1/13/2010
SOS, Jan. 28, Inperiled Insects and Their Habitats in the Sandhills
SAVE OUR SANDHILLS HOSTS EXPERT ON
IMPERILED INSECTS AND THEIR HABITATS
On January 28, 2010, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Dr. Stephen Hall to give a talk on “Insects and Habitats That Are of Special Conservation Concern in the North Carolina Sandhills.” Dr. Hall, an Invertebrate Zoologist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, conducts studies of insects associated with specialized habitats.
The importance of this topic is two-fold. First of all, scientists are trying to determine whether certain insects are facing extinction. They are trying to give as much weight to preserving rare and threatened insects as they do to vertebrates and plants. Secondly, they are trying to gauge the ecological integrity of the habitats of specific insects. For example, they have found a high degree of ecological integrity in some longleaf-wiregrass woodlands, and a strikingly low degree of integrity in some wetland habitats. Integrity of habitat is important to healthy interrelationships between insects and their host plants. Each species of insect, plant or animal plays an essential role in its ecosystem. Destruction of habitat is cause for alarm. When plants and insects disappear, the food source of birds and other animals is compromised and can even lead to the extinction of local wildlife populations.
Dr. Hall, who received a B.A. in Zoology from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina, has been the Invertebrate Zoologist for the NC Natural Heritage Program since. 1990. He has extensively surveyed insect populations and their habitats in the Coastal Plain. In the Sandhills, he conducted a survey that resulted in the Saint Francis’ Satyr butterfly being listed as a Federal Endangered Species. With regard to this project, he worked at Fort Bragg with both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army to determine how best to protect and manage its populations. For several years, he also worked at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, preparing an inventory of the Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and skippers) at the park.
Join us for an informative and interesting evening; refreshments follow. We will meet on Thursday, January 28 at 7 P.M. in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
IMPERILED INSECTS AND THEIR HABITATS
On January 28, 2010, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Dr. Stephen Hall to give a talk on “Insects and Habitats That Are of Special Conservation Concern in the North Carolina Sandhills.” Dr. Hall, an Invertebrate Zoologist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, conducts studies of insects associated with specialized habitats.
The importance of this topic is two-fold. First of all, scientists are trying to determine whether certain insects are facing extinction. They are trying to give as much weight to preserving rare and threatened insects as they do to vertebrates and plants. Secondly, they are trying to gauge the ecological integrity of the habitats of specific insects. For example, they have found a high degree of ecological integrity in some longleaf-wiregrass woodlands, and a strikingly low degree of integrity in some wetland habitats. Integrity of habitat is important to healthy interrelationships between insects and their host plants. Each species of insect, plant or animal plays an essential role in its ecosystem. Destruction of habitat is cause for alarm. When plants and insects disappear, the food source of birds and other animals is compromised and can even lead to the extinction of local wildlife populations.
Dr. Hall, who received a B.A. in Zoology from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina, has been the Invertebrate Zoologist for the NC Natural Heritage Program since. 1990. He has extensively surveyed insect populations and their habitats in the Coastal Plain. In the Sandhills, he conducted a survey that resulted in the Saint Francis’ Satyr butterfly being listed as a Federal Endangered Species. With regard to this project, he worked at Fort Bragg with both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army to determine how best to protect and manage its populations. For several years, he also worked at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, preparing an inventory of the Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and skippers) at the park.
Join us for an informative and interesting evening; refreshments follow. We will meet on Thursday, January 28 at 7 P.M. in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
1/12/2010
Poetry Society at Weymouth, Jan. 16
North Carolina Poetry Society Winter Meeting
Saturday, January 16th, 2010 Weymouth Center, in Southern Pines, NC
9:15am Registration and order lunch (or bring your own)
10:00am Short Business Meeting, President Tony Abbott presiding
10:30am Winter Workshops:
"Short Forms" with Janice Moore Fuller, English professor and writer-in-residence, Catawba College.
*discussion of short forms such as the minute, the triolet, the decrescendo, etc...
*review examples and then practice in writing.
*bring raw material for writing, i.e. "failed" poems, writing notebook, etc.
"Lifting and Writing from Behind our Veils" with Jaki Shelton Green, 2008 Piedmont Poet Laureate
*explore your creativity, secrets, and memories.
"No Ideas But in Things" with Ruth Moose, UNC-Chapel Hill Creative Writing Program
*learn how to move from the subjective to the specific in your poems.
12:00pm Lunch, book room open
1:00pm Readings by Workshop Leaders
2:15pm Open mic and recitation
Saturday, January 16th, 2010 Weymouth Center, in Southern Pines, NC
9:15am Registration and order lunch (or bring your own)
10:00am Short Business Meeting, President Tony Abbott presiding
10:30am Winter Workshops:
"Short Forms" with Janice Moore Fuller, English professor and writer-in-residence, Catawba College.
*discussion of short forms such as the minute, the triolet, the decrescendo, etc...
*review examples and then practice in writing.
*bring raw material for writing, i.e. "failed" poems, writing notebook, etc.
"Lifting and Writing from Behind our Veils" with Jaki Shelton Green, 2008 Piedmont Poet Laureate
*explore your creativity, secrets, and memories.
"No Ideas But in Things" with Ruth Moose, UNC-Chapel Hill Creative Writing Program
*learn how to move from the subjective to the specific in your poems.
12:00pm Lunch, book room open
1:00pm Readings by Workshop Leaders
2:15pm Open mic and recitation
1/09/2010
1/08/2010
Best Foods Not Eaten
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/?em
1/07/2010
Coal Country at SCC
Moore County Sustainable Film Series
Join us for great films in 2010
Our Next film is "Coal Country"
January 14th, 6:30
Sandhills Community College
Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Sustainable Sandhills invites everyone to join us for the screening of "Coal Country," a film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller. The film is FREE so bring a friend and join in the discussion.
"Coal Country" tells the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountain top removal'. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever. Join us for a discussion of the social impact of cheap energy in America.
Bring the family! All ages are invited and it's FREE! We look forward to seeing you there!
Join us for great films in 2010
Our Next film is "Coal Country"
January 14th, 6:30
Sandhills Community College
Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Sustainable Sandhills invites everyone to join us for the screening of "Coal Country," a film by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller. The film is FREE so bring a friend and join in the discussion.
"Coal Country" tells the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. Passions are running high in the mountains of Appalachia. Families and communities are deeply split over what is being done to their land. At issue is the latest form of strip mining called ‘mountain top removal'. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever. Join us for a discussion of the social impact of cheap energy in America.
Bring the family! All ages are invited and it's FREE! We look forward to seeing you there!
Aging Poet Farmer Speaks, April 22
We have excitement here in Pittsboro with the Pittsboro-CCCC library rising against the sky on the Pittsboro campus. You can see it from 87, heading north out of Pittsboro, and to my astonishment, the Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library asked me to speak to their April 22 meeting, Thurs, 7:30 PM, Senior Center, just off 87 N. A little past that library on your left.
My topic is: "My Life and Economics as an Aging Poet-Farmer," with focus on how I have lived by relying more on the gift economy than on the market economy. My passion to write led to valuing time more than money. In the desperate circumstances that inevitably arose, learn how I became Sartre’s "genius," inventing solutions, which may seem outrageous, insane, and definitely high risk, but I enjoy good health, write regularly, and keep active and happy. I will read excerpts from my just completed book, Pushkin and Chickens: The Story of My Farm. http://judyhogan.home.mindspring.com
Also, remember that the CCCC Creative Writing Courses for the spring semester are about to begin--all genres being offered both in courses meeting weekly and in Saturday workshops. Don't miss this opportunity. I'll be teaching "The Tradition Helps Find the Poetic Voice." Mondays, 7-9 PM, March 1-April 26. www.cccc.edu/creativewriting
Call 542-6495, x223 to enroll now! Judy Hogan
My topic is: "My Life and Economics as an Aging Poet-Farmer," with focus on how I have lived by relying more on the gift economy than on the market economy. My passion to write led to valuing time more than money. In the desperate circumstances that inevitably arose, learn how I became Sartre’s "genius," inventing solutions, which may seem outrageous, insane, and definitely high risk, but I enjoy good health, write regularly, and keep active and happy. I will read excerpts from my just completed book, Pushkin and Chickens: The Story of My Farm. http://judyhogan.home.mindspring.com
Also, remember that the CCCC Creative Writing Courses for the spring semester are about to begin--all genres being offered both in courses meeting weekly and in Saturday workshops. Don't miss this opportunity. I'll be teaching "The Tradition Helps Find the Poetic Voice." Mondays, 7-9 PM, March 1-April 26. www.cccc.edu/creativewriting
Call 542-6495, x223 to enroll now! Judy Hogan
1/06/2010
Harsh, but It Makes Sense
Gary’s Note: Higher oil prices have been heralded as a sign that the economy is stirring, but James Howard Kunstler warns that the oil price is headed into a zone that destroys industrial economies, particularly the credit-based consumption economy in the U.S.
Whiskey & Gunpowder
By James Howard Kunstler
January 5, 2010
Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.A.
The Futility Economy
On the first business day of the new year and oil traded above $80 a barrel, which means the price has re-entered the danger zone where it can crush industrial economies. This is a central element of the predicament we find ourselves in. The US economy is essentially a Happy Motoring economy. During the whole nervous period since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, American gasoline consumption hardly went down at all, though so many other activities collapsed, from house-building to trucking. Yesterday, The Seattle Times published a story with the idiotic headline: Oil Touches $80 on US Economy, Demand Optimism. Apparently, they think high oil prices are “a good sign.”
How much can a nation not get it? Would $100 oil ignite a new orgy of “consumer” spending and another round of investment in commercial real estate? Welcome to the Futility Economy. This is the economy where Nature and its material companion, Reality, punish us for our stupidity and fecklessness. This is the economy that will tear the United States apart, after it bankrupts us at every level, and mercilessly drives the population down by one-third through starvation, homelessness, violence, disease, and sheer political cruelty.
Whatever you thought our economy was the past thirty years — whatever model of it you have in your head — that is definitely not what we are going back to. Like one of Dickens’s Yuletide ghosts, Reality is leading us by the hand into new circumstances. We resist like crazy. We throw our hands over our eyes. We don’t want to look. We want to return to the comfort of our dreary routines — living in places that aren’t worth caring about, weaving endlessly in freeway traffic, drawing a paycheck at the air-conditioned cubicle, inhaling Buffalo wings by the platterful, with periodic side-trips to the state-chartered casino where there’s always a chance of scoring a lifetime’s income on one lucky bet. And at the end of the day, you can retire with a simulated prostitute on your laptop screen! And not even have to fork over a dime — except perhaps for the Internet connection fee.
Reality is taking us out of that familiar, if sordid, realm, whether we like it or not. Our destination is an everyday economy where you rarely travel far from the place you live, where you have to make provision for you own health, your own old age, your own income, your own diet and your own education. If you’re really fortunate, some or all of these necessities can be obtained in conjunction with your neighbors in the place where you live — but don’t expect an increasingly mythical federal government to supply any of it. Expect a new and different way of organizing households based on extended families and kinship groups. Be prepared for agriculture to return to the foreground of everyday life, where farming is back at the center of the economy. Think about how you will cultivate your best role in a social network so the things you do will be truly valued by the other people who know you. Learn how to make your own music and write your own scripts. Try to study history. Keep your mind clear and your senses sharp.
Even if you have a dim sense that this is where we’re headed, most of you probably want to stay where you are. The investments we’ve made in the current mode of existence are so monumental that we can’t imagine letting go of them. This will be the theme of American life for the next couple of years as we struggle mightily to escape the confining armor of the Futility Economy and move closer to ways of life that have more of a future. Right now, all the power and authority in our culture has dedicated itself to remaining inside that old armor.
The Master Wish around the country, including among people who ought to know better, is that we can “solve” our economic problem by finding some other way to run all the cars. Even hardcore environmentalists yammer incessantly about hybrid and “plug-in” cars as the “solution” to our blues. One of Barack Obama’s first acts as president was to “save” the giant car companies. This is exactly the kind of signature behavior of a Futility Economy. It’s based on the idea that we have to continue driving cars all the time and for everything, at all costs.
The religion of the Futility Economy is Techno-Triumphalism, which is the belief that an endless sequence of magic tricks performed by shaman scientists can defeat the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which rules the universe — which true scientists ought to know cannot be defeated. Their colleagues, the shaman economists believe in parallel magic tricks, such as the idea that increased borrowing can “solve” a problem of runaway over-indebtedness. These are the actions that currently engage the people in charge of things in our society.
Given this current state of things, and the current course we’re on, my guess is that when the falsity of these ideas and actions are exposed, they will become evident not gradually but very rapidly and shockingly. The people in charge of things will lose their vested legitimacy in a flash, and the institutions they command will become irrelevant overnight. The process would be traumatic for all of us as routines we counted on for a thousand particulars of everyday life vanish or collapse. A Great Indignation will rise across the land over the perceived swindles involved. A lot of effort will go into avenging the swindles instead of rebuilding an economy out of the ashes of futility.
Regards,
James Howard Kunstler
Whiskey & Gunpowder
By James Howard Kunstler
January 5, 2010
Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.A.
The Futility Economy
On the first business day of the new year and oil traded above $80 a barrel, which means the price has re-entered the danger zone where it can crush industrial economies. This is a central element of the predicament we find ourselves in. The US economy is essentially a Happy Motoring economy. During the whole nervous period since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, American gasoline consumption hardly went down at all, though so many other activities collapsed, from house-building to trucking. Yesterday, The Seattle Times published a story with the idiotic headline: Oil Touches $80 on US Economy, Demand Optimism. Apparently, they think high oil prices are “a good sign.”
How much can a nation not get it? Would $100 oil ignite a new orgy of “consumer” spending and another round of investment in commercial real estate? Welcome to the Futility Economy. This is the economy where Nature and its material companion, Reality, punish us for our stupidity and fecklessness. This is the economy that will tear the United States apart, after it bankrupts us at every level, and mercilessly drives the population down by one-third through starvation, homelessness, violence, disease, and sheer political cruelty.
Whatever you thought our economy was the past thirty years — whatever model of it you have in your head — that is definitely not what we are going back to. Like one of Dickens’s Yuletide ghosts, Reality is leading us by the hand into new circumstances. We resist like crazy. We throw our hands over our eyes. We don’t want to look. We want to return to the comfort of our dreary routines — living in places that aren’t worth caring about, weaving endlessly in freeway traffic, drawing a paycheck at the air-conditioned cubicle, inhaling Buffalo wings by the platterful, with periodic side-trips to the state-chartered casino where there’s always a chance of scoring a lifetime’s income on one lucky bet. And at the end of the day, you can retire with a simulated prostitute on your laptop screen! And not even have to fork over a dime — except perhaps for the Internet connection fee.
Reality is taking us out of that familiar, if sordid, realm, whether we like it or not. Our destination is an everyday economy where you rarely travel far from the place you live, where you have to make provision for you own health, your own old age, your own income, your own diet and your own education. If you’re really fortunate, some or all of these necessities can be obtained in conjunction with your neighbors in the place where you live — but don’t expect an increasingly mythical federal government to supply any of it. Expect a new and different way of organizing households based on extended families and kinship groups. Be prepared for agriculture to return to the foreground of everyday life, where farming is back at the center of the economy. Think about how you will cultivate your best role in a social network so the things you do will be truly valued by the other people who know you. Learn how to make your own music and write your own scripts. Try to study history. Keep your mind clear and your senses sharp.
Even if you have a dim sense that this is where we’re headed, most of you probably want to stay where you are. The investments we’ve made in the current mode of existence are so monumental that we can’t imagine letting go of them. This will be the theme of American life for the next couple of years as we struggle mightily to escape the confining armor of the Futility Economy and move closer to ways of life that have more of a future. Right now, all the power and authority in our culture has dedicated itself to remaining inside that old armor.
The Master Wish around the country, including among people who ought to know better, is that we can “solve” our economic problem by finding some other way to run all the cars. Even hardcore environmentalists yammer incessantly about hybrid and “plug-in” cars as the “solution” to our blues. One of Barack Obama’s first acts as president was to “save” the giant car companies. This is exactly the kind of signature behavior of a Futility Economy. It’s based on the idea that we have to continue driving cars all the time and for everything, at all costs.
The religion of the Futility Economy is Techno-Triumphalism, which is the belief that an endless sequence of magic tricks performed by shaman scientists can defeat the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which rules the universe — which true scientists ought to know cannot be defeated. Their colleagues, the shaman economists believe in parallel magic tricks, such as the idea that increased borrowing can “solve” a problem of runaway over-indebtedness. These are the actions that currently engage the people in charge of things in our society.
Given this current state of things, and the current course we’re on, my guess is that when the falsity of these ideas and actions are exposed, they will become evident not gradually but very rapidly and shockingly. The people in charge of things will lose their vested legitimacy in a flash, and the institutions they command will become irrelevant overnight. The process would be traumatic for all of us as routines we counted on for a thousand particulars of everyday life vanish or collapse. A Great Indignation will rise across the land over the perceived swindles involved. A lot of effort will go into avenging the swindles instead of rebuilding an economy out of the ashes of futility.
Regards,
James Howard Kunstler
1/05/2010
1/04/2010
French Cuisine, Tuesdays at SCC
Sandhills Community College Hospitality & Culinary Arts Program Schedule ~ Spring 2010 Please Call for Reservations: Lavada Alsbrook, 695-3796 We ask that reservations be made at least one week in advance.
Sandhills Community College wishes you and yours a Happy New Year!! A new year means a new semester, and that means our SCC Hospitality & Culinary Arts Programs are getting ready to host a new schedule of luncheons. Help our students gain a learning experience in gourmet cuisine, serving and hosting in The Peggy Kirk Bell Culinary Lab in Little Hall. We hope you can join us for one or more of the enjoyable meals our students will serve up this semester.
All Spring 2010 Semester Lunches are Classical French Cuisine.
All Spring 2010 Lunches are $15.00 per person in the Russell Dining Room, Little Hal
From 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Luncheon Dates (Tuesdays):
Jan 26th Feb 2nd Feb 9th Feb 16th Feb 23rd Mar 9th Mar 16th Mar 23rd Apr 13th
Please call Lavada Alsbrook at (910) 695-3796 to make a reservation as seating is limited. *Note: Price does not include tax & surcharge.
Sandhills Community College wishes you and yours a Happy New Year!! A new year means a new semester, and that means our SCC Hospitality & Culinary Arts Programs are getting ready to host a new schedule of luncheons. Help our students gain a learning experience in gourmet cuisine, serving and hosting in The Peggy Kirk Bell Culinary Lab in Little Hall. We hope you can join us for one or more of the enjoyable meals our students will serve up this semester.
All Spring 2010 Semester Lunches are Classical French Cuisine.
All Spring 2010 Lunches are $15.00 per person in the Russell Dining Room, Little Hal
From 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Luncheon Dates (Tuesdays):
Jan 26th Feb 2nd Feb 9th Feb 16th Feb 23rd Mar 9th Mar 16th Mar 23rd Apr 13th
Please call Lavada Alsbrook at (910) 695-3796 to make a reservation as seating is limited. *Note: Price does not include tax & surcharge.
1/03/2010
Organic More Nutritious
http://allalongtheedge.blogspot.com/2010/01/organic-food-is-more-nutritious-duh.html
1/02/2010
New Year Affirmation
A new year affirmation quote from William Ellery Channing:
"I will seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion. I will seek to be worthy more than respectable, wealthy and not rich. I will study hard, think quietly, talk gently, and act frankly. I will listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely, await occasions and hurry never. In a word, I will let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common."
Breathe, Believe, Blossom & Be Radiant!
Gingy Caguioa
Mind & Body Connection Studio
"I will seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion. I will seek to be worthy more than respectable, wealthy and not rich. I will study hard, think quietly, talk gently, and act frankly. I will listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely, await occasions and hurry never. In a word, I will let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common."
Breathe, Believe, Blossom & Be Radiant!
Gingy Caguioa
Mind & Body Connection Studio
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