Sustainability video linkspam for the week ending June 25, 2011

I made the following programming note yesterday.

Yes, you get a meal of leftovers tonight, but feeding it to you all clears the way for a fresh linkspam of local news tomorrow, some videos I've been sitting on, and more coverage of stories I've been following, such as the ongoing saga of gas prices and the economy.

As I watch videos pop up on my YouTube subscription list, I save them to my Motie News playlist. Nearly all the videos that I've used on this blog are in it. When I went back to look at the list, it turned out that I had enough for a complete linkspam. Here it is, including some videos on the playlist that I've had in the backlog since May.

General Sustainability

Peak Moment 196: "Petroleum Man is dead. Infinite Growth Man is dead. Post Petroleum Human is alive," announced Michael C. Ruppert on May 22, 2011. Members of this emerging "species" know they must live in balance with the Earth, while remembering the lessons of industrial civilization. The star and subject of the documentary "Collapse", Mike founded CollapseNet.com in 2010 to empower people to connect and relocalize.

Ruppert plays almost as big a role in "The End of Suburbia" as Kunstler. Should my students ask what he's doing these days, seven years after "The End of Suburbia" was filmed, I can show them this clip.

Also, Peak Oil is one of the defining sustainability issues of our time, even more than climate change. Of course, the two are intimately connected, but I'm with Kunstler, Ruppert, and others that Peak Oil and its consequences are more likely to cause collapse than climate change.

Speaking of climate change...

Environment, including science and technology

With rising temperatures, extended fire seasons and foreign plant species threatening some of California's most treasured parks, Jarvis discusses actions underway to respond to the crisis.

As a former national park ranger, and a lifelong fan of national parks, I see the problems of the national parks as a good example of how our natural capital is at risk from climate change.

Kirk Goldsberry, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, talks about creating informational graphics and maps to help convey information.

Pay attention to the maps showing the difference in access to produce in Greater Lansing for people who walk and people who drive. Yes, this is old, but it's worth watching.

Society, including culture and politics

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Ta Da! Today is the day you've been waiting for! The brand new Weather Girls for May. Watch the Sunday eco-friendly angel Kitty bring you the the weather and words of wisdom.

This video from May 1st kicked off a month of green-themed dancing girls, another example of sustainability in unexpected places.

Now, to make up for the above video, I present the following.

It is a movement against the belief that any aspect of a woman's appearance might explain or excuse rape.

Remember, the social component of sustainability is about promoting a just society. So is the movement described above.

Also, this happened in Grand Rapids? I'll have to search to see if this was the first one in Michigan. I'd be surprised if Grand Rapids beat out Ann Arbor.

Economy

The Nation Institute's Chris Hedges and author of his most recent book, The World As It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress says the world as we know it is coming to an end. And what follows won't be pleasant or easy. But that the revolution must start, in America. Hedges joins the show to explain.

I could have posted this video right after the Peak Moment video featuring Ruppert, but there is more of an economic focus in this one. By the way, what Hedges describes is both Kunstler's "Consensus Trance" and Bageant's "The Hologram," both of which are worthy of their own posts.

Speaking of dissident voices on economics from Russia Today, here's Matt Taibbi in a video from about a month ago.

RT's Anastasia Churkina sits down with Matt Taibbi - journalist, author and contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine.

Why is it that our best muckraking reporting on economics and politics is being published in a music magazine? Think about that one, and tie it into what Hedges says above. I'll get back to you on that one.

Chrysler new paint shop

And now, some good local economic news that ties back to investment in technology, completing the circle.

Time to go to work!