Greetings all! As you can see, I've been away for this blog for a while. Blogging takes an amazing amount of focus, and I've been a bit sidetracked. Well, life happens, but the time away has given me a chance to think about things, including what I want from this blog.
My dedication to the idea of urban sustainability hasn't wavered. I'm still absolutely convinced that the world's cities and urban regions will be the central focus in creating a more sustainable world. How we approach the planning and design of our cities must be a very high priority in a world sliding toward environmental, economic, and social collapse, a world where over half of the population now lives in cities, a proportion that will be come even more larger in the coming decades. Consequently, I want to get back to using this blog as a place to think about these issues, and communicate with people who share these concerns.
There is a new layer that I'm going to explore on this blog, however. In tandem with these thoughts, I've been exploring the relationship between my faith and sustainability issues. As I've done this, I've become more broadly curious about the role of faith communities in the drive to create a more sustainable world. When I first set up this blog, I'd thought about creating a second blog to explore those issues separately, but have realized during my hiatus that I can't really separate the two topics out. And in a personal blog, there's no need to do so. Consequently, my thoughts here will begin to incorporate a faith perspective on these topics as I feel appropriate. I have become very conscious of how my faith life drives my desire to advance the urban sustainability agenda, so I don't feel the need any longer to separate the topics out. If I'm going to use something like this blog to explore these issues, I need to explore the topic in it's fullness as I perceive it. We'll see how this works out as time goes on.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and has a peaceful and quiet holiday season.
28 November 2008
18 August 2008
Energy in Colorado
MSNBC.com has a great story from the Washington Post this morning talking about the state of energy politics here in Colorado.
In the move toward a more sustainable urban future, one thing that will need to be figured out is how to power our cities. While compact land use patterns and alternative transportation types and fuels will be important, finding new way of electricity will also be important to a sustainable urban future as well. Colorado is taking some great strides in that direction. Read the article and get a feel for the great direction Colorado is moving in!
In the move toward a more sustainable urban future, one thing that will need to be figured out is how to power our cities. While compact land use patterns and alternative transportation types and fuels will be important, finding new way of electricity will also be important to a sustainable urban future as well. Colorado is taking some great strides in that direction. Read the article and get a feel for the great direction Colorado is moving in!
14 July 2008
On a Personal Note...
This article from Wired Science gives me an even more personal reason to work for urban sustainability and lessening the impacts of climate change. I've suffered from this particular affliction, and all I can say about it is:
OUCH!!!
OUCH!!!
13 July 2008
Farming in the City
The BBC has posted a great story on the Detroit-based non-profit Urban Farming and the work it is doing end hunger in our cities.
Their mission statement says that "Urban Farming intends to eradicate hunger while increasing diversity, motivating youth and seniors and optimizing the production of unused land for food and alternative energy". The goal of sustainable development is to integrate issues of environment, economics, and social justice in a way that current needs can be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Urban Farming is an organization that lives that definition. They work with volunteers and donors to farm unused urban land, making it productive and feeding the poor of their neighborhoods. They provide work for offenders on county jail rehabilitation programs, allowing them to develop new skills and a sense of self-worth.
If our cities are ever going to approach true sustainability, raising food locally is going to be a piece of the equation that integrates environment, economics, and social justice. A video on Urban Farming's website notes that during World War II, many Americans planted "victory gardens" to support the war effort. They ended up raising 40% of the produce grown in the US during that time. We are in a situation no less dire now. As the earth's climate warms and gas and oil and food prices rise, we are needing to re-evaluate how we feed ourselves. Raising more of our foods locally, either within the city itself, or more closely within the urban region, will become a greater necessity. Urban Farming is one organization recognizing this necessity and working to shift paradigms in the right direction.
Their mission statement says that "Urban Farming intends to eradicate hunger while increasing diversity, motivating youth and seniors and optimizing the production of unused land for food and alternative energy". The goal of sustainable development is to integrate issues of environment, economics, and social justice in a way that current needs can be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Urban Farming is an organization that lives that definition. They work with volunteers and donors to farm unused urban land, making it productive and feeding the poor of their neighborhoods. They provide work for offenders on county jail rehabilitation programs, allowing them to develop new skills and a sense of self-worth.
If our cities are ever going to approach true sustainability, raising food locally is going to be a piece of the equation that integrates environment, economics, and social justice. A video on Urban Farming's website notes that during World War II, many Americans planted "victory gardens" to support the war effort. They ended up raising 40% of the produce grown in the US during that time. We are in a situation no less dire now. As the earth's climate warms and gas and oil and food prices rise, we are needing to re-evaluate how we feed ourselves. Raising more of our foods locally, either within the city itself, or more closely within the urban region, will become a greater necessity. Urban Farming is one organization recognizing this necessity and working to shift paradigms in the right direction.
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