March 11, 2020

It’s easy to picture a group of social justice and environmental activists gathering in a circle. But these days, instead of holding hands and singing songs, they’re loading weapons and taking aim. Ahhhhh, the carnage! Why are progressives so eager to join a circular firing squad? Maybe this isn’t our best bet for solving climate change and the other wicked problems of the 21st century. Wouldn’t it be smarter to jettison the holier-than-thou act and find ways to collaborate? Asher, Rob, and Jason uncover lessons from the misadventures of an oxen team, a $10 million lawsuit, and an avalanche of emails about thorium, hemp, and overpopulation.

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Show Notes

• Here’s a story from NPR, and one from the New York Times, about Bill and Lou, the oxen of Green Mountain College.
• Rebuilding the Foodshed, a book by Philip Ackerman-Leist about how to bolster regional food systems
• Our Renewable Future, a book by Richard Heinberg and David Fridley about the changes needed to achieve a 100%-renewable-energy economy
• Barack Obama’s warning about joining a circular firing squad
• It’s not always a circular firing squad; environmentalists can agree from time to time.
• McKibben and O’Laughlin call for reparations from Big Oil.
• Mark Jacobson’s nutty lawsuit
• The story of Love Canal and Lois Gibbs