#promoting green economy

[greenthestral]

The Digital Green Economy: Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future

In recent years, the global community has witnessed a growing sense of urgency in addressing the pressing challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation. Governments, organizations, and individuals have come to recognize the need for sustainable practices and innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of these issues. As a result, the concept of a green economy has gained significant traction and has become a focal point for discussions on sustainability and economic growth.

A green economy refers to an economic system that prioritizes environmental sustainability, resource efficiency, and social well-being. It aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption and environmental degradation, instead promoting sustainable development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The principles of a green economy include transitioning to renewable energy sources, promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns, and investing in green technologies and infrastructure.

However, as we enter further into the digital age, another powerful force has emerged—the digital green economy. This innovative approach combines the principles of sustainability with the transformative power of technology, paving the way for even more profound changes and opportunities.

The digital green economy harnesses the potential of digital technologies to drive sustainable development. It leverages advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and cloud computing to create intelligent systems that optimize resource use, enhance energy efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.

One of the key advantages of the digital green economy is its ability to collect, analyze, and interpret vast amounts of data in real-time. The Internet of Things (IoT) enables the connection of various devices and sensors, allowing for the monitoring and control of energy consumption, waste management, and water usage. This level of connectivity and data-driven insights enable businesses and individuals to identify inefficiencies and make informed decisions that contribute to sustainability.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are also pivotal in the digital green economy. These technologies can analyze complex datasets, identify patterns, and predict trends, allowing businesses to optimize their operations, reduce waste, and develop innovative solutions. For example, AI algorithms can optimize transportation routes, reducing fuel consumption and emissions, or predict energy demand, enabling renewable energy systems to adjust accordingly.

The digital green economy offers numerous advantages that contribute to shaping a sustainable future. Firstly, it helps reduce environmental impact. By leveraging digital technologies, businesses can lower their carbon footprint and minimize their use of natural resources. Smart grids, for instance, optimize energy distribution, reducing energy losses and dependence on fossil fuels. Additionally, remote working and teleconferencing technologies decrease the need for business travel, thus reducing transportation-related emissions.

Secondly, the digital green economy promotes resource conservation and efficiency. By using data-driven insights, companies can identify areas of improvement, enhance energy and water efficiency, and minimize material waste. This fosters a circular economy approach, where resources are utilized and reused in a sustainable manner, reducing the strain on the environment.

Moreover, the digital green economy presents significant economic opportunities. As businesses embrace sustainable practices and develop green technologies, new markets and industries emerge. The transition to renewable energy sources, for example, creates jobs in the renewable energy sector, clean technology development, and green infrastructure. This not only drives economic growth but also ensures that sustainability becomes a cornerstone of future prosperity.

Additionally, the digital green economy enhances resilience and adaptability in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. By diversifying energy sources and embracing decentralized systems, communities can become more self-sufficient and less vulnerable to disruptions. The integration of renewable energy sources and microgrids, for example, can provide reliable power even during natural disasters, ensuring the continuous functioning of critical infrastructure.

Numerous digital green economy initiatives are already underway worldwide, demonstrating the potential of this transformative approach. Smart cities, for instance, leverage digital technologies to enhance urban sustainability. These initiatives integrate IoT devices, data analytics, and AI to optimize resource usage, improve transportation systems, and enhance citizen services. Barcelona's implementation of a smart irrigation system, adjusting watering schedules based on weather data to reduce water consumption in public parks, exemplifies the impact of such initiatives.

Furthermore, the integration of renewable energy sources into the existing energy grid is another significant aspect of the digital green economy. Through the use of smart grids and advanced energy management systems, renewable energy generation can be optimized and balanced with demand. Germany's Energiewende is a prime example, where digital technologies enable the efficient integration of wind and solar power into the national energy mix.

Precision agriculture is yet another domain where digital technologies are revolutionizing the sector and promoting sustainable practices. Precision agriculture utilizes sensors, drones, and AI algorithms to monitor crop health, optimize irrigation, and reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. This not only minimizes environmental impact but also enhances crop yields and farmer profitability.

However, as we delve into the potential of the digital green economy, it is essential to address certain challenges to ensure its widespread adoption and inclusivity. One of the primary challenges is the digital divide. Access to digital technologies and connectivity remains uneven globally, with underserved populations lacking the necessary infrastructure and skills. Bridging this divide is crucial to ensure that all communities can benefit from the digital green economy. Governments, businesses, and organizations must work together to improve internet access and provide training and support to ensure equal participation.

Another challenge is data privacy and security. The digital green economy relies on vast amounts of data to drive sustainable practices. It is imperative to establish robust cybersecurity measures and transparent data governance frameworks to protect sensitive information and maintain public trust.

Furthermore, the rapid proliferation of digital technologies also leads to an increase in electronic waste (e-waste). Proper e-waste management practices must be implemented to minimize environmental harm. This includes establishing recycling programs, promoting responsible disposal methods, and designing products that are durable and repairable.

The digital green economy represents a promising pathway towards a sustainable future. By leveraging digital technologies and integrating sustainable practices, we can reduce environmental impact, enhance resource efficiency, foster economic growth, and enhance resilience. The digital green economy offers numerous advantages, including reduced environmental impact, resource conservation, economic growth, and enhanced resilience. However, it is crucial to address challenges such as the digital divide, data privacy concerns, and e-waste management to ensure inclusivity and long-term success. By embracing the digital green economy, we can pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient world.

Defining the Digital Green Economy

The digital green economy refers to the integration of digital technologies and sustainable practices to promote environmentally friendly and resource-efficient solutions. It encompasses a wide range of sectors, including renewable energy, smart cities, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, and green transportation. The key objective is to leverage digital advancements to minimize environmental impact, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance resource conservation.

The Role of Digital Technologies

Digital technologies play a crucial role in driving the transition to a green economy. They enable the collection, analysis, and interpretation of vast amounts of data, facilitating informed decision-making and resource optimization. For instance, the Internet of Things (IoT) allows for real-time monitoring and control of energy consumption, waste management, and water usage, enabling businesses and individuals to identify and rectify inefficiencies.

Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms can analyze complex datasets to identify patterns and predict trends. This enables businesses to optimize their operations, reduce waste, and develop innovative solutions. For example, AI-powered algorithms can optimize transportation routes, reducing fuel consumption and emissions, or predict energy demand, enabling renewable energy systems to adjust accordingly.

Advantages of the Digital Green Economy

The digital green economy offers several advantages that contribute to a sustainable future:

Environmental Impact Reduction: By harnessing digital technologies, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact. For instance, smart grids can optimize energy distribution, reducing energy losses and reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, remote working and teleconferencing technologies can decrease the need for business travel, lowering transportation-related emissions.

Resource Conservation: The digital green economy promotes resource efficiency by optimizing processes and reducing waste generation. Through data-driven insights, companies can identify areas of improvement, enhance energy and water efficiency, and minimize material waste. This fosters a circular economy approach, where resources are utilized and reused in a sustainable manner.

Economic Growth and Job Creation: The digital green economy presents significant opportunities for economic growth and job creation. As businesses embrace sustainable practices and develop innovative green technologies, new markets and industries emerge. This leads to the creation of jobs in sectors such as renewable energy, clean technology, and green infrastructure development.

Resilience and Adaptability: The digital green economy enhances resilience and adaptability in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. By diversifying energy sources and embracing decentralized systems, communities can become more self-sufficient and less vulnerable to disruptions. For example, the integration of renewable energy sources and microgrids can provide reliable power even during natural disasters.

Examples of Digital Green Economy Initiatives

Numerous digital green economy initiatives are already underway worldwide, showcasing the potential of this transformative approach:

Smart Cities: Cities around the globe are leveraging digital technologies to enhance urban sustainability. Smart city initiatives integrate IoT devices, data analytics, and AI to optimize resource usage, improve transportation systems, and enhance citizen services. For example, Barcelona has implemented a smart irrigation system that adjusts watering schedules based on weather data, reducing water consumption in public parks.

Renewable Energy Integration: The digital green economy facilitates the integration of renewable energy sources into the existing energy grid. Through smart grids and advanced energy management systems, renewable energy generation can be optimized and balanced with demand. Germany's Energiewende is a prime example, where digital technologies enable the efficient integration of wind and solar power into the national energy mix.

Precision Agriculture: Digital technologies are revolutionizing the agricultural sector by promoting sustainable and resource-efficient practices. Precision agriculture utilizes sensors, drones, and AI algorithms to monitor crop health, optimize irrigation, and reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. This not only minimizes environmental impact but also enhances crop yields and farmer profitability.

Overcoming Challenges and Ensuring Inclusivity

While the digital green economy holds immense potential, it is essential to address certain challenges to ensure its widespread adoption and inclusivity. These challenges include:

Digital Divide: Access to digital technologies and connectivity remains uneven globally. Bridging the digital divide is crucial to ensure that all communities can benefit from the digital green economy. Governments, businesses, and organizations must work together to improve internet access and provide training and support for underserved populations.

Data Privacy and Security: As the digital green economy relies on vast amounts of data, ensuring data privacy and security is paramount. Robust cybersecurity measures and transparent data governance frameworks must be in place to protect sensitive information and maintain public trust.

E-Waste Management: The rapid proliferation of digital technologies also leads to an increase in electronic waste. Proper e-waste management practices must be implemented to minimize environmental harm. This includes recycling programs, responsible disposal methods, and product design that promotes durability and repairability.

Conclusion

The digital green economy represents a promising pathway towards a sustainable future. By leveraging digital technologies and sustainable practices, we can reduce environmental impact, enhance resource efficiency, and foster economic growth. From smart cities to renewable energy integration and precision agriculture, numerous initiatives exemplify the transformative power of the digital green economy. However, it is crucial to overcome challenges such as the digital divide, data privacy concerns, and e-waste management to ensure inclusivity and long-term success. By embracing the digital green economy, we can pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient world.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Adopting rightwing policies on issues such as immigration and the economy does not help centre-left parties win votes, according to new analysis of European electoral and polling data. Faced with a 20-year decline in their vote share, accompanied by rising support for the right, far right and sometimes the far left, social democratic parties across Europe have increasingly sought salvation by moving towards the political centre. However the analysis, published on Wednesday, shows that centre-left parties promising, for example, to be tough on immigration or unrelenting on public spending are both unlikely to attract potential voters on the right, and risk alienating existing progressive supporters.

[...]

One of the key lessons was that “trying to imitate rightwing positions is just not a successful strategy for the left”, he said. Two studies in particular, looking at so-called welfare chauvinism and fiscal policy, illustrated the point, the researchers said. Björn Bremer of the Central European University in Vienna said a survey in Spain, Italy, the UK and Germany and larger datasets from 12 EU countries showed that since the financial crisis of 2008, “fiscal orthodoxy” had been a vote loser for the centre left. “Social democratic parties that have backed austerity fail to win the support of voters worried about public debt, and lose the backing of those who oppose austerity,” Bremer said. “Centre-left parties that actually impose austerity lose votes.”

[...]

The data strongly suggests centre-left parties can build a coalition of voters who believe a strong welfare state, effective public services and real investment, for example in the green transition, are essential,” Bremer said. “But doing the opposite – offering a contradictory programme that promotes austerity but promises to protect public services and the welfare state, and hoping voters will swallow such fairytales – failed in the 2010s, and is likely to fail again.” Similarly, said Matthias Enggist of the University of Lausanne, analysis of data from eight European countries showed no evidence that welfare chauvinism – broadly, restricting immigrants’ access to welfare – was a successful strategy for the left.

[porterdavis]

Eyes on the prize

The fact, however, is that Biden has put in place a very ambitious agenda — major enhancements of Obamacare, student debt relief, big infrastructure spending, large-scale promotion of semiconductors and green energy that have led to a surge in manufacturing investment. Many voices warned that he was overreaching, that the economy would pay a big price. But it hasn’t. It turns out that we can, in fact, afford to do a lot to improve Americans’ lives and invest in the future.

Paul Krugman, NYTimes

[autogeneity]

context: post that went around recently about framing things in ways that appeal to conservatives.

everyone seems to have fixated on it being about the words used, and I think this is not the most effective understanding. I'm sure there are some people out there who figuratively "black out and hit reblog" upon seeing some words, but generally I think there's more to it than that.

the post included someone talking about "jiu-jitsu persuasion" which seems to be referencing this paper: Attitude Roots and Jiu Jitsu Persuasion: Understanding and Overcoming the Motivated Rejection of Science.

(the paper seems fairly meh and I don't believe it constitutes a generally accepted theory of communication as the person suggested but regardless)

I want to note that this is not inherently trickery. if I were someone who didn't believe in or care about climate change, but I did care about jobs and the economy, and someone convinced me to support some green policy on the basis of it promoting job creation and economic growth, that would not be me getting heckin bamboozled by seeing the word 'economy' — it would in fact be perfectly rational.

appealing to people in terms of what they care about, especially if you're not likely to have success in changing what they care about or their factual beliefs, simply makes sense. and is actually productive for everyone involved!

I think one case where it becomes troublesome, is when the basis of your rejection of certain beliefs consists largely of a motivated knee-jerk rejection of anything coming from the other side, and you have not established much else to justify it.

thus, when some argument contains the wrong shibboleths you simply shut it out, but I don't actually think in most cases that if it contains the right ones you will automatically accept it. however you will be receptive in a way you weren't otherwise.

at that point, if you still have a solid foundation for your beliefs, you may be willing to listen and understand and still ultimately reject it. but if you never had a particularly good reason against other than going with the flow or embracing an ideology without interrogating the particulars or etc, you may end up convinced. because the barriers you had were breached.

and they were probably terrible barriers! but they were not where the problem occurred.

frequently it is the case that you actually already held most of the requisite values and assumptions to land on some conclusion. you just had to walk the rest of the way that your barriers had restricted.

[dropthedemiurge]

Last Twilight Episode 10 Reaction

I wasn't even going to write my own posts of LT but this episode just delivered punch after punch! I couldn't help but comment, so–

I love to see Jimmy and Mark using their dramatic acting microexpressions attacks on my heart, i'm bleeding but I'm fascinated. Sea has grown a lot and acts so believable, I want to praise him. But damn, maybe it's because I actually remember Jimmy and Mark since Bad Buddy, the contrast is huge here. Jimmy also does that thing with the jaw that makes him look more manly and mature, none of the young and mischeivous Wai, in Vice Versa he also didn't reach this level of complexity, I think we all should bow to P'Aof & team for leading him.

I know I should be talking about Day who isn't crying while his family is devastated (he knew and was prepared and felt comfortable as long as he had Mork, they were not prepared) but I am biased... The way Night didn't even dare to touch Day when he wanted to comfort him at doctor office Т_Т And how later, at the dinner table he looked with such disbelief, and hesitantly started teasing Day as sibling again when Day reached out Т_т And how for months he felt he deserved to be silent, torn apart and uncomfortable, yelled at and judged for not taking care of his brother properly.

Noo, my heart!

But also Day and Mork, of course, the way Day bravely said "The last thing I saw in my life was his face", and Mork said "I'm sorry" and I can understand the mom going "you crossed over all lines with ny son, get out of my house", and it's probably huge red HR violation but Jimmy's big teary eyes aaaaah how could she not fold? I saw some comments on tumblr about the show not calling out her being abusive and everything, but I strongly disagree and I think it all makes sense. The strong single mom, the asian family, the unwanted oppression and self-misery that finally cracked during Christmas dinner – I could probably write my view on this in another post but who cares.

Dhskajvs I love how Porjai and Night are "patpraning" Mork and Day, like they are setting up plans to look like accidents just for two undestined lovebirds to be able to sneak out on a date from the parent who shouldn't know about it, very PatPran behavior xD Only friends are the one making it work xD

That's the face of a man giggling because he just declared himself a father and a future husband on his own (oh their mom is going to have a heart attack but who cares). "That's my child" - look at the sky, this night is so freaking green~ I'd say the real winner of that marathon was Night, Day maybe got a medal and a boyfriend but Night got a girl and a kid! xD His confidence is hot, but also I wouldn't hesitate a second as well if I saw Porjai available to be loved, I mean look at her! What a treasure.

I can't believe I was so on board and rooting for a hetero couple in a BL since the very first second but they are still going too damn strong. I love them. I shall draw a fanart.

Omg, pop-up books shout-out in a BL! First time seeing this. Okay, Day and Mork are freaking cute, I usually lose interest when characters start dating but they are so damn adorable and in their happy bubble here! Smiling and goofy Jimmy is all I need in this economy.

Master Aon is slaying on a dance floor, this actor is honestly stealing the show and I love it for him... I like how he shows being advanced and comfortable as visually impaired person in relationship with a girl that can see, the calling out and gestures and the comfort.

P'Aof and his damn heartwarming community scenes, first with MLC and now here, I knew what I walked in and still wasn't prepared for all the EmOtiOns<3

Promoting Oishii as one of the color paints is very creative but all it makes me think of is a VERY relatable situation with actual artists who put tea cup and water for paint on the same table... Yeah xD

Also, sniff kisses are so cute, fight me, westerns.

Lmao, Day even drew Jimmy's poor 5 o'clock shade above the lips fvsjakjahk I wonder which one of the staffs drew it, or was it actually Sea? No matter what, I bet this person had a lot of fun anyway :D

Okay, THERE ARE MORE SCENES THAT MAKE ME ALMOST CRY Poor Night, he was so unloved and judged in this family for a year, I will actually fight everyone to give him his own special beef stew.

He was going to distance himself out of guilt as a self punishment and feelings of 'the hero is here, the villain should vanish' supported by both people closest to him, but Day insisted he's a family and he should stay, reminding their mother of it… Oh no. So many feelings.

Again, it deserves another post. Where I talk about how Night feels like such a man, a protective adult who changed and is able and actively wants to take care of dear people, but who looks and feels like a small punished kid in his own family house. Day too, btw, but he hasn't found as much confidence as he struggles with blindness as well.

But I loved that family having fun scene. I loved it so much. That family trying out cake eating blindly was so nice, oozing of happiness. The curse of misery deserves to be broken, and the kids are the one breaking it, as usual. Mother should remember what's really important - her and her kids happiness, not control that's led by fear. But it's not easy. This is why this scene is so important, and filled with happy and relieved tears. Tbh I didn't feel like P'Aof glossed over the mother-son conflict, it's just that the narration feels... I don't wanna say more asian, it might be different from the sort of justice/revenge what some of the people wanted to see. I understand it and it hits home.

Oh I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, P'AOF!

Something tells me in a very loud way that this operation won't go well, look at Sea's face! The scene just screams "I still can't see anything". It would be such a P'Aof type of teaser as well, give hope and then trick into the opposite. I can't imagine him actually getting his vision cured. I'll fight myself if that's what actually happens in the next episode. It's a great way to show that you should just keep enooying life instead of regretting the cure.

[charyou-tree]

WASHINGTON (AP) — After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.

In an announcement Wednesday, the White House said the program will employ more than 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.

The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost.

Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorizing what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps.

“After years of demonstrating and fighting for a Climate Corps, we turned a generational rallying cry into a real jobs program that will put a new generation to work stopping the climate crisis,’' said Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental group that has led the push for a climate corps.

With the new corps “and the historic climate investments won by our broader movement, the path towards a Green New Deal is beginning to become visible,’' Prakash said, referring to a comprehensive jobs-and-climate plan supported by many activists and some Democrats but ridiculed by Republicans as a socialist nightmare that would raise taxes and hamper the economy.

Prakash, a frequent Biden critic, participated in a White House call on Tuesday promoting the new job corps, which comes as Biden tries to strengthen his appeal to young voters in the 2024 presidential campaign.

[afloweroutofstone]

Liberalism predates capitalism?

Assuming we mean "capitalism" in the way we talk about it today, the earliest you can argue it began is the late 18th century. I consider mercantilism to be a form of proto-capitalism, similar but distinct enough to be treated as its own system. Some scholars like Karl Polanyi argued that capitalism actually didn't begin until the early 19th century, with the emergence of markets for fictitious commodities.

Liberalism, as a broad political philosophy, is much older than this. It has its origins in the English Civil War in the 17th century and grew powerful throughout the 18th century. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, and even Adam Smith were all published writers before the emergence of capitalism.

Liberalism predates capitalism, but the two are closely associated because liberal theory came into full maturity at the same time that modern capitalism was emerging. The liberal impulse to oppose monarchies, aristocracies, and the Church went hand-in-hand with the aims of the emergent capitalists, who sought to eliminate the feudalist and mercantilist barriers to market economies that these "Old Europe" forces promoted.

The alliance between liberalism and capitalism was strained by the industrial revolution, where poor working conditions caused some left-leaning liberals to recognize that capitalists themselves could be just as dictatorial as the powers of Old Europe. This led to the emergence of "new liberalism" (Mill, Green, Hobhouse, Dewey, Naumann, etc.) which was more skeptical of unregulated capitalism; this is origin of the "liberalism" we talk about in mainstream United States politics today. Not long after, some socialists (Bernstein, Rosselli, etc.) also began to argue that socialism was the natural inheritor of liberalism: capitalism was the liberal alternative to feudalism, but socialism is now the liberal alternative to capitalism.

Liberalism was not "created" by capitalism, and indeed it is impossible for this to be true. Liberalism was used by capitalism to provide a justification for itself, but this association is not an inherent aspect of liberal political thought. There are liberals who are not in favor of capitalism, and there are people in favor of capitalism who are not liberal.

[dailyanarchistposts]

A.3.3 What kinds of green anarchism are there?

An emphasis on anarchist ideas as a solution to the ecological crisis is a common thread in most forms of anarchism today. The trend goes back to the late nineteenth century and the works of Peter Kropotkin and Elisee Reclus. The latter, for example, argued that a “secret harmony exists between the earth and the people whom it nourishes, and when imprudent societies let themselves violate this harmony, they always end up regretting it.” Similarly, no contemporary ecologist would disagree with his comments that the “truly civilised man [and women] understands that his [or her] nature is bound up with the interest of all and with that of nature. He [or she] repairs the damage caused by his predecessors and works to improve his domain.” [quoted by George Woodcock, “Introduction”, Marie Fleming, The Geography of Freedom, p. 15]

With regards Kropotkin, he argued that an anarchist society would be based on a confederation of communities that would integrate manual and brain work as well as decentralising and integrating industry and agriculture (see his classic work Fields, Factories, and Workshops). This idea of an economy in which “small is beautiful” (to use the title of E.F. Schumacher’s Green classic) was proposed nearly 70 years before it was taken up by what was to become the green movement. In addition, in Mutual Aid Kropotkin documented how co-operation within species and between them and their environment is usually of more benefit to them than competition. Kropotkin’s work, combined with that of William Morris, the Reclus brothers (both of whom, like Kropotkin, were world-renowned geographers), and many others laid the foundations for the current anarchist interest in ecological issues.

However, while there are many themes of an ecological nature within classical anarchism, it is only relatively recently that the similarities between ecological thought and anarchism has come to the fore (essentially from the publication of Murray Bookchin’s classic essay “Ecology and Revolutionary Thought” in 1965). Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to state that it is the ideas and work of Murray Bookchin that has placed ecology and ecological issues at the heart of anarchism and anarchist ideals and analysis into many aspects of the green movement.

Before discussing the types of green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism) it would be worthwhile to explain exactly what anarchism and ecology have in common. To quote Murray Bookchin, “both the ecologist and the anarchist place a strong emphasis on spontaneity” and “to both the ecologist and the anarchist, an ever-increasing unity is achieved by growing differentiation. An expanding whole is created by the diversification and enrichment of its parts.” Moreover, ”[j]ust as the ecologist seeks to expand the range of an eco-system and promote free interplay between species, so the anarchist seeks to expand the range of social experiments and remove all fetters to its development.” [Post-Scarcity Anarchism, p. 36]

Thus the anarchist concern with free development, decentralisation, diversity and spontaneity is reflected in ecological ideas and concerns. Hierarchy, centralisation, the state and concentrations of wealth reduce diversity and the free development of individuals and their communities by their very nature, and so weakens the social eco-system as well as the actual eco-systems human societies are part of. As Bookchin argues, “the reconstructive message of ecology… [is that] we must conserve and promote variety” but within modern capitalist society ”[a]ll that is spontaneous, creative and individuated is circumscribed by the standardised, the regulated and the massified.” [Op. Cit., p. 35 and p. 26] So, in many ways, anarchism can be considered the application of ecological ideas to society, as anarchism aims to empower individuals and communities, decentralise political, social and economic power so ensuring that individuals and social life develops freely and so becomes increasingly diverse in nature. It is for this reason Brian Morris argues that “the only political tradition that complements and, as it were, integrally connects with ecology — in a genuine and authentic way — is that of anarchism.” [Ecology and Anarchism, p. 132]

So what kinds of green anarchism are there? While almost all forms of modern anarchism consider themselves to have an ecological dimension, the specifically eco-anarchist thread within anarchism has two main focal points, Social Ecology and “primitivist”. In addition, some anarchists are influenced by Deep Ecology, although not many. Undoubtedly Social Ecology is the most influential and numerous current. Social Ecology is associated with the ideas and works of Murray Bookchin, who has been writing on ecological matters since the 1950’s and, from the 1960s, has combined these issues with revolutionary social anarchism. His works include Post-Scarcity Anarchism, Toward an Ecological Society, The Ecology of Freedom and a host of others.

Social Ecology locates the roots of the ecological crisis firmly in relations of domination between people. The domination of nature is seen as a product of domination within society, but this domination only reaches crisis proportions under capitalism. In the words of Murray Bookchin:

“The notion that man must dominate nature emerges directly from the domination of man by man… But it was not until organic community relations… dissolved into market relationships that the planet itself was reduced to a resource for exploitation. This centuries-long tendency finds its most exacerbating development in modern capitalism. Owing to its inherently competitive nature, bourgeois society not only pits humans against each other, it also pits the mass of humanity against the natural world. Just as men are converted into commodities, so every aspect of nature is converted into a commodity, a resource to be manufactured and merchandised wantonly … The plundering of the human spirit by the market place is paralleled by the plundering of the earth by capital.” [Op. Cit., pp. 24–5]

“Only insofar,” Bookchin stresses, “as the ecology consciously cultivates an anti-hierarchical and a non-domineering sensibility, structure, and strategy for social change can it retain its very identity as the voice for a new balance between humanity and nature and its goal for a truly ecological society.” Social ecologists contrast this to what Bookchin labels “environmentalism” for while social ecology “seeks to eliminate the concept of the domination of nature by humanity by eliminating domination of human by human, environmentalism reflects an ‘instrumentalist’ or technical sensibility in which nature is viewed merely as a passive habit, an agglomeration of external objects and forces, that must be made more ‘serviceable’ for human use, irrespective of what these uses may be. Environmentalism .. . does not bring into question the underlying notions of the present society, notably that man must dominate nature. On the contrary, it seeks to facilitate that domination by developing techniques for diminishing the hazards caused by domination.” [Murray Bookchin, Towards an Ecological Society, p. 77]

Social ecology offers the vision of a society in harmony with nature, one which “involves a fundamental reversal of all the trends that mark the historic development of capitalist technology and bourgeois society — the minute specialisation of machines and labour, the concentration of resources and people in gigantic industrial enterprises and urban entities, the stratification and bureaucratisation of nature and human beings.” Such an ecotopia “establish entirely new eco-communities that are artistically moulded to the eco-systems in which they are located.” Echoing Kropotkin, Bookchin argues that ”[s]uch an eco-community … would heal the split between town and country, between mind and body by fusing intellectual with physical work, industry with agricultural in a rotation or diversification of vocational tasks.” This society would be based on the use of appropriate and green technology, a “new kind of technology — or eco-technology — one composed of flexible, versatile machinery whose productive applications would emphasise durability and quality, not built in obsolescence, and insensate quantitative output of shoddy goods, and a rapid circulation of expendable commodities … Such an eco-technology would use the inexhaustible energy capacities of nature — the sun and wind, the tides and waterways, the temperature differentials of the earth and the abundance of hydrogen around us as fuels — to provide the eco-community with non-polluting materials or wastes that could be recycled.” [Bookchin, Op. Cit., pp. 68–9]

However, this is not all. As Bookchin stresses an ecological society “is more than a society that tries to check the mounting disequilibrium that exists between humanity and the natural world. Reduced to simple technical or political issues, this anaemic view of such a society’s function degrades the issues raised by an ecological critique and leads them to purely technical and instrumental approaches to ecological problems. Social ecology is, first of all, a sensibility that includes not only a critique of hierarchy and domination but a reconstructive outlook … guided by an ethics that emphasises variety without structuring differences into a hierarchical order … the precepts for such an ethics … [are] participation and differentiation.” [The Modern Crisis, pp. 24–5]

Therefore social ecologists consider it essential to attack hierarchy and capitalism, not civilisation as such as the root cause of ecological problems. This is one of the key areas in which they disagree with “Primitivist” Anarchist ideas, who tend to be far more critical of all aspects of modern life, with some going so far as calling for “the end of civilisation” including, apparently, all forms of technology and large scale organisation. We discuss these ideas in section A.3.9.

We must note here that other anarchists, while generally agreeing with its analysis and suggestions, are deeply critical of Social Ecology’s support for running candidates in municipal elections. While Social Ecologists see this as a means of creating popular self-managing assemblies and creating a counter power to the state, few anarchists agree. Rather they see it as inherently reformist as well as being hopelessly naive about the possibilities of using elections to bring about social change (see section J.5.14 for a fuller discussion of this). Instead they propose direct action as the means to forward anarchist and ecological ideas, rejecting electioneering as a dead-end which ends up watering down radical ideas and corrupting the people involved (see section J.2 — What is Direct Action?).

Lastly, there is “deep ecology,” which, because of its bio-centric nature, many anarchists reject as anti-human. There are few anarchists who think that people, as people, are the cause of the ecological crisis, which many deep ecologists seem to suggest. Murray Bookchin, for example, has been particularly outspoken in his criticism of deep ecology and the anti-human ideas that are often associated with it (see Which Way for the Ecology Movement?, for example). David Watson has also argued against Deep Ecology (see his How Deep is Deep Ecology? written under the name George Bradford). Most anarchists would argue that it is not people but the current system which is the problem, and that only people can change it. In the words of Murray Bookchin:

”[Deep Ecology’s problems] stem from an authoritarian streak in a crude biologism that uses ‘natural law’ to conceal an ever-diminishing sense of humanity and papers over a profound ignorance of social reality by ignoring the fact it is capitalism we are talking about, not an abstraction called ‘Humanity’ and ‘Society.’” [The Philosophy of Social Ecology, p. 160]

Thus, as Morris stresses, “by focusing entirely on the category of ‘humanity’ the Deep Ecologists ignore or completely obscure the social origins of ecological problems, or alternatively, biologise what are essentially social problems.” To submerge ecological critique and analysis into a simplistic protest against the human race ignores the real causes and dynamics of ecological destruction and, therefore, ensures an end to this destruction cannot be found. Simply put, it is hardly “people” who are to blame when the vast majority have no real say in the decisions that affect their lives, communities, industries and eco-systems. Rather, it is an economic and social system that places profits and power above people and planet. By focusing on “Humanity” (and so failing to distinguish between rich and poor, men and women, whites and people of colour, exploiters and exploited, oppressors and oppressed) the system we live under is effectively ignored, and so are the institutional causes of ecological problems. This can be “both reactionary and authoritarian in its implications, and substitutes a naive understanding of ‘nature’ for a critical study of real social issues and concerns.” [Morris, Op. Cit., p. 135]

Faced with a constant anarchist critique of certain of their spokes-persons ideas, many Deep Ecologists have turned away from the anti-human ideas associated with their movement. Deep ecology, particularly the organisation Earth First! (EF!), has changed considerably over time, and EF! now has a close working relationship with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a syndicalist union. While deep ecology is not a thread of eco-anarchism, it shares many ideas and is becoming more accepted by anarchists as EF! rejects its few misanthropic ideas and starts to see that hierarchy, not the human race, is the problem (for a discussion between Murray Bookchin and leading Earth Firster! Dave Foreman see the book Defending the Earth).

[isitandwonder]

A little background information on what's going on in Iran right now.

The first protest movement the young people on the streets rn will remember was the so-called green revolution of 2009.

President Ahmadinejad had just gotten re-elected for a second term, but the election was rigged. Especially young people took to the streets for months to protest the election, but the movement was eventually shut down by repressive force and mass incarceration.

Ahmadinejad's presidency seemed quite oppressive to the West but at least during his first term he had support within the Iranian public because he had an image of being humble and on the side of the poor.

Corruption is the worst problem in Iran and every politician promising to end it finds huge support.

Ahmadinejad didn't conquer corruption and his oppressive government in the end pissed of both the West and his own population.

He was followed by Rohani, a moderate cleric who even used some of the slogans of the green revolution. Under Rohani, Iran tentatively developed and renewed relations with the West, manifesting in a deal regarding the Iranian nuclear project.

Hope was spreading in Iran for rising economic prosperity. The Iranian population is young and very well educated, but for many years there was simply no market that could absorb all this talent (both due to western sanctions and a corrupt work market where you only get a good job or promotion if you know the right people), leading to great frustration within the population.

But after a brief period of economic growth things started to go downhill again after 2018, when Trump revoked the nuclear deal and imposed new sanctions on Iran.

These, in occurrence with the still endemic corruption of the (clerical) elites plundering the riches of the land, let to rising inflation and a crashing economy, culminating in new protests at the end of 2019 when state controlled prices on essential goods were raised dramatically.

In answer to these protests, the regime once again killed protestor and activists and incarcerated many they thought behind the uprising.

But at least the Rohani government understood that in times of economic hardship you can't rule completely against your own population. So, to ease the situation and sooth the heated atmosphere, small freedoms became more and possible.

For example, headscarves were worn rather lose. What people did in private (parties, dancing, singing, alcohol etc.) was largely ignored by the authorities as long as it wasn't turned into a political statement. Those new coffee shops flourished as a sign of young urban liberal culture.

This is the atmosphere the young people on the streets rn grew up in.

But as under Rohani the whole economic situation didn't improve, last year the very conservative Raisi was elected. Not because people were a fan of his strict religious beliefs, but because once again he vowed to end corruption. Iranians were prepared to put up with a conservative leader if he fought the endemic corruption, or they simply couldn't imagine Raisi turning back the social change that had taken place under Rohani.

I remember talking to friends telling me it wouldn't be that bad under Raisi.

They were wrong.

The economy is still in shambles, corruption thrives. Young educated people who've grown up in a rather liberal climate still don't see opportunities for themselves in Iran.

The difference to 2009 is that they grew up with the internet and the possibilities of connecting and communicating it offers. But as skyrocketing inflation is now even threatening the middle classes, who 10 or 20 years ago would have emigrated but can't afford that now, the demands for reform within Iran are rising.

The lack of opportunities, of a satisfactory future, is now driving the young middle class people out onto the streets. These are not the marginalized poor revolting. These are the children of the people keeping the country running. Add to that Raisi's oppressive policy, tightening hijab and dress rules for example to control an increasingly disobedient public and to distract from his inability to get the economy going, and you get a social pressure cooker.

Raisi is taking away the small freedoms and escapes that allowed the young population of Iran to carve out niches for themselves within the strict Islamic regime.

And they won't have that. They are not going back.

Every girl could have been Mahsa Amini because they all wear their scarf quite lose.

Her murder has shown them that there's no future for them within the Islamic regime.

That's what they are fighting for, their future.

And you might have recognized, there's no talk in this post about religion. The revolution in Iran isn't about religion or Islam this time (and maybe never was in 1979 either). It's about social issues and especially economic issues.

People have had enough of a tiny rich elite lining their pockets with the wealth of Iran while most people right up into the middle classes see no future in their own country.

That's what happened under the Shah and he was thrown out. The same will happen with this clerical regime.

[berniesrevolution]

DISSENT MAGAZINE

At critical times, foreign wars have tested the moral convictions of American leftists and affected the fate of their movement for years to come. The Socialist Party’s opposition to entering the First World War provoked furious state repression but later gained a measure of redemption when Americans learned that U.S. troops had not made the world safe for democracy after all. Leftists proved prescient again in the late 1930s when they rallied to defend the Spanish Republic against a right-wing military and its fascist allies, Italy and Germany. The republic’s defeat emboldened Adolf Hitler to launch what quickly became the Second World War. When, twenty years later, American Communists backed the Soviet Union’s crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, they shoved their party firmly and irrevocably to the margins of political life, which opened up space for the emergence of a New Left that rejected imperial aggressors of all ideological persuasions.

The war in Ukraine has a good chance of turning into another such decisive event. Who to blame for the bloodshed in that country should be obvious: a massive nation led by an authoritarian ruler with one of the world’s largest militaries at his disposal is seeking to conquer and subjugate a smaller and weaker neighbor. In pursuit of that vicious purpose, Vladimir Putin’s soldiers have committed countless rapes and acts of torture. His air force is systematically trying to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy, hoping to undermine its citizens’ will to resist. Yet Ukrainians, with the aid of arms from the United States and other NATO countries, have so far managed to fight this superior force to a stalemate.

A sizeable number of American leftists have embraced an alternate reality. For them, the culprit is NATO’s post–Cold War expansion, fueled by the drive of the U.S. state and capital to bend the world to their desires. The popular author and journalist Chris Hedges cracks that the war in Ukraine “doesn’t make any geopolitical sense, but it’s good for business.” The Green Party condemns the “perpetual war mentality” of the “US foreign policy establishment” and concludes, “There are no good guys in this crisis.���

These critics ignore or dismiss the fact that every nation that joined NATO did so willingly, knowing that Russia was capable of launching the kind of attack now underway in Ukraine. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s demise, the expansion of NATO may well have been too hasty. But not one of its newer members has done anything to threaten Putin’s regime. And every country that joined the alliance enjoys a democratically elected government. They contrast sharply with the handful of nations, besides Putin’s, that voted against a UN resolution last month demanding the Russians withdraw from Ukraine: Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, Eritrea, and Mali. All but the last are one-party dictatorships, and Mali relies on Russian mercenaries to battle Islamist rebels.

It seems not to bother these leftists that they are making common cause with some of the most atrocious and prominent stalwarts of the Trumpian right. Tucker Carlson routinely bashes the U.S. commitment to Ukraine with lines like “Has Putin ever called me a racist?” while Marjorie Taylor Greene recently declared, “I’m completely against the war in Ukraine. . . . You know who’s driving it? It’s America. America needs to stop pushing the war in Ukraine.”

On February 19, some members of the alliance of right and left staged a demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to vent its “Rage Against the War Machine.” Speakers included Ron Paul and Tulsi Gabbard as well as Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2016 nominee for president, and Medea Benjamin, the founder of Code Pink. Carlson promoted the event on the highest rated “news” show in the history of cable TV. At the Memorial, several protesters flew Russian flags.

To paraphrase August Bebel’s famous line about anti-Semitism, the hostility of those leftists who oppose helping Ukraine is an anti-imperialism of fools—although, unlike past Jew haters, they are fools with good intentions. Wars are always horrible events, no matter who starts them or why. And we on the left should do whatever we can to stop them from starting and end them when they do.

But neither the United States nor its allies forced Putin to invade. In speech after speech, he has made clear his mourning for the loss of the Soviet empire and his firm belief that Ukraine should be part of a revived one, this time sanctified by an Orthodox cross instead of the hammer-and-sickle. As the historian (and my cousin) David A. Bell wrote recently, the United States is not “the only international actor that really matters in the current crisis.” It may have the mightiest war machine, but Biden is not shipping arms to Ukraine in an attempt to subjugate Russia to his will. We should, Bell writes, “judge every international situation on its own terms, considering the actions of all parties, and not just the most powerful one. . . . the horrors Putin has already inflicted on Ukraine, and his long-term goals, are strong reasons . . . for continuing current U.S. policy, despite the attendant costs and risks.”

(Continue Reading)

[naturalrights-retard]

by Station Gossip

New Jersey officials announced Tuesday that the state would be joining a growing list of Democrat-led states slated to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

New Jersey becomes at least the 17th state to follow some or all of California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule that was passed by a regulatory board in the summer of 2022. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said the move will help “lower emissions and improve air quality,” claiming that the new rule will also “preserve consumer choice.” 

“The steps we take today to lower emissions will improve air quality and mitigate climate impacts for generations to come, all while increasing access to cleaner car choices,” Murphy said in a press release. “Indeed, together with my Administration’s continuing investments in voluntary electric vehicle incentives, charging infrastructure, and the green economy, these new standards will preserve consumer choice and promote affordability for hardworking New Jerseyans across the state.”

The Garden State joins California, Vermont, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Connecticut in committing to implement the complete ban on new gas-powered vehicles, The Hill reported. The ban will not affect gas-powered vehicles already owned or the sale of used gas-powered vehicles. 

[climatecalling]

Consumerism is the path to planetary ruin, but there are other ways to live

Faced with the now undeniable impacts of climate crisis created by humans, political leaders in wealthier countries incline towards one of two competing responses. They either question the urgency and feasibility of meeting net zero targets and generally procrastinate (the rightwing tendency); or they proclaim their faith in the powers of magical green technologies to protect the planet while prolonging and extending our present affluent ways of living (a position more favoured on the left and centre). Common to both approaches is a wrongheaded presumption that we can carry on growing while managing to hold off the floods and fires of growth-driven capitalism. ... Sustainable production and consumption must therefore replace undifferentiated economic growth as the goal of 21st-century political economy. And making the case for this means challenging the belief that sustainable consumption will always involve sacrifice, rather than improve wellbeing. Our so-called “good life” is, after all, a major cause of stress and ill health. It is noisy, polluting and wasteful. Its commercial priorities have forced people to gear everything to jobseeking and career development, but still leave many people facing chronically unfulfilling and precarious jobs and lives. ... By offering a broader cultural dimension to the existing arguments of those who dissent from today’s economic orthodoxy and want to promote a less unequal world, a compelling vision of alternative ways of living can help to inspire a more diverse, confident and substantial opposition. And in expanding on that vision we now need to look beyond western ideas of progress to include other influences and sources of inspiration.

[argyrocratie]

“On a technological as well as a policy level, the instruments for reducing global warming are a part of the problem, rather than the solution. Because emissions reductions are designed to enable the continuous economic growth on which capitalism is predicated, “going green” means, more than anything else, a shift from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy on a massive, industrialized scale. But renewable energies on an industrial scale are also extremely destructive.

Hydroelectric power is currently the foremost renewable energy source. Hydroelectric dams are extremely destructive to build. They require a huge amount of concrete, production of which is one of the main greenhouse gas emitters, they cause the loss of huge amounts of forest and farmland, they kill off riverine species such as salmon, they disrupt natural flooding cycles necessary to many ecosystems, and their reservoirs emit large quantities of methane.

Photovoltaic cells capturing solar energy—solar panels—frequently use toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, gallium, and lead in their construction. On a localized scale, houses in most climates could be heated, cooled, and provided with warm water through efficient design capturing solar energy. And if people were willing (and able) to alter their daily habits and limit their electricity usage, photovoltaics free of heavy metals could play a role in this. Many of the problems arise when we take the current energy economy and assume we can keep on operating in the same way, but with different inputs. To meet current energy usage, huge swathes of land would need to be appropriated, denuded, and fenced off for solar farms. And since photovoltaics are only productive during sunlight hours, we would have to construct an enormous infrastructure for energy storage and global high-voltage direct current power lines, meaning more toxic mining, more land grabbing, more energy expenditures, and more cancer and other illnesses. Solar panels also present a waste problem, as the typical panel only lasts 25 years. At current growth rates, by 2050 we could have 78 million metric tons of junk panels, and there is currently no good way to recycle them at an industrial scale.25 Andrea Brock and other researchers argue that, far from a “paradigmatic break,” solar energy “is merely the latest iteration of an industrial growth model” characterized by “undemocratic and unsustainable industrial processes, the concentration of corporate power and profits, and externalized waste and pollution.”26

Geothermal energy, aside from having a low efficiency, requires extensive drilling that can contaminate groundwater. The technology uses pentane, a highly toxic, flammable liquid. Geothermal plants release small amounts of methane and the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide, which causes acid rain. In accidents, geothermal plants can release large amounts, such as occurred at a single Hawai’i geothermal plant during a drilling blowout in 1991, in 2013 after an equipment malfunction, and later in 2018 when the plant was damaged by a volcanic eruption.27

Nuclear power is not a renewable energy, given that it expends its fuel source, uranium, though there is a huge lobby seeking to promote it. Countries began adopting nuclear energy in the first place not for its energy benefits, but because it advanced their nuclear weapons programs. Nuclear plants come with a constant risk of meltdown, releasing large amounts of deadly radiation into the atmosphere and potentially making the territory uninhabitable for millennia. In the West, pop cultural representations of the Chernobyl meltdown ascribe the disaster to Soviet incompetence, but meltdowns and near meltdowns at Fukushima, Japan, Three Mile Island, United States, and Loir-et-Cher, France, shine a light on Cold War propaganda and show that no regime is immune to disaster.

In fact, over one hundred nuclear accidents have occurred since 1952, the largest share of them in the US. But the daily, effective operation of a nuclear power plant may be even worse than a meltdown. In 2011, 75 percent of US nuclear power sites were found to be leaking radioactive tritium.28 Depleted plutonium rods have a half-life of 24,000 years, which, for reference, is far longer than agriculture or wheels have existed, more than 40 times longer than the longest lasting state survived, and roughly 500 to 1000 times longer than your typical nuclear storage site goes without experiencing a major leak. Nuclear proponents argue that the rods constitute a small volume of toxic material compared to mine tailing from coal production, for example. They tend to leave out the millions of tons of radioactive uranium mine tailings (11 million tons from a single site in Utah) and the 1.2 million metric tons of depleted uranium produced by uranium enrichment.29 This radioactive byproduct has a half-life of 4,400 million years (or, roughly the current age of the Earth). Inexcusably, those who developed nuclear technology invented no way to safely store all that waste for the amount of time it will pose a lethal danger to all life, and no such storage technology is even on the horizon. Many nuclear waste storage facilities have been found to leak radioactive compounds into the environment.“

- Peter Gelderloos, “ The Solutions are Already Here”

[african-international-magazine]

RWANDA EMERGENT OF A GREEN ENVIRONMENT

Rwanda has stood out to be one of the world's most green economy/ society. The country governed by President Paul Kagame continues to advance environmental protection. Some of the country’s green movements that are reducing eco anxiety include;

Every month in Kigali Rwanda🇷🇼, there is a car-free day which promotes physical activity and environmental awareness, employing the social environment to prioritize health while reducing pollution and congestion on the streets.

Considering these challenges posed by climate change, the Rwandan government prioritized a model of economic development that is low-carbon and climate-resilient balancing environmental sustainability with economic growth thereby achieving poverty reduction and social inclusion in its development vision and strategies.

Rwanda’s policy framework for the building and construction sector underscores the benefits of green/ sustainable buildings. The country has since leveraged the development of green buildings in order to promote environmental protection. In the context of Rwanda, green buildings are buildings that promote energy efficiency, water efficiency, promotes indoor environmental quality and makes use of the country's water efficiency and countries industrial productivity.

Looking ahead this year, 2024, Rwanda’s solar energy roadmap envisions a substantial increase in installed solar capacity. The country aims to generate a significant percentage of its total electricity from solar sources, further reducing its carbon footprint. The widespread adoption of solar energy is expected to drive economic growth, create jobs, and enhance energy resilience.

Rwanda has enforced the ban importing plastic bags and second hand clothes in order to reduce pollution. The ban on Second hand clothes is also aimed at promoting the country's textile industry and boosting the economic environment at large.

[adititarachand]

Green Living Made Easy: Eco Shopping Tips

Live a Greener Life: Sustainable Shopping and Living Tips with Brandfinity

Brandfinity, a leading branding and marketing agency in India, is committed to promoting eco-conscious practices. In line with this mission, we present these valuable tips to help you make sustainable choices in your everyday shopping and living:

Embrace Sustainable Materials for Clothing and Home Goods:

Opt for eco-friendly options: Look for clothing and home goods made from organic cotton, hemp, or bamboo. These materials often require less water and fewer chemicals compared to conventional options.

Reduce waste, support circularity: Choose products made from recycled or upcycled materials. This not only minimizes waste but also promotes a circular economy where resources are reused.

Support Local and Organic Produce:

Reduce your carbon footprint: Opt for locally grown fruits and vegetables. This not only supports local farmers but also reduces the environmental impact of transportation.

Prioritize health and a healthy planet: Choose organic produce to avoid harmful pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that can negatively affect your health and the environment. Organic farming practices promote soil health, biodiversity, and water conservation.

Minimize Waste with Reusable Bags and Containers:

Ditch the plastic: Invest in reusable shopping bags made from durable materials like canvas or recycled materials. This eliminates the need for single-use plastic bags, significantly reducing waste.

Embrace reusables for bulk items: Utilize reusable containers when buying bulk items like grains, nuts, and spices. This eliminates the need for single-use packaging, further minimizing waste. Remember to wash and sanitize your reusable bags and containers regularly.

Champion Eco-Friendly Brands and Products:

Look for certifications: Support brands and products with certifications that showcase their environmental commitment, such as organic, fair trade, or cruelty-free labels. These certifications ensure adherence to specific standards and minimal harm to the environment and workers.

Sustainable practices matter: Choose brands that prioritize sustainability throughout their supply chain, from sourcing materials to manufacturing and packaging. By supporting these brands, you encourage more sustainable business practices with your purchasing power.

Embrace Sustainable Fashion with Second-Hand and Thrift Shopping:

Reduce demand, extend lifespans: Consider second-hand and thrift stores for unique and stylish clothing at affordable prices. This reduces the demand for new clothing production and gives pre-loved items a second chance.

Promote a circular fashion economy: By choosing second-hand fashion, you contribute to a circular economy by extending the lifespan of clothing and minimizing textile waste. Don't forget to donate or sell your own unwanted clothing to keep the cycle going!

Live a greener life, one sustainable choice at a time!

Partner with Brandfinity to craft an eco-conscious brand identity and marketing strategy that resonates with your sustainability goals. Visit us at https://brandfinity.ch/en/ to learn more.

[cornus27florida]

Gemstones in CPC (other than becoming the CPC universe's currency 'money')

..is to becoming engagement ring.. Yup wanna talk about it!

(Also my coping mechanisms as how things happened to these 5 ships so far in the CPC story), as after this I make a long post about Plaid Royals men hahaha :")

Before going deeper, take precaution!

BTW if one's forget, I feel the 'money currency' in CPC

world / universe is 'gems' which kinda inconvenient and too varies but well we get what we could, how to pay like this :

^ unless the economy expert, Prez, decline this motion then I guess the 'money currency' in CPC world is 'gems' and unknown what exactly the stone is but colored as light blue

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Nell's engagement ring from Jolie

Which have close up of the ring, from the colour it could also be light blue diamond or sapphire or aquamarine but I take Sapphire for the chance as it's precious stone that could take color of anything - including the light blue

Sapphire is said to be the wisdom stone, stimulating concentration, enhancing creativity and promoting purity and depth of thought. It is believed to focus and calm the mind as well as remove unwanted thoughts, depression and mental tension. It is known as the stone of new love and commitment and is claimed to be useful in encouraging faithfulness and loyalty. Sapphire is thought to bring peace of mind, serenity and prosperity.

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Maria's engagement ring from Blaine

Aquamarine (don't confuse it with Aquamarine Hoshino btw)

Maria ring stone likely a Aquamarine, March’s birthstone, have reputation for protecting one’s well-being. The aquamarine birthstone evokes the colors of the sea. From deep green-blue to light, slightly greenish blue hues, faceted aquamarines are often free from inclusions and as clear as water, symbolizing purity of spirit and soul.

Aquamarine is often used as a "good luck" stone, thought to bring feelings of peace, love, joy and happiness to those who wear it. There is an energizing quality to aquamarine that provides harmony and balance. If you dream of aquamarine, it is said that you will make new friends, and wearing earrings of aquamarine are thought to bring love and affection into your life.

---------------------------------------------------------------Lorena's engagement ring from Lance

Light purple Amethyst

-> The light purple birthstone is often associated with qualities such as peace, tranquility, and balance. It is believed to have a calming effect (could reduce stress level) on the mind and is often used to aid in meditation and spiritual practices. Amethyst is also associated with intuition and spiritual awareness, making it a popular stone for those seeking to connect with their higher selves.

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Gwendolyn's engagement ring from Frederick

Peridot

Peridot is a variety of olivine. It is part of the orthorhombic crystal system and has a vitreous luster. Peridot is rich in magnesium and has an iron content that gives the gem its green coloring. The shades of Peridot range from yellow-green to olive green and dark green. The meaning of Peridot is purpose and focus

-> Peridot is a prized gemstone known for its summer spirit, its good-luck vibes, and its uncanny ability to keep you calm and feeling safe no matter what is going on around you.

This gift from the heart of Mother Nature comes with a ton of healing properties. Deep-set calm, good health, restful slumbering, and restoring balance and harmony to the body, mind and soul are just a handful of things you can expect when you say yes to Peridot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

+ possible engagement ring for Jamie from Leopold

Many people search for the beauty of Pink Diamonds. It's an incredibly rare diamond mostly found in the Argyle Mine of Australia. -> Interesting to know that Argyle irl is a site in Australia that have the diamond in Jamie's color: pink. That ring honestly so pretty, but just let know that diamond is a diamond - a gem based solely on carbon but got prssures to becomed hardened. Diamond is the strongest gem in Moch scale (value=10) and even making an idiom of "diamond cuts diamond" to refers only the strongest that able to fights the fellow strongest.

-> Diamonds are associated with strength, love and health. As we have uncovered, throughout history, diamonds have been worn by leaders or power figures to symbolise strength and invincibility. Diamonds have also been associated with good health and represent long life and good heart health.

Conclusion: So those 5 engagement rings, all speculatives regarding the kind of them gemstones - while 4 indeed real rings in the CPC story while another 1 is speculative based on 'meme' - 1 still canon (NelLie), 1 is uncertain with so many complications (GwenDerick/FredDolyn, 1 is growing (LeoMie) but 2 are ykwim (Blaine/Maria + Lance/Lorena)