The Poet Economist

Reject Hate, Every Time

The gift. It is an area of inquiry in deconstructionist postmodern philosophy, that connects to all the human aspirations we might classify as altruistic. The true gift asks nothing in return, not even recognition. At the heart of the act of giving, there lies a paradox: one must have the intention to give in order…

World Ocean Day event on the SS LILAC

Answering the Ocean’s Call: Stewardship of Our Ocean, Our Future is a World Ocean Day event on the historic SS LILAC. Speakers included: Mary Habstritt, LILAC Preservation Society Nina Hitchings, The River Project Myra Jackson, Geoversiv Senior Advisor for Whole Earth Civics Joseph Robertson, Geoversiv Founder and President (moderator) Mary Crowley, Ocean Voyages Institute and…

No Surrender: Paris is Now the People’s Business

The Paris Agreement is a very good thing for the United States—for its people, its economy, and for its sovereign interest in a world that favors both democratic institutions and peace. Yesterday, President Trump declared open opposition to the intelligent, inclusive, innovative planning of a vibrant American future. He justified this decision using fake evidence,…

Paris: What is at Stake?

The Paris Agreement brings trillions in new investment and provides President Trump with his best opportunity to build a new American economy of durable prosperity. In his Inaugural Address, Trump pledged that the forgotten will no longer be forgotten. Resource curse: Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement will do nothing to create jobs or raise incomes…

Future of American Infrastructure Hinges on Paris Agreement

There is only one part of President Trump’s agenda with real opportunity for a big win, right now, and that is infrastructure. And the Paris Agreement—the strongest ever signal pointing toward transformational infrastructure investment—is the only way to mobilize the capital necessary to get to that big win. The common misunderstanding about the Paris accord…

Exploring Earth Systems

On Tuesday, May 9, the Norway House hosted a moderated discussion titled Exploring Earth Systems: the Geoversiv Approach to Smart Future-Building, with Don Shelby and Joseph Robertson. The event was held in the Norway House Galleri, where explorer David Thoreson‘s brilliant, moving photography exhibit ‘Over the Horizon’ was on display. Event details: Exploring Earth Systems…

Non-Partisan Citizen Empowerment is Working

Originally published April 28, 2017, by ICLEI USA Throughout the 21st century, cities are likely to be more and more the engines of design that determine how we live and whether our way of making a living in the world is sustainable. Every society everywhere grapples with questions of how much decision-making authority should be…

La poética planetaria

Estamos en el umbral de un futuro orgánico-generativo, en el que administrar la ecología integral es un principio vital Lo que llamamos “mundo” es algo que vamos inventando con nuestros deseos y exploraciones, códigos y peleas, cartografías y accidentes. Todo ocurre según límites y prescripciones que no siempre vemos venir delante. El misterio de cada…

Diplomacy is Capability

Diplomacy is often referred to as “soft power”. That framing is more a measure of diplomatic prowess than a result of the simple fact of having diplomats. Bad diplomacy may, in fact, reduce the amount of overall influence a nation has. Soft power is not a given; it is a complex, high-stakes endeavor, and necessary…

Uplift Locally to Solve Globally

How to build active value for everyone, everywhere. In this unique historical moment, it seems worth asking: What does the conventional way of measuring the economic landscape of value exchange leave out, and can we remedy that marginalization without disrupting the institutions we depend on? Put another way: How many living future values are excluded…

The Presidency is Non-Linear

We live in a world defined by complexity. Much of what we are able to achieve in our day to day lives, which would have seemed magical just two generations ago, is the result of endless entanglement with people living and working and dreaming elsewhere. Technology and communication as we now know them require inputs…

The Time for Everywhere-Active Climate Civics is Here

We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how the shifting political ground of recent months affects the project of opening up a new and wider space for climate civics around the world. As some political forces seem to be arrayed against serious progress on mitigating climate change, we see the role of local, national,…