Killing the Desert to Save the Planet
By Joshua Frank / CounterPunch Only ghosts and ruins remain in this dusty old town. Tucked under scenic hills of volcanic rock are the remnants of a bank, a railroad depot, and what looks to be a school, along with a handful of other deteriorating structures that are hard to make out. This is Rhyolite, […]
The Counter-Revolution of Capital
By Nick Estes / CounterPunch This past July, the United States celebrated the 250th anniversary since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This issue of The Pen is My Machete brings together anti-imperialist perspectives on the meaning of that founding for the rest of the world and the world’s first nation born entirely as a capitalist state. Historian […]
Taking Back Our Future: Why Localization Matters
By Christian Stalberg / Local Futures Who decides what happens to your community? Who decides whether farmland becomes subdivisions? Whether forests are logged or protected? Whether your drinking water remains clean? Whether local businesses survive or disappear? Whether your children can afford to live where they grew up? Whether your community produces its own food and […]
Rethinking a Just Energy Transition and Development
I. INTRODUCTION The Philippines faces a climate crisis despite contributing very little to global emissions. While the global narrative is that renewable energy is important for climate action, the challenge is ensuring that the transition is just, sustainable, and beneficial to communities.” The Philippines contributes less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, it […]
Solar Project Threatens Mojave Wildlife Corridor
By Hyeyoon Cho / Mongabay The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved […]
The Aral Sea Isn’t Just an Ecological Nightmare
Most of this inland sea is a dry lakebed the size of Ireland, and it has already released 748 million metric tons of CO2. But scientists say there’s still time to reverse course. The Aral Sea sits between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and was once the fourth-largest inland body of water on Earth. For the past […]
George Washington, Jr. and The Full Circle
By Mankh / Musings from Between the Lines (“George Washington, Surveyor” – Henry Hintermeister. Wikimedia) It only took almost 250 years for the full circle beginning of the disintegration of the USEmpire. “The foundation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance and superstition; but at an epocha when the rights […]
US Official In PH Inspects Future AI Industrial Hub
“MANILA — United States Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg personally inspected the future site of an artificial intelligence or AI-native industrial hub at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. Helberg met with Philippine Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Joshua Bingcang. The over 1,600-hectare(4,000-acre) […]
The Environmental and Social Impacts of Industrial Aquaculture
By Laura Lee Cascada / COUNTERPUNCH Fish farming, a form of aquaculture, is now the fastest-growing form of factory farming worldwide. This rapid expansion can be attributed to the industry’s emphasis on buzzwords such as “climate,” “conservation,” and “sustainability.” While discussions about land-based farmed animals, such as cattle, pigs, and poultry, are dominated by their impact on […]
Debate Over Colonial Memory in the Netherlands
By Isa de Fluiter / diggit magazine In recent years, heritage practices across Europe are being looked at more critically as people try to come to terms with their colonial history. In the Netherlands, this awareness has become visible especially in urban spaces, where streets, monuments, and buildings continue to have the names of colonial […]