Social Development Network

An organization attempting to contribute to social change through relevant education.

[biodiverseed]

Weed Whackers: Monsanto, glyphosate, and the war on invasive species

Thirty years ago the greatest threats to nature were chain saws, bulldozers, and poisons. Now the greatest threats are wild plants and animals. And what do we use to fight them? Chain saws, bulldozers, and poisons. Who does this serve?

water-when-dry posted this article, and it was a very good read. It reminded me of The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature’s Salvation by Fred Pearce.

I put the obligatory “invasive species” warning on seed listings, and even occasionally profile the worst offenders, but as a concept, I think ‘invasive species’ is totally misguided, and mostly economically-motivated. The article digs deep into how the narrative of conservation has shifted from being against corporate environmental destruction, to an anti-invasive species rhetoric guided by corporations.

The only constants in nature are movement and change. Competition from new forms of life is part of what drives evolution.

I think sometimes we have a self-effacing narrative of ‘human hubris’ (which comes from human exceptionalism, where we don’t truly see ourselves as animals living in an ecosystem) that works it’s way into conservation discourse: a plant that arrives ‘naturally’ (ie. by any other means than being transported by humans) is fine, but anything we touch is ‘sinful’ in some way. We’re still assuming there is a nature/culture divide.

The truth is that a biome may be disrupted, and some species may go extinct when they can’t hack it (like North American marsupials did!), but life goes on and has for billions of years. If we step back and look at the changes on a geological time scale, the introduction of Zebra mussels – for example – is just a drop in the bucket of the shifting landscape around the Great Lakes. The reality is, a lot of these ‘invasive’ organisms have adapted to perform ecological services.

I’m not saying “import away” or “don’t do native species conservation,” but I am saying, “life will change and adapt whether we influence it directly or not, so we may as well cut ourselves some slack.”

Read the article here

[therevolutionwillnotbefertilize]

This video does a great job of explaining the nuances of agricultural, horticultural and foraging societies.  It seems anthropological study is proving it true that permaculture is the gateway to a sustainable and equitable future.  I found it to be very interesting that the Amazon rain forests are thought to be “tweaked” because of the amount of fruit trees and nitrogen fixing species.  Fascinating dialogue that addresses some of the toughest questions of the age.

[tamper]

[sodnfuture]

On February first, all people who wish to participate will pause their regular interactions with society for twenty four hours to consider together if we'd like to change the structure of our societies to improve everyone's quality of life.  To elevate us all to our highest potential - and out of the necessity of connectedness - it is best to consider this from a global perspective. After the first month of the year 2015, we might take time to review and improve our understanding of the current systems that we live in. 

[sodnfuture]

parents: i mean you did your best this semester right?

me: [months of procrastination flash before my eyes]

me: yeah totally

Something along these lines has happened to me. I know a good deal of other people it has happened to as well. This is what schools should be trying to reduce.

Interest is the biggest driving force behind learning. In order to improve learning, schools should, first of all, not be something people are forced to go to but something that people want to go to in order to learn. Also, they should be trying to provide as many different ways for people to learn as possible so that the quality of learning is accessible to as many people as possible. School has to be enjoyable or else it will just make people learn less than they would otherwise. Some may argue that even an unenjoyable school experience will expose you to things that you would not otherwise be exposed to and this seems to be the case but someone who doesn't go to school and follows their interests and finds experiences that will allow them to learn their own way will have a much fuller and more integrated understanding of what they learn. What I mean is... Even a child who has never learned to read or write can learn to grow a garden that provides food for their family.

Learning is not limited to schools, as most people know. Learning takes place all the time. I think many people also know that learning is fueled by interest...

So why are we brought up to see education as something you earn by complying and doing a good job of it? Why are we brought up to think of education as something that you have to get from a school? Why are we brought up to think that if we work hard enough to pass through a system of standards and instruction that often vilifies asking questions our minds will be approved and then once our minds have been approved we will be more successful in life?

This is ridiculous. The educational system is detrimental to learning and creativity.

[12-gauge-rage]

The Earth is lumpy.

[chewbaccaaah]

I was not aware of this. thank you

[officialfrenchtuck]

this makes so much sense but it makes me so uncomfortable 

[mopoglo-deactivated20260401]

i wish i hadn’t seen this

[asmallvillageincanada]

this is what the earth would look like without water

[mothernaturenetwork]

New 6-year study reveals the secret life of ocean plastic More than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are now drifting throughout every ocean on Earth, according to the most comprehensive survey of its kind, and they aren’t just gathering neatly into garbage patches.

[mothernaturenetwork]

Futuristic floating wildlife haven would shelter critters Inspired by offshore oil platforms, Waterstudio’s Sea Tree is a novel way to provide refuge for urban wildlife.

[solarpowernow]

Reblog this if you think a world with more solar power would be a better one.

[unconsumption]

A New Classroom That Produces More Energy Than It Consumes:

Energy neutral buildings are great. But you know what’s even better? Buildings that produce more energy than they consume. That’s the goal of a new type of classroom currently being tested in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

The portable classroom, designed by San Francisco firm Anderson Anderson Architecture, is among the first wave of buildings to claim the “energy positive” label—an eco catchphrase that could soon replace “net zero” as the gold standard of environmentally-friendly bragging rights.

Like the name suggests, energy positive simply means a building makes more energy than it uses. In this case, the 1,000-square-foot classroom is projected to produce four times the energy it consumes—the result of eliminating the need for both artificial lighting and air conditioning.

Read more at Wired.

[creatureofsomekind]

A documentary about solving problems and the intelligent management of the world’s resources to create a system that provides all people with the highest quality of life possible.

[sodnfuture]

Swiss to vote on 2,500 franc basic income for every adult

BERNE (Reuters) - Switzerland will hold a vote on whether to introduce a basic income for all adults, in a further sign of growing public activism over pay inequality since the financial crisis.

[sodnfuture]

Edible Park in Irvine Feeds 200,000 Every Month

Video: A Look at the Incredible Edible park in Irvine, California. What was formerly 7.5 acres of weeds is now an edible park that feeds 200,000 every month.  

[sodnfuture]

It seems that Permaculture will be very important moving forward as a species and especially if there is a severe collapse of the current monetary society. 

[solarpowernow]

Most homeowners still don’t know that solar power is cheaper than what they are paying right now.

In fact, they would save many thousands of dollars over the long term if they were to switch to solar power now.

It’s not just about money, of course. People who get solar panels installed on their homes will be doing their part to reduce air pollution.

Solar power is also a quickly growing industry that’s supplying many new jobs in cities across the U.S. and around the world.

If you know a homeowner who hasn’t considered solar yet, make sure to tell them to check out solar-power-now.com

[silverlullabies]

There are riots from New York to California. The UK is rioting. Mexico is rioting. China, Korea, and Thailand are rioting. The middle east is rioting. The entire world has had enough of oppression. WE are the generation who is rising up and taking a stand. No longer will we sit here passive while you stand with your foot on our throats. If we burn, you burn with us. Welcome to the dawning of a new age.

[sodnfuture]

Let's make sure we provide a feasible alternative and not just tear everything apart and expect it to improve on its own.. We need to work to remove the conditions that produce behavior that people consider abhorrent. For example: scarcity, ignorance, misinformation, the illusion of separation, the profitability of corruption, etc.

[scottsantens]

Wouldn’t Unconditional Basic Income Just Cause Massive Inflation?

An answer to the response to the answer to the growing question of the 21st century

By far, the most common concern in regards to my first article on Medium about the idea of an unconditional basic income was that all prices would inevitably go up as a result, immediately reducing the value of each dollar and essentially creating a new zero.

This is an attempt at an all-encompassing response to that concern.