monday good news: what a weekend
after a long weekend of united states political theater being even more unserious than usual, i think we could all use some grounding in the power of people. yes, fascism is here and every level of our government has been captured by a small group of greedy capitalists (may they all burn the roofs of their mouth today). i understand that for us as people in the united states, this is a thing we haven't experienced to this degree in our lifetimes, but many others have and we have a lot to learn from them.
i'm working on an update and round up of resources related to Kenya and Bolivia and the ways that people are resisting fascism and capitalism there. so, more on that soon!
in the meantime, it continues to become clearer and clearer that the solutions we seek will not come from elected government, but us and the communities we have built and will continue to build. the rest of this newsletter is dedicated to good news based in alternate means of living and the ways we can take things into our own hands.
glass half full is rebuilding our coast with shit we throw out
a year ago, Glass Hall Full used 100,000 lbs of recycled glass sand bagged in biodegradable burlap to build a berm along the coastline. The video below shows the impact this work has had.
if you're in new orleans, consider dropping off your glass or working with them to use the materials they make with it. participating in and creating circular economy models is key to us beginning to remediate the climate crisis and we don't need government to help us.
we have plenty of old and new technology to change the way we build
i will forever reshare projects that combine old and new ways of building and show the ways that designing sustainably with community in mind leads to better outcomes in so many ways. we can and should continue to do better.
One of the building's defining features is its roof, which overhangs the building and doubles as a funnel for rainwater. Rainwater is collected from the roof and piped down the sloped site to a water point for the community and to a biodigester toilet...It is estimated that the water tank, which has a 200,000-litre capacity, will provide 1.2 million litres of water every year. Approximately 70 per cent of this will be used directly by the community, while 30 per cent will be used to irrigate the landscape..."Instead of using specialised acoustic treatments, together with Arup, we were able to simply use the locally made earth-based wall bricks in the auditorium, classroom and recording studio, positioned in specific patterns to diffuse and absorb the sound," said Hassell's De Kestelier..."We relished the challenge of using natural materials and moving away from industrially processed materials, which can be easier to use," added Arup's Nakajima.
Lizzie Crook
unions are the only thing that scare companies enough to change
there has been a huge win for workers who drive uber & lyft in massachusetts. the way that this fight was won is worth looking at closely.
first some information on the win:
Uber Technologies and Lyft on Thursday agreed to adopt a $32.50 hourly minimum pay standard for Massachusetts drivers and pay $175 million to settle a lawsuit by the state’s attorney general alleging they improperly treated drivers as independent contractors who can legally receive lower compensation than employees.The companies also agreed to give drivers paid sick leave, accident insurance, and healthcare stipends and to stop funding or supporting a ballot initiative that would have asked voters in November to cement app-based drivers’ status as contractors, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said. Uber and Lyft in separate statements said the agreement reflected the desire of most drivers to work on their own terms while receiving many of the key benefits that are legally guaranteed to employees.
Reuters
notice though that uber and lyft were initially trying to push this to a ballot measure where they could influence people's vote through dumping money into messaging:
The industry through a $200 million campaign had previously in 2020 convinced California voters to pass a measure similar to the one backed by the companies in Massachusetts, solidifying drivers as independent contractors with some benefits. Litigation challenging that measure is ongoing.
what's missing from this article is the role that unions played in pushing forward the attorney general and elected officials' work on this:
Another major union is wading into the burgeoning labor fight against Uber and Lyft, while one lawmaker slammed the companies as "cowards" over their expensive ballot question campaign. Members of Teamsters Local 25 on Sunday unanimously endorsed legislation that would declare drivers for transportation and delivery network companies to be employees who are owed minimum wage and other protections and benefits, pitching the proposals as "critical to our union" at a pivotal moment in a larger labor battle affecting workers across different sectors.
Chris Lisinski, State House News Service
of course this isn't reported on because unions are the single greatest source of power the working class has and corporate media has no interest in reminding us of this, which is why we can never forget it.
landback is possible, necessary,and happening, here and now
this is a double win because it includes the removal of dams that disrupted salmon runs and flooded lands that are sacred to the Shasta Indian Nation. indigenous stewardship is the only proven way we can restore balance to these lands.
As work proceeds to remove four dams along the Klamath River, more than the salmon runs will be restored: The lands long buried by the now-drained reservoirs will be reclaimed by the people who were robbed of them more than 100 years ago. The Shasta Indian Nation celebrated Tuesday as California Gov. Gavin Newsom returned about 2,800 acres of the tribe's most sacred and culturally important lands that were drowned by the Copco I dam in the early 20th century.
, USA TODAY
slow factory put together a climate and social survival guide
if you're looking for some things you can do right now with very little training and limited resources, slow factory (may everyone who works there see a lovely bird today) has put together this list of community driven solutions.
as always, i hope this was useful.
if it was and you've got five bucks a month to spare, click here.
with hope,
katie wills evans