نظم التفكير في الاستدامة بما يتجاوز البستنة العضوية

يوم 28 يوليو, the New York Times published an article about the rise of microlending (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.nytimes فارغة.com/2010/07/29/business/smallbusiness/29sbiz فارغة.html?src=me&ref=business). لسنوات, microlending has been considered an economic staple in “developing” countries. (بالطبع, the next question is, what are developing countries developing into?) When you consider that the same “structural adjustment” (renamed “Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.imf فارغة.org/external/np/exr/facts/prgf فارغة.htm)” but soon to be replaced by the “Extended Credit Facility”) imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Africa and third world countries is very likely in the karmic cards for the United States, the time is nigh for small towns and communities to save themselves economically.

لماذا? وسوف نفعل ذلك من آخر? US cities (المتشعب://المال فارغة.cnn فارغة.com/2010/05/28/news/economy/american_cities_broke فارغة.fortune/index فارغة.htm) (فاييخو (المتشعب://articles فارغة.latimes فارغة.com/2010/jul/27/local/la-me-bell-cuts-20100727/3), جرس, و Maywood (المتشعب://latimesblogs فارغة.latimes فارغة.com/lanow/2010/06/sheriffs-dept-to-patrol-maywood-while-city-employees-now-face-lay-offs فارغة.html) in CA for starters) are going bankrupt and most of the states are very close to going bankrupt (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.huffingtonpost فارغة.com/2010/06/25/state-budget-crisis-46-st_n_625285 فارغة.html). في تطور مؤلم, states are passing budget cuts onto city and county governments (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.huffingtonpost فارغة.com/2010/05/29/states-local-budget-cuts_n_594630 فارغة.html). هكذا (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.google فارغة.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPcuKLCFev6Vg7ZRNE7asQid3CtAD9GSG7303)me states have appealed to the federal government for financial help (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.google فارغة.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPcuKLCFev6Vg7ZRNE7asQid3CtAD9GSG7303) في حين أن country itself may very well be on the road to bankruptcy (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.telegraph فارغة.co فارغة.uk/finance/2943328/US-could-be-going-bankrupt فارغة.html). في حين أن جميع, the DOD can’t account for $8.7 billion in Iraqi oil funds (المتشعب://شبكة الاتصالات العالمية فارغة.مرة فارغة.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2006708,00 فارغة.html) و bank bailouts starting in 2009 قد يكلف $4 trillion (المتشعب://المال فارغة.cnn فارغة.com/2009/01/27/news/bigger فارغة.bailout فارغة.fortune/). Obviously that’s a lot more than the initial $700 billion handed over on a silver platter to the banks through a blatant financial coup d’etat in late 2009. While the exact pathways of the money trail may be obscure, many of us viscerally feel the corruption and graft even if we can’t necessarily name names and pinpoint addresses of the thieves.

Had enough of the bleak economic prospects? لست وحدك. The local food movement gained momentum because people wanted tastier, more nutritious fresh food but that food was more than mere sustenance for the body. وكان غذاء للروح. People reconnected with farmers through farmers’ markets and direct purchases on the farms themselves. Through food and a growing sense of extended community discovered through personal connections cultivated with small farmers, folks reconnected with the land itself. If locally grown food is possible, why not localized loans with full transparency? There is no reason in the world why communities should NOT invest in themselves. Why should communities continue to export their wealth into the hands of banks, المتاجر الكبرى, and other corporate and governmental institutions that do not have those communities’ best interest at heart?

خوف, anxiety, and depression are clouding the minds and hearts of so many Americans but no one can save us except ourselves – not President Obama or his admininistration, certainly NOT Congress, and forget about the judicial branch of government. في الواقع, التخلي عن الامال التي تذهب سدى أي politician can save us from ourselves. With their picadilloes and frailties, our elected officials are just as human as any of the rest of us. Nothing except ourselves can stop us from developing local cultures that meet social and economic human needs without further compromising the opportunities of future generations and the planet’s ecosystems. We’re at a point in time when ordinary people are being called to accomplish extraordinary deeds. Will you heed the prompting of your heart and conscience or run to silence both?

(المتشعب://كندي فارغة.socialtwist فارغة.com/0000000000/script فارغة.شبيبة)