What White People Can Do for Food Justice
Creator of Master Cooks Corps train-the-trainer program Chef Nadine Nelson says White people in the food movement should ask themselves: What are you doing to hold yourself accountable to people of color?
Economy
How to Hack City Money: Let 16 Year Olds Vote on Budgets, Get Banks to Invest Locally
In California and Ohio, two city governments are entrusting their citizens with budgeting and rewarding banks for valuing local communities.
This Rust-Belt Town’s Survival Strategy Is All About Giving Workers Control
Reading is one of Pennsylvania’s poorest cities. Can its residents turn things around by building a more democratic economy?
“They’re driven by love. And they’re fierce.” Naomi Klein on the Climate Heroes Who Inspire Her
From Native activists to urban youth, new leadership finds ways to deal with climate chaos.
Vermonters Lobby for Public Bank—And Win Millions for Local Investment Instead
Advocates didn’t get the public bank they wanted. But the compromise they reached in the end was still a rare and significant win over Wall Street banks.
Laid-Off Baltimore Workers Beat Disney in Court—And Ask All the Right Questions About Urban Development
By some estimates, the city of Baltimore has sunk more than $1.5 billion into its Inner Harbor. Workers and residents want their share too.
Owning Together Is the New Sharing
Companies and startups are aspiring toward an economy, and an Internet, that is more fully ours with the use of cooperatives, "commons-based peer production," and cryptocurrencies.
10 Ways Human Rights and Democracy Won in 2014 (Yeah, You Heard That Right)
Let’s be honest: It was a brutal year for human rights. But we still have victories worth celebrating.
Walking: The Secret Ingredient for Health, Wealth, and More Exciting Neighborhoods
It's been called "America's untrendiest trend." The evidence that millions of people are finally walking again is as solid as the ground beneath our feet.
How to Feast Sustainably During the Holidays
Stories in classic literature remind us that for most of our history, end-of-season gatherings celebrated local harvests. Can we find our way back?
Neighbors Helped This Immigrant-Owned Dry Cleaner in Boston Go Nontoxic—and Stay in Business
Organizations that aim to reduce the use of toxic chemicals have long focused on shutting down offending businesses. But this story from Boston shows another way.
The New Economy Comes of Age: 7 Steps Toward Shared Prosperity
Democratic ownership, localized food production, and a shift to renewables are key principles in this growing movement to re-envision our economy.
New Film Shows How Florida Farmworkers Won Fairer Pay From America’s Biggest Food Companies
"This is not a film about oppression," said Food Chains executive producer Eva Longoria. "It's actually about transformation."
8 Main Street Job Creators Who Are Rebooting the Economy—Starting with Those Who Need It Most
From the Deep South to the West Coast, these entrepreneurs are making sure jobs and dollars grow—and stay—in places hardest hit by hurricanes, poverty, and gentrification.
How the U.S. Government Could End the Student Debt Crisis Today
Instead of loaning students money, the federal government could just pay for their tuition, without causing any significant economic problems.
Land, Co-ops, Compost: A Local Food Economy Emerges in Boston’s Poorest Neighborhoods
From kitchens that buy and sell locally grown food, to a waste co-op that will return compost to the land, new enterprises are building an integrated food network. It's about local people keeping the wealth of their land at home.
“We Couldn’t Possibly Be Poor”: How a Doctor Fell Into Poverty
“As we found ourselves choosing between rice, oatmeal, or potatoes for every meal, it occurred to us that being in poverty isn’t about how hard you work; it’s about how much money you make.”
New Factories Have Jobs You’d Really Want—and These Chicago Kids Are Skilling Up to Get Them
Manufacturing jobs are returning to the U.S., but to fill them we’ll have to train a new generation of workers. That’s what this school is doing in a struggling neighborhood that once hosted the country’s biggest candy empires, as factories return.
LA School District Uses Its Spending Power to Support Local Farms, Workers’ Rights, and Kids’ Nutrition
Local economies can be strengthened through the large purchasing power of local institutions. Here’s how the nation's second largest school district is doing it.
Day 5 of New Economy Week: The New Economy Is Close to Home
From California to Mississippi, people are organizing to build local power and are seeing major victories. How do we support and encourage their work?
After Years Without a Grocery Store, Greensboro Neighbors Are Building One Themselves—And They’ll Own It
Fed up with essentially begging for access to quality food, residents of this predominantly African-American and low-income neighborhood decided to open their own grocery store.
Investing in Renewables Can Relieve Our Planet—While Reviving Our Economy
Carbon reduction alone cannot solve our climate crisis, because it is continuously fed by our economic crisis. But renewables can be a critical driver in building a healthier economic system, free of the fossil fuel industry.
Day 4 of New Economy Week: Combating Climate Change Without Leaving Anyone Behind
How do we transition to an economy powered by renewable energy without leaving the workers employed by fossil fuel companies behind?
Good Jobs or a Healthy Planet? We Can Have Both
If we really want to fix the environment, then we need to join coalitions with organizations that focus on changing our economic system too.
Beating Climate Change by Retooling the Economy—The Story Begins in Navajo Country
A proposed community-owned solar project on an abandoned coal mine in Arizona illustrates how cooperative economomics make it possible to stop extracting fossil fuels—without leaving workers behind.
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