I have taken it upon myself to watch every sunset in 2013. The photos I'm taking are not the point really, it's more about the experience of being outside and paying attention each day.
Problem Plants
Another Medium post from Ellie, on her weed garden and closing panel at CSAA:
The non-native interlopers who’ve taken up residence in the harsh urban environment of Bushwick aren’t pushing out native species, they’re filling empty niches. Adapted to difficult conditions, with flexible reproductive habits and opportunistic growth patterns, these urban plants are much better-suited to living side by side with Homo sapiens, despite our indifference to (or even aggressive dislike of) them.
The Battle for Yesterday’s Nature, Next-Nature, & Whatever Comes After That
Ellie wrote about the climate debate within the climate movement:
After the failures (Copenhagen) and painfully slow progress (Cancun, Lima) seen at recent U.N. Climate Summits, we know we can’t trust our political leaders to get us there. The mass movement Naomi Klein speaks of shows its face here and there, but in my milieu, I see much more of the infighting, cynicism and turning away. Of course the movement Klein describes has to come from the grass roots level, not from academia, but we can’t just fight the status quo without a solution in mind. As she acknowledges, we need a destination to aim for, and a set of solutions to put in place once we get there.
Income inequality as seen from space
From Tim De Chant’s Per Square Mile blog:
Last week, I wrote about how urban trees—or the lack thereof—can reveal income inequality. After writing that article, I was curious, could I actually see income inequality from space? It turned out to be easier than I expected.
He makes some interesting comparisons from satellite images of cities around the world. Here is where I live in Bushwick, Brooklyn compared with the place in New York State with the highest per-capita income, Hewlett Bay Park.
Link via BoingBoing