Podcast appearances and mentions of stan cox

Since 2016, 56 new laws criminalizing protesting have been enacted across the country. What do they mean for climate protestors? The post The criminalization of climate change protest with Stan Cox appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Stan Cox, a regular contributor at TomDispatch and the author of The Path to a Livable Future: A New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic and The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can, joins the show to discuss the article he recently co-wrote with Priti Gulati Cox entitled "Starvation in Sudan". We discuss the way in which both the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) paramilitaries and the government-backed SAF (Sudanese Army Forces) in Sudan having been using starvation as a weapon of war. Now, starvation is in full effect in Sudan with the Sudanese people caught in the middle of the RSF and SAF. It is, in a word, a massive humanitarian crisis that the U.S. has done little to stop. Even much needed humanitarian aid is not getting into Sudan at this point. Many Sudanese have already been displaced and the situation is getting worse by the day.

Keeping one ethnicity in control: The Israeli state and Modi’s India. Palestinians and India’s Muslim minority. The chumminess of Bibi and Modi. And in both cases, the oppressors ask: who lit the fire? On this show, Stan Cox explains the The post Parallels: Israel and India; Bibi and Modi appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.

Stan Cox is back to talk about climate refugees, rebellious scientists, and of course Gaza. Our monthly chat finds us both a bit discombobulated by the war, but we try to survey the climate situation anyway.

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Democracy in a Hotter Time: Climate Change and Democratic Transformation The first major book to deal with the dual crises of democracy and climate change as one interrelated threat to the human future and to identify a path forward. Democracy in a Hotter Time calls for reforming democratic institutions as a prerequisite for avoiding climate chaos and adapting governance to how Earth works as a physical system. To survive in the “long emergency” ahead, we must reform and strengthen democratic institutions, making them assets rather than liabilities. Edited by David W. Orr, this vital collection of essays proposes a new political order that will not only help humanity survive but also enable us to thrive in the transition to a post–fossil fuel world. Orr gathers leading scholars, public intellectuals, and political leaders to address the many problems confronting our current political systems. Few other books have taken a systems view of the effects of a rapidly destabilizing climate on our laws and governance or offered such a diversity of solutions. These thoughtful and incisive essays cover subjects from Constitutional reform to participatory urban design to education; together, they aim to invigorate the conversation about the human future in practical ways that will improve the effectiveness of democratic institutions and lay the foundation for a more durable and just democracy. Contributors William J. Barber III, JD, William S. Becker, Holly Jean Buck, Stan Cox, Michael M. Crow, William B. Dabars, Ann Florini, David H. Guston, Katrina Kuh, Gordon LaForge, Hélène Landemore, Frances Moore Lappé, Daniel Lindvall, Richard Louv, James R. May, Frederick W. Mayer, Bill McKibben, Michael Oppenheimer, David W. Orr, Wellington Reiter, Kim Stanley Robinson, Anne-Marie Slaughter Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics emeritus (1990-2017), Counselor to the President, Oberlin College 2007-2017, and presently a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. He is the author of eight books, including Dangerous Years: Climate Change, the Long Emergency, and the Way Forward (Yale University Press, 2017), Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (Oxford, 2009), Design with Nature (Oxford, 2002), Earth in Mind (Island, 2004) and co-editor of four others including Democracy Unchained (The New Press, 2020). He was a regular columnist for Conservation biology for twenty years. He has also written over 250 articles, reviews, book chapters, and professional publications. He has served as a board member or adviser to eight foundations and on the Boards of many organizations including the Rocky Mountain Institute, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and the Bioneers. Currently, he is a Trustee of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado and Children and Nature Network. He has been awarded nine honorary degrees and a dozen other awards including a Lyndhurst Prize, a National Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation, a “Visionary Leadership Award” from Second Nature, a National Leadership award from the U.S. Green Building Council, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Association for Environmental Education, the 2018 Leadership Award from the American Renewable Energy Institute, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Green Energy Ohio. He has lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He is a founder of: the Atlanta Environmental Symposium (1972-1974), the Meadowcreek Project (1979-1990), the Oberlin Project (2007-2017), the journal Solutions, and of the State of American Democracy Project 2017-present). He headed the effort to design, fund, and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which was named by an AIA panel in 2010 as “the most important green building of the past thirty years;” . . . “one of thirty milestone buildings of the twentieth century” by the U.S. Department of Energy, and selected as one of “52 game changing buildings of the past 170 years” by the editors of Building Design + Construction Magazine  (2016). He was instrumental in the design and funding for the Platinum-rated Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center (hotel + conference center). His current work at Arizona State University is on the repair and strengthening American democracy Pete on YouTube Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

In the August 2023 edition of In Real Time with Stan Cox (yes I know it's September) we talk about his dispatch, “The Hubris of Plutocrats”, and the escape fantasies (and condos) of the super-rich. Stan argues they can't escape the heat that's coming, but at least some of our troubles stem from the fact … Continue reading "In Real Time 14: The Hubris of Plutocrats"

Stan Cox and I talk about Kim Stanley Robinson (KSR)'s 2020 book, The Ministry for the Future, which is a hugely important book because it pictures how we could get from our current situation to a world where CO2 emissions were actually trending downwards, saving human civilization from catastrophe. We talk about the climate events … Continue reading "In Real Time 13: Do we need states to solve climate change?"

I've long believed that to confront challenges like climate change, we need to move public opinion to the point where a majority favor policies that respond effectively and fairly. I'm afraid that's no longer true. I read with alarm STAN COX's article MAGA Legislators Increasingly Force Taxpayers to Support Fossil Fuel Industry by, among other things, outlawing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing. Here's my conversation with STAN COX of the Land Institute and JOHN FEFFER of the Institute for Policy Studies, about this anti-democratic and destructive strategy and other aspects of the politics of climate.

I've long believed that to confront challenges like climate change, we need to move public opinion to the point where a majority favor policies that respond effectively and fairly. I'm afraid that's no longer true. I read with alarm STAN COX's article MAGA Legislators Increasingly Force Taxpayers to Support Fossil Fuel Industry by, among other things, outlawing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing. Here's my conversation with STAN COX of the Land Institute and JOHN FEFFER of the Institute for Policy Studies, about this anti-democratic and destructive strategy and other aspects of the politics of climate. You can learn more at landinstitute.org and johnfeffer.com

Stan Cox is back to talk about two essays. One, co-written with Priti Gulati Cox, “Between a Yoga Mat and a Hard Place”, about where India is headed. And another, “The Old Future is Gone and Technology Won't Bring it Back”, by Stan himself. Justin goes on a mini-rant against doomerism at the end, and … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 12: India dilemmas and how tech won't save us"

Stan and I talk about two of his articles from April: the first on Atlanta's “Cop City”, which one activist has already been killed by police over, and why it's an environmental disaster as well as other kinds; and another article on Republicans trying to locally legislate to prevent any climate action from happening at … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 11: Atlanta's Cop City and Anti-Climate Legislation"

Back with Stan Cox on the environmental file. Stan's written a dispatch on the Farm Bill. How the 5-year Farm Bills used to have consensus but how even that might be breaking, and then we talk about Wes Jackson's ideas about a 50-year farm bill, thinking on the scale we probably need to be thinking … Continue reading "In Real Time 10: A 5-year and a 50-year farm bill"

For February 27th, host Brent Ragsdale speaks with his guest, Stan Cox, Research Fellow for Ecosphere Studies with The Land Institute.  The Land Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization […] The post LESSONS FOR THOSE WITH PLENTY appeared first on KKFI.

We are back on the environment file with Stan Cox, to discuss his latest two dispatches. January's on who is attacking the US electrical grid? February's on the curious defense of gas stoves from the fearful lobby, Big Indoor Air Quality. Justin starts us off with some discussion on the growing body of evidence of … Continue reading "In Real Time 9: Attacks on the US electrical grid, defenses of US gas stoves"

Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik is the Argentinian author of The Memory We Could Be: Overcoming Fear to Create Our Ecological Future and amongst the most fascinating thinkers I know. He's also a good friend. We spoke about reckoning with past ecological violence of, bio-cultural memory and our collective ecological heritage. Basically, why we need to mix futurism and ancestrality. EARTHQUAKE DONATION LINKS: The White Helmets whitehelmets.org/en/ The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) Foundation sams-usa.net Molham Team Molhamteam.com Kurdish Red Crescent heyvasoruk.org ---- Book recommendations: Ideas to Postpone the End of the World by Ailton Krenak Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals Emergent Strategy Series by Alexis Pauline Gumbs How the World Breaks: Life in Catastrophe's Path, from the Caribbean to Siberia by Stan Cox and Paul Cox Also, the poetry of Joy Harjo, Ilya Kaminsky, Victoria Chang, Dunya Mikhail and Vito Apushana. ---- You can support The Fire These Times on patreon.com/firethesetimes with a monthly or yearly donation and get a lot of perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the book club, merch and more. Want to help our with transcribing episodes? Check out this link. ---- You can also follow updates on Mastodon | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Website & Mailing List Joey Ayoub can be found on Mastodon | Twitter | Instagram | Website The newsletter is available on Substack ---- Host: Joey Ayoub Producer: Joey Ayoub Music: Rap and Revenge Main theme design: Wenyi Geng Sound editor: Ibrahim Youssef Episode design: Joey Ayoub

Critical earth elements, lithium and cobalt are essential in the creation of the battery technologies found in solar energy systems and electric cars, but how easy are they to find? Dr Keith Suter sheds light on the subject while discussing an article by Priti Gulati Cox and Stan Cox, "Are Green Resource Wars Looming?".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stan Cox is back with his November dispatch about the US midterm elections, in which the feared Red Wave didn't materialize — but Stan wastes no time in warning us that 2024 is also going to be scary. We geek out on the election results, look at a shocking admission by a conservative that big … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 8: No Red Wave, Plenty of Red Flags"

Stan Cox is back for In Real Time episode 7, where we track the climate crisis and do other environmental talk. Stan reports back from some interviews he did with activists who are working locally on the climate crisis as we head towards two touchstones in November – the COP 27 conference in Egypt, from … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 7: A Thousand Rebellious Communities"

CO2 pipelines are proof of the principle that “the greatest source of problems is solutions”. Stan Cox is back to shoot down the notion that CO2 pipelines are going to save us. Justin, meanwhile, has finally read Rachel Carson's 1962 classic Silent Spring, which as an environmental prof he should have read decades ago. Find … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 6: Challenging CO2 Pipelines"

Our August 2022 dispatch with Stan Cox. Stan presents us this month with a discussion of the “Inflation Reduction Bill” – is climate change solved? Can Stan finally relax? We also get into a discussion of optimism and pessimism and which one is called for at this moment.

The fourth discussion with Stan Cox about his latest dispatch, “They'll Show Up Armed – Countering Policy Murder and the Rising Violence of the Right”. We talk about a nonviolent march Stan participated in and a few of the historic movement debates about violence and nonviolence that we've seen over the decades. And we conclude … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 4: A discussion of violence and policy murder"

Stan Cox, Senior Scientist at The Land Institute, recently wrote and article in The Nation titled “War is Not and Excuse to Ignore Climate Change“, where he says the country […] The post Cox: Don't put climate change actions on hold because of Ukraine... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Stan Cox is a research scholar in Ecosphere Studies at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He is the author of six books, his latest, “ The Path to a Livable Future: Forging a New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic.” His writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and more.

Stan Cox joins us for June's dispatch of In Real Time. As he prepares to travel to Washington DC for a protest (the report on that will follow next dispatch) Stan actually talks to us about local struggles: Indigenous struggles against pipelines, and the remarkable story of the LA Bus Riders Union. All that and … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 3: The People vs Petrocracy"

Instalment 2 of our monthly discussion on environmental topics with Stan Cox – this week Justin talks about some problems with what he calls “western environmentalism”; then we go over Stan's latest dispatch (which will be up May 16 at citylights.com/blog) about voter suppression and protest suppression and how it's changing US politics.

We have hatched a new plan for a series on the Anti-Empire Project, a monthly discussion of (mainly) environmental issues with Stan Cox. Stan is the author of quite a few environmental books and is going to be writing a monthly dispatch about US politics and environmental movements moving into the next US presidential election. … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 1: The US environmental and political crisis"

Stan Cox is a research scholar in Ecosphere Studies at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He is the author of six books, his latest, “ The Path to a Livable Future: Forging a New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic.” His writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and more.

Stan Cox is a research scholar in Ecosphere Studies at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He is the author of six books, his latest, “ The Path to a Livable Future: Forging a New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic.” His writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and more.

We talk with Leonard Rubenstein about Perilous Medicine: The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War. Then, Stan Cox talks about The Path to a Livable Future. The post Leonard Rubenstein, PERILOUS MEDICINE & Stan Cox, THE PATH TO A LIVABLE FUTURE appeared first on Writer's Voice.

City Lights and YES! Magazine present Stan Cox in conversation with Sonali Kolhatkar, celebrating the launch of his new book, "The Path to a Livable Future: A New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic," published by City Lights Books. This event was originally broadcast live via Zoom and hosted by Peter Maravelis. Stan Cox began his career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is now the Lead Scientist at The Land Institute. Cox is the author of "The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can" (with City Lights), "Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present, and Future of Rationing, Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer)" and "Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine." His writing about the economic and political roots of the global ecological crisis have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Kansas City Star, Arizona Republic, The New Republic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Salon, and Dissent, and in local publications spanning 43 U.S. states. In 2012, The Atlantic named Cox their “Readers' Choice Brave Thinker” for his critique of air conditioning. He is based in Salina, Kansas. Sonali Kolhatkar is YES! Magazine's Racial Justice Editor. She is also the host and creator of "Rising Up with Sonali," a nationally syndicated television and radio program. YES! Media is a nonprofit, independent organization that publishes solutions journalism daily online and a quarterly print magazine. To learn more visit: www.yesmagazine.org Sponsored by the City Lights Foundation.

In this episode of “Keen On”, Andrew is joined by Stan Cox, the author of “The Path to a Livable Future: A New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic”, to discuss how a healthy, just, sustainable future is possible if we reduce our ecological footprint and share the earth's gifts equitably. Stan Cox began his career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is now the Ecosphere Studies Research Fellow at the Land Institute. His writing about the economic and political roots of the global ecological crisis have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Kansas City Star, Arizona Republic, The New Republic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Salon, and Dissent, and in local publications spanning 43 U.S. states. In 2012,The Atlantic named Cox their "Readers' Choice Brave Thinker" for his critique of air conditioning. He is based in Salina, Kansas and sits on the editorial board of Green Social Thought. Visit our website: https://lithub.com/story-type/keen-on/ Email Andrew: a.keen@me.com Watch the show live on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajkeen Watch the show live on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankeen/ Watch the show live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lithub Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LiteraryHub/videos Subscribe to Andrew's newsletter: https://andrew2ec.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Ajl has a new book, A People's Green New Deal; Stan Cox, author of The Green New Deal and Beyond and the upcoming book The Path, joins me as a co-host as we talk about Green New Deals and imagine dealing with Climate Change as if the rest of the world existed (and mattered).

This new book entitled The Green New Deal and Beyond of author Stan Cox, is about climate energy, climate change, solar and wind panel and fossil fuels. Please listen to podcast 802 on www.insidepersonalgrowth.com

I talk to Stan Cox about his new book, The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can. We talk about the good aspects of the Green New Deal (especially the New Deal aspects), some of the assumptions that will have to be revised (that good fuels will automatically crowd … Continue reading "The Anti-Empire Project Episode 49: Beyond the Green New Deal, with Stan Cox"

Feb 16 2020 - Stan Cox by IPC Sermon Podcast

Today independent producer and Interchange contributor Dan Young interviews Don Fitz and Stan Cox, two long-time environmental activists and writers. For many years both Fitz and Cox have advocated that solving not just global warming but other major environmental crises will require an overall reduction in the size of economy and industrial production. Now they …

Weather forecast; Coach Gene Stallings calls into the Hamilton’s Hotline to give us an update on his life, discussing the NFL games over the weekend (missed calls), new coaches, and recruits.Coach Devin Boothe (Opelika High Lady Bulldog Basketball Coach) calls into the Hamilton’s Hotline to talk about her winning streak in the current season (7 straight area titles), the significance of where the program is at with the team and staff, a little talk on the middle school and JV teams, upcoming games, and keeping focus on goals for the team.D Mark and Jeff give out information on the A-O Emblem’s upcoming Breakfast for Books benefiting Jean Dean RIF/Kiwanis at First Presbyterian Church in Opelika (more information under the WTLM website’s community calendar); updates on Smitty Grider; D Mark releases the statement from Dr. Stan Cox on Coach Robert Johnson’s new position as coach at Lee-Scott Academy.AHSAA has filed a lawsuit, responding to the Davenport case and D Mark gives us all the details on the breaking story.The story on Mariano Rivera “unanimously” voted into the baseball Hall of Fame, Sam calls into the Hamilton’s Hotline to further the discussion, overturned and missed calls, the new pickleball court in Opelika, and day camp sign ups.Terry Sadler (Outside Account Executive in Sales here at iHeart Media) touches on gymnastics, where her daughter goes to for gymnastics (Extreme) and her interest in the sport, talking about Auburn University gymnastics, the experience from going to a meet, and what goes into training & regimen with gymnastics.D Mark reads out the recent results in the High School Sports polls.John L. Mitchell calls into the Hamilton’s Hotline, discussing the Mariano Rivera voted into the baseball Hall of Fame; Carnell “Cadillac” Williams named running back coach at Auburn University

CARBON RATIONS OR CARBON ALLOWANCES?Mon 18th Dec 2017How would carbon rationing work?Would it be forever?Would it hurt?BZE’s Vivien Langford talks to author Stan Cox in Salina Kansas about his book “Anyway you slice it”.Some people  are aware of the Climate Emergency, but others behave as if unaware. Australia’s per capita aviation emissions for example  are 18 metric tonnes compares to 5 for a French Citizen.What if this generation put a cap on fossil fuelled travel and energy use? Would it feel better if it was an app on your phone and was called a Carbon Allowance?We say that the bulk of existing coal oil and gas must stay underground, so shouldn’t we treat these as precious commodities, to be rationed while we make the transition? A Government committee in the UK researched this and said it could become an essential measure but that it was” an idea before its time”. We look into why it is such a taboo subject.“How the world breaks” is a new book by Stan Cox and his son Paul. We talk to Paul Cox in Copenhagen about the anthropology of disaster response. He praises countries like Bangladesh as the Netherlands without a budget”. He wants us to stop talking bout “natural;” disasters as if there was nothing we could do to mitigate them. When Greens MP Adam Bandt called PM Tony Abbott a “climate criminal ” during a Blue Mountains bush fire, he was condemned as insensitive. But when is there a “right time to connect the  dots”? Paul talks about our bushfires and the floods and landslides that are testing resilience around the world. He says economists fear any restraint on growth more than they fear the worst that climate change can bring us.How to change the narrative? Send us your ideas to : radioteam@bze.org.auInterviewsStan Cox – author of “Anyway you slice it ” and ” How the world breaks”Paul Cox- Anthropologist and author “How the world breaks”Music by David Rovics “East Tenessee”, Bangladeshi singer Mak Bul Chowdhury, and “Spirit of Place” sung by Yirmal Marika and Shane Howard.Links:

I talk to Stan Cox and Paul Cox, authors of How the World Breaks: Life in Castastrophe's Path from the Caribbean to Siberia. We discuss how we think and talk about disasters, the aid industry, and the uses and excuses associated with the concept of ‘resilience'.

Staying cool and comfortable during the summer can be a challenge.  Explore all the ways to beat the heat waves this summer and keep both the planet and you happy and healthy.  Join CJ as she talks to Stan Cox about his book “Losing Out Cool” and get some tips on how to use less air conditioning, save money, and why it’s so important. Discover why Stan was named in The Atlantic magazine 2012 Reader’s Choice for being a Brave Thinker. SHOW SUMMARY Segment 1:  What are the environmental and societal costs of AC?  Segment 2:  How could using less AC result in losing weight? What are the health benefits of using less AC? How much heat can we tolerate without a huge impact to our comfort? Segment 3:  Save money on your monthly bill.  Simple habits to try at home that will lower your electric bill. Segment 4:  Some simple things you can do right now to save the planet and lower your gas bill. More Shows by Stan: http://fireitupwithcj.com/2013/06/05/65-earth-harmony-solutions-for-living-in-harmony-with-earths-limits/ BLOG POST BY OUR GUEST IN THE HEAT WAVE, THE CASE AGAINST AIR CONDITIONING (SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST- SUNDAY, JULY 11, 2010) By Stan Cox Washington didn’t grind to a sweaty halt last week under triple-digit temperatures. People didn’t even slow down. Instead, the three-day, 100-plus-degree, record-shattering heat wave prompted Washingtonians to crank up their favorite humidity-reducing, electricity-bill-busting, fluorocarbon-filled appliance: the air conditioner. This isn’t smart. In a country that’s among the world’s highest greenhouse-gas emitters, air conditioning is one of the worst power-guzzlers. The energy required to air-condition American homes and retail spaces has doubled since the early 1990s. Turning buildings into refrigerators burns fossil fuels, which emits greenhouse gases, which raises global temperatures, which creates a need for — you guessed it — more air-conditioning. A.C.’s obvious public-health benefits during severe heat waves do not justify its lavish use in everyday life for months on end. Less than half a century ago, America thrived with only the spottiest use of air conditioning. It could again. While central air will always be needed in facilities such as hospitals, archives and cooling centers for those who are vulnerable to heat, what would an otherwise A.C.-free Washington look like? At work In a world without air conditioning, a warmer, more flexible, more relaxed workplace helps make summer a time to slow down again. Three-digit temperatures prompt siestas. Code-orange days mean offices are closed. Shorter summer business hours and month-long closings — common in pre-air-conditioned America — return. Business suits are out, for both sexes. And with the right to open a window, office employees no longer have to carry sweaters or space heaters to work in the summer. After a long absence, ceiling fans, window fans and desk fans (and, for that matter, paperweights) take back the American office. Best of all, Washington’s biggest business — government — is transformed. In 1978, 50 years after air conditioning was installed in Congress, New York Times columnist Russell Baker noted that, pre-A.C., Congress was forced to adjourn to avoid Washington’s torturous summers, and “the nation enjoyed a respite from the promulgation of more laws, the depredations of lobbyists, the hatching of new schemes for Federal expansion and, of course, the cost of maintaining a government running at full blast.” Post-A.C., Congress again adjourns for the summer, giving “tea partiers” the smaller government they seek. During unseasonably warm spring and fall days, hearings are held under canopies on the Capitol lawn. What better way to foster open government and prompt politicians to focus on climate change? At home Homeowners from Ward 8 to the Palisades pry open double-hung windows that were painted shut decades ago. In the air-conditioned age, fear of crime was often cited by people reluctant to open their homes to night breezes. In Washington, as in most of the world’s warm cities, window grilles (not “bars,” please) are now standard. In renovation and new construction alike, high ceilings, better cross-ventilation, whole-house fans, screened porches, basements and white “cool roofs” to reflect solar rays become de rigueur. Home utility bills plummet. Families unplug as many heat-generating appliances as possible. Forget clothes dryers –post-A.C. neighborhoods are crisscrossed with clotheslines. The hot stove is abandoned for the grill, and dinner is eaten on the porch. Around town Saying goodbye to A.C. means saying hello to the world. With more people spending more time outdoors — particularly in the late afternoon and evening, when temperatures fall more quickly outside than they do inside — neighborhoods see a boom in spontaneous summertime socializing. Rather than cowering alone in chilly home-entertainment rooms, neighbors get to know one another. Because there are more people outside, streets in high-crime areas become safer. As a result of all this, a strange thing happens: Deaths from heat decline. Elderly people no longer die alone inside sweltering apartments, too afraid to venture outside for help and too isolated to be noticed. Instead, people look out for one another during heat waves, checking in on their most vulnerable neighbors. Children — and others — take to bikes and scooters, because of the cooling effect of air movement. Calls for more summer school and even year-round school cease. Our kids don’t need more time inside, everyone agrees; they need the shady playgrounds and water sprinklers that spring up in every neighborhood. “Green roofs” of grass, ivy and even food crops sprout on the flat tops of government and commercial buildings around the city, including the White House. These layers of soil and vegetation (on top of a crucially leak-proof surface) insulate interiors from the pounding sun, while water from the plants’ leaves provides evaporative cooling. More trees than ever appear in both private and public spaces. And the Mall is reborn as the National Grove.  ABOUT OUR GUEST Stan Cox is a senior research scientist at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, where he works with a team of scientists on breeding perennial grain crops for future, ecologically resilient food-production systems. He has a PhD in plant genetics from Iowa State University and served as a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1983 to 1996. He lived in India from 1980 to 1982 and from 1996 to 2000; in the later period, he worked with the Institute for Rural Health Studies in Hyderabad on a study of cervical cancer in rural areas. He has published approximately 80 scientific papers and book chapters. Cox’s columns have appeared in the Denver Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Sun-Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant, the Kansas City Star, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the San Jose Mercury-News, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Providence Journal, and scores of smaller papers in 27 states. He has been writing investigative environmental pieces for AlterNet since January 2005 and writes frequently for CounterPunch and CommonDreams.org. He is on the editorial board of the Green journal Synthesis/Regeneration. He is the author of Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine and contributed a chapter to Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn.

June 12 - Stan Cox - On The Move by IPC Sermon Podcast

June 28, 2015 - Stan Cox by IPC Sermon Podcast

Stan Cox is author of Any Way You Slice It: The Past, Present, and Future of Rationing and a Senior Research Scientist and coordinator of research for the The Land Institute. With an eye to a just & sustainable future, Stan explores our history with rationing and the possibilities for an equitable future of necessary constraints.Stan Cox is also author of Losing Our Cool