comeback to value

Right now I’m reading a double economic doozy, Raj Patel’s “The Value of Nothing” and David Walker’s “Comeback America.” For all our pomp, wealth and ego we’ve allowed our leaders to guide us into an economic minefield…and they don’t have a map or the brains to get us out. [...]

Fellow Grotto mate Raj Patel on Colbert

Hit the jump to see the good doctor, Raj Patel author of two best selling, hard hitting, socially conscious [...]

On Garbage

A beautifully written mediation on waste and how it interrelates and even defines our world, our society and ourselves. Essayist John Scalan dissects the makings and meanings of garbage from the literal (plastic bottles, shit) to the figurative (sloth, inefficiency) and reveals the basis’ and philosophies behind relegating garbage to one of the most reviled words in our [...]

Imperial San Francisco

“Imperial San Francisco” chronicles not only San Francisco’s rise in power and popularity (it’s the second most visited city in America, next to NY), but the effect large urban centers have on the surrounding [...]

Dam Nation

dispatches from the water underground. from the back cover: “part radical history of water, part DIY guide to sustainable technologies, Dam Nation brings together an analysis of water’s history with the active fight for it’s future.” [...]