New Economy Newsletter May 15, 2010

Sustainable Community Development

Bolivia recently expanded its constitution to include the concept ofl “living well,” in what they hope will be the basis for a global movement against consumerism, depredation of natural resources for profit, and current models of development and growth.

Greyston Bakery, which in addition to providing all the brownies for Ben and Jerry’s also provides good jobs for folks who want to work but  come from marginalized communities with above average rates of  unemployment, recently got a great video onto CNN’s Money website. Check it out here.

David Orr, at Oberlin College, is pursuing sustainable community development on campus and off through the Adam Joseph Lewis Center. More information here.

Two items on Emerald Cities: One is a new book on Urban Sustainability and the other is a large cross-sector alliance focusing on Green, Fair, and Democratic urban environments as part of the Emerald Cities Collaborative.

A new research study is underway to examine the link between complementary currencies and sustainability as part of the International Journal of Community Currency Research.

Economic Policy

In just weeks the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on comprehensive financial reform. Sign the Americans  for Fairness  in Lending petition to let  your senators  know where you stand!

The U.S. Treasury has opened a    public  comment period regarding  new rules for  the Housing  Finance System. While the   online system is somewhat Byzantine you can find complete instructions here. Readers may be interested especially in new rules regarding Federal Home Loan Banking, Executive Compensation, and Asset-Backed Securities.

Polly Cleveland offers an excellent refutation of Keynesian economics in the Dollars and Sense Blog: Can Invading a Small Third-World Country Stimulate the Economy?

Environment

While approaches to carbon pricing remain controversial (see CSR’s response to Krugman), who would have expected the Economist to be in our camp here. While we continue to debate the best system, it’s clear we need a pricing system for carbon and great news even the Economist is coming around to this thinking.

The Park Foundation has raised concerns about gas-drilling techniques (fracking) at Exxon. This is especially important because Exxon is on the verge of acquiring XTO, an energy company that pioneered the practice of fracking, for $31 billion.

In the wake of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill it is more important than ever to let your representatives in Congress know that you demand a clean energy future free from fossil fuel disasters! Sign Greenpeace’s petition to let Congress know where you stand.

A new study from Social Impact Advisors urges foundations to link their missions and their grants with a focus on climate change. You can find the complete study, Maximizing Impact: An Integrated Strategy for Grantmaking and Mission Investing in Climate Change, is available here.

Social Justice

The New America Foundation has recently released talking points regarding the worrying return of inequality. Read more here.

How can we stop sweatshop abuses? By changing cultures, argues Dan Viederman.

Jobs with Justice and other allies in the social justice movement gathered for a Showdown on Wall Street in April and are busy mobilizing folks to take the fight to K Street on May 17th.

Democracy and Corporate Accountability

The Fair Elections Now Act now has 145 co-sponsors but we can always use more! Call and ask your representative to sponsor H.R. 1826, the Fair Elections Now Act.  Learn more here.

The Media Action Grassroots Network won a major victory when the FCC defined broadband as a universal service, paving the way for future action to make broadband accessible to all. Check out the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

A new report on global governance is available from the Tellus Institute’s Great Transition Initiative.