Are we really, though, getting the stories that matter to the future of 4th graders??
We are sort of on the cusp of seeing mainstream media reporting on uncomfortable issues of our future - beyond the economy. (Choose an economy; how about Greece...) In general, the themes of water, peak oil, climate change, cultural conflicts (read wars) and the needs of citizens in coming decades are neglected miserably.
Many blogsites compile pertinent daily articles and send them out as a bundle to subscribers. (Sometimes there is a small subscription fee.) Articles are culled from many sources and cover everything from breaking news to opinion.
Such as:
Speaking Truth to Power Daily News Digest from Carolyn Baker
Common Dreams
Energy Bulletin
Here are some examples of articles brought to light on subscription bundles in only the past two weeks or so (of many more!). Take a glance at the variety of content, which is generally neglected in reports from other media. I have highlighted key words. Scan the variety of articles. Get a feel for how this may impact your own perceptions.
6/3/11 Wangari Maathai: Spiritual Environmentalism—Healing Ourselves by Replenishing the Earth
6/13/11 Oil company's lawsuit against Greenpeace backfires
6/2/11 Why Our Most Urgent Climate Struggles May Be Winnable by Bill McKibben
6/1/11 Population Footprints: Rights and Responsibilities — Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment
6/1/11 Chris Hedges: The Sky Really Is Falling - Chris Hedges' Columns - Truthdig
6/15/11 Lawn Care Goes to the Sheep in a Pennsylvania School District - Planet Green
5/29/11 The Reality of Global Climate Change is Upon Us - Newsweek
6/3/11 Shortages of Fresh Water Seen as Emerging Threat - ABC News
6/13/11 USGS: Global Warming Drives Rockies Snowpack Loss Unrivaled in 800 Years, Threatens Western Water Supply
6/16/11 Summer Reading Suggestions | Center for Ecoliteracy
6/14/11 The Truth About The Economy In 2 Minutes | MoveOn.Org
6/16/11 Small farms may be better for food security and biodiversity | Science Matters | David Suzuki Foundation
5/2/11 In U.S., Optimism About Future for Youth Reaches All-Time Low
6/17/11 Humane Connection: 7 Resources for Finding Out About the Secret Lives of Your Stuff
6/14/11 Children Pay Ultimate Price of Iraq's Poisonous Wartime Legacy | Common Dreams
6/5/11 Josh Golin: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Commerce... and Other Scholastic Satires
6/1/11 The New Geopolitics of Food - By Lester R. Brown | Foreign Policy
6/10/11 Humanitarian crisis as world's largest refugee camp declared full | World news | guardian.co.uk
6/1/11 An End to Growth: The Environment’s Impact on our Economic Decline | Oil Price.com
2/16/11 Two seminal Nature papers join growing body of evidence that human emissions fuel extreme weather, flooding that harm humans and the environment | ThinkProgress
6/7/11 BBC News - Tropical forests 'better managed'
6/17/11 Will Alternative Energy Save Us From Peak Oil | Oil Price.com
6/13/11 Oil-giant Venezuela tries to limit energy use - Yahoo! News
6/3/11 Video: 15 Years of Saying YES!
5/26/11 The geology of the planet: Welcome to the Anthropocene | The Economist
6/15/11 Ten Charts That Embody Everything That's Wrong With The U.S. Economy
6/12/11 Field Notes from the Future- Children and Nature.Org
6/1/11 The Oil Drum | Oil prices and recession
6/7/11 Yemen Facing Humanitarian Catastrophe: UNICEF | Common Dreams
6/1/11 In The World After Abundance | Energy Bulletin
6/15/11 Sewing and Clothing Repair | Preparedness Advice Blog
6/16/11 Nebraska Nuclear Reactor Flooded
We do sifting and winnowing in class each day. I hope this creates resources for sifting the challenges of resilience to come.
