Economy

Local Furniture Manufacturing Case Study: Honolulu Furniture Company

March 12, 2015

Globally, manufacturing facilities have shifted to the places where workers will generally work for the least amount of money and under the worst conditions. Subsidized shipping alongside these weak worker protection laws combined with international free trade agreements have led to the slow degradation of good paying manufacturing jobs. Certain industries, however, are starting to make a comeback in terms of localized manufacturing, and one such opportunity is in custom furniture built from locally sourced natural resources. Here, we profile…

The Story of Solutions: Why Bigger is Not Better

October 29, 2013

For five years Annie Leonard and the folks from the innovative Story of Stuff Project have been creating compact educational videos explaining complicated ideas in a very accessible and easy to understand format. One of their most recent short films, The Story of Solutions, is perhaps the most hopeful and inspiring in the series.

Siemens’ New Wind Turbine Commercial is Pretty Badass (video)

October 21, 2013

Siemens’ latest commercial for their extreme wind turbine program combines dramatic, computer-generated camera angles, swooping visuals, and an epic soundtrack that might be more appropriate for a summer blockbuster if, you know, Siemens weren’t out there actually trying to save the world with their cheap, clean, non-polluting power. The kind of “save the world” thing that clean power providers do every day, in other words. Projects like the massive wind turbines shown in this commercial, Siemens hopes, will help reduce…

Swiss Consider Adopting a Guaranteed Basic Income

October 13, 2013

In an attempt to reverse rampant extreme poverty and severe economic inequities, the Swiss populace is now demanding a vote to implement a Basic Income for all of its citizens. These proposed economic reforms would mandate $2500 francs monthly for every adult; regardless if they are rich or poor, all people would be treated equally.

Labor Day: Six Ways We Can Improve Working Conditions

September 2, 2013

Economist and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich shares an insightful Labor Day message concerning how we can improve the plight of struggling workers in the United States.

Why Dumpster Diving for Food in Spain Could Cost You 750 Euros

June 13, 2013

Incredibly, some Spanish towns are now fining people who search through dumpsters for food the equivalent of nearly $1000; while elsewhere, other communities are beginning to understand the power inherent in salvaging and reusing resources gleaned from our garbage.

Growing Our Local Food Infrastructure: Urban Farm School Opens in Asheville NC

February 11, 2013

Though it sometimes seems like our evil frankenfood corporate overlords, such as Monsanto and Dow, have completely hi-jacked our food system, many people around the nation are actually creating more sustainable and viable alternatives. A few good folks in Asheville, NC are bringing agriculture back to the people, empowering urbanites to gain more food independence, while learning to grow healthier fresh local food for their own communities.

Asheville City Council Tackles Food Insecurity and Approves Food Action Plan

January 27, 2013

North Carolina’s city of Asheville is the most recent town in our nation to create a Food Action Plan. These sensible strategies address difficult issues, such as food deserts, community health, food insecurity, nutrition knowledge deficits, barriers to local food production and distribution, as well as food sovereignty. The plan was approved 6-0 on January 21, 2013 by the city council; this legislation will play an active role in improving healthy food access, and will also help to build a more sustainable local food infrastructure.

Mexico City’s Green Revolution

November 30, 2012

At Ecolocalizer we are always looking for the ways that the spirit of humanity is continually find its way back to nature. I ran across this article today, and was very inspired to read about how the people in Mexico City are bringing green back to a city that has been notoriously dangerous and polluted for decades.

First US Wild Foods and Medicinals Market to Open in Asheville NC

November 5, 2012

Beautiful Asheville, North Carolina is famous for many things, including its bountiful array of diverse foraged edibles and medicinal plants; our region is now taking eating wild one step further by opening the first entirely wild crafting public market in the US. The upcoming weekly market will include vendors selling edible and medicinal mushrooms, plants.

Featuring a Focus on Women & the Caped Crusader, Avenging Uterus

September 4, 2012

This week the Important Media network is celebrating the varied accomplishments and rights of women; our many diverse blogs will be highlighting different aspects of this topic. To help consolidate all of this week’s featured articles, we will publish all of our eclectic women’s rights related posts on this page. Ecolocalizer has also adopted cartoonist Matt Bors’ comic caped crusader, the fierce Avenging Uterus, as our vagina mascot to help promote this week’s focus upon women and female success stories.

Stockbox Grocery Opens First Storefront in Seattle’s South Park Neighborhood

August 15, 2012

Last year at the Slow Money Gathering in San Francisco, I was really impressed with a presentation that I heard from one of the founders of Stockbox Neighborhood Grocery in Washington. Her idea was simple and innovative — retrofit shipping containers to sell healthy food and produce in underserved neighborhoods. The easily portable container could be placed in industrial areas and regions where food deserts now prevail, instantly providing better access to fresh groceries.

Romney & Ryan: Going Back to the Future that Destroyed Our Nation’s Economy?

August 11, 2012

Just as newly christened potential vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan told his supporters that he was “thrilled to be a part of America’s comeback team”, the Obama campaign released another endearing nickname for the political duo: “The Go Back Team”. It is inexplicable why these Republicans keep desperately clinging to the belief that the miserably failed trickle down economics fraud that already drove our country off a cliff is still somehow a viable solution.

The American Dream is a Lie: Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

August 3, 2012

One of the most significant books published this year is Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, a gripping graphic novel reportage mix which skillfully exposes the extreme exploitation and poverty that flourishes on the disenfranchised burned out edges of our nation. This brutal compelling work is a collaboration between Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges, and the revolutionary cartoonist and foreign correspondent, Joe Sacco.