PEOPLE POWER

How “we the people” decide what we want, and how we get it.

Instant Runoff Elections are a Vote for Civility

by Rob Richie

posted May 07, 2009

Burlington’s success with instant runoff voting (IRV) is a model of a clean, open debate. Is it time to take it to the national level?

In Review :: Justicia Now

by Lisa Gale Garrigues

posted May 07, 2009

Lisa Garrigues reviews this documentary about Ecuador’s oil wars.

In Review :: Rules for Online Radicals

by James Trimarco

posted May 07, 2009

James Trimarco reviews Markos Moulitsas Zúniga’s Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era.

Signs of Life :: Germany Mandates Paper-Trail Voting

by Lilja Otto

posted May 07, 2009

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the voting machines used in the country’s 2005 general election are unconstitutional.

Signs of Life :: Landmark Climate Change Bill

by Madeline Ostrander

posted May 07, 2009

Congress has begun debate on what could become the first-ever federal legislation to regulate greenhouse gases. The bill promises to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Signs of Life :: A Push for Public Health Care

by Kim Eckart

posted May 07, 2009

Advocates are urging President Obama to end insurance industry domination over health care. But how should the new system work?

The Singing Revolution :: Film Trailer

posted Apr 30, 2009

The extraordinary story of the non-violent path Estonia took to free itself from Soviet occupation.

Justicia Now!

posted Apr 30, 2009

Justicia Now is a documentary about ChevronTexaco's toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest—and the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.

Is President Obama Serious About a New Relationship with the Americas?

by Sarah van Gelder

posted Apr 21, 2009

The Summit of the Americas gave President Obama a chance to hear the hopes and fears of an entire continent. Are we, finally, stepping into a new relationship with our neighbors?

Sarah van Gelder on GRITtv

by Sarah van Gelder, Laura Flanders

posted Apr 09, 2009

YES! Magazine's executive editor and co-founder Sarah van Gelder on why we need news and also solutions.

President Obama Calls for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

by David Krieger

posted Apr 07, 2009

President Obama’s speech in Prague was a world-changing moment, a promise of unprecedented historical change on the most profoundly dangerous issue confronting not only America but the world.

YES! Recommends: Food For Everyone

posted Mar 11, 2009

Raising youth: growing food, justice, and leadership in your classroom. These articles from the Food For Everyone issue of YES! Magazine embody the possibilities when we take our health and our food into our own hands.

Signs of Life :: Elections/Campaign Finance Pledge

by Brooke Jarvis

posted Feb 24, 2009

More than 1,500 voters have pledged "not to donate to any federal candidate unless they support legislation making congressional elections citizen-funded, not special-interest funded."

How to Get Involved in Food Policy Councils

by Mark Winne

posted Feb 14, 2009

Here are seven tips for local food citizens interested in organizing food policy councils.

Call for Mass Civil Disobedience Against Coal

by Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry

posted Feb 14, 2009

This is an open letter from Wendell Berry and Bill McKibben.