Summer 2013

Table of Contents

Love and the Apocalypse

From the Editors

Don’t Let the Apocalypse Get You Down

The climate crisis is spinning out of control, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow unabated. It’s time to let the radical uncertainty of this moment enlarge our sense of possibility.

Read more
Young Leaders Roundtable

What’s Love Got to Do with the Apocalypse? We Asked This Group of Young Leaders

On life, leadership, and the future in an age of catastrophic change.
Sarah van Gelder
Melina photo by Jiri Rezac

For a Future that Won’t Destroy Life on Earth, Look to the Global Indigenous Uprising

Idle No More is the latest incarnation of an age-old movement for life that doesn't depend on infinite extraction and growth. Now, armed with Twitter and Facebook, once-isolated groups from Canada to South America are exchanging resources and support like never before.
Kristin Moe
Clicktivism Graphic

Click Here to Kick Glenn Beck Off the Air: Web Activism’s Big Wins—and What to Do Next

It was online campaigning that got Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck's shows canceled. But the real power of Internet activism is what happens after we step away from the screen.
Mark Engler & Paul Engler
Raining exclamation points

What to Say When People Say “It’s Impossible”

10 smart conversation starters to address some standard defenses of the status quo.
Andrea Brower
Burning Man

Don’t Wait for the Revolution—Live It

When pranksters and creative organizers create temporary utopias, the experience leaves us wanting more—and ready to work hard to get it.
Andrew Boyd
Mahatma_Gandhi_laughing 650.jpg

Peaceful Revolution? Gandhi’s Four Paths to Get There

The Indian leader saw nonviolence as an active and powerful thing—not just the absence of war.
Madhu Suri Prakash
Peaceful Uprising photo by David Newkirk

Get Apocalyptic: Why Radical is the New Normal

Feeling anxious about life in a broken economy on a strained planet? Turn despair into action.
Robert Jensen
Ai-Jen Poo photo by Lane Hartwell

A Caring Economy Requires Building Bridges—Not Burning Them

Traditional organizing makes opponents into “enemies,” but a new crop of activists is using love and empathy to create new alliances and possibilities.
Sally Kohn
Power and Love graphic

Love and Power: When Are they Generative, Instead of Destructive?

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Power without love is reckless and abusive and love without power is sentimental and anemic.” How to find the balance.
Adam Kahane
Historical Trauma photo by Jane Feldman

Slave and Slaveholder Descendants Break Free of History’s Trauma—Together

Responding to past traumas like slavery and acts of terrorism can heal us—and future generations.
Lisa Gale Garrigues

Solutions We Love

Explore Section
Dar Williams

Dar Williams: Why the Music of Protest Is Still Worth Defending

We can’t change the world if we can’t even sing together—a star folk singer on what happens if political music dies.
Madeline Ostrander
Gun Deaths photo by John Sonderman

Meet the Refreshing Evangelical Who’s Leading a Revival—of “the Common Good”

Pastor Jim Wallis has been arrested for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline, builds bridges between polarized politicians, and pushes Christians to worry less about gay marriage and more about justice. And even better—there’s a whole new generation following his lead.
Sarah van Gelder
Handshake photo courtesy of Think Panama

Why the TransPacific Partnership is a Scary Big (Trade) Deal

A super-sized NAFTA, the TPP gives foreign corporations privileges that can override domestic laws on environmental health and citizens’ rights. Here’s why we shouldn’t let it pass without a fight.
Kristen Beifus
Chalkboard photo by Derek Bruff

Georgia Professors Teach Undocumented Students—for Free

Georgia is one of three states that exclude undocumented students from full access to higher education. "Freedom University" operates on the principle that “you can stop me from going to a UGA classroom, but you can’t stop a UGA professor from teaching me.”
Chris Francis
Checkerboard photo by Kevin H.

Marriage Equality Victories Show How Change Happens, One Step at a Time

Before 2004, no state allowed same-sex marriage. Today, it's legal in 12 states and the District of Columbia. If you want to see how political progress is made, look to the local level.
Gar Alperovitz
The Page that Counts Numbers
The Page That Counts

The Page That Counts: Summer 2013

Years it took for the human population to grow from 1 billion to 2 billion: 123. Years it took to grow from 6 billion to 7 billion: 12

Culture Shift

Explore Section
Starry night sky
Yes! But How?

How to See Stars Like Your Ancestors Did

We could all see the sky as our ancestors once saw it just by turning off the lights, according to the International Dark Sky Association.
Chris Francis & Katrina Rabeler
Paradise Lot.jpg

How Two Plant Geeks Grew a Permaculture Oasis in an Ordinary Backyard

In “Paradise Lot,” two residents of an inner city write about how they transformed less than an acre of their blighted yard into a thriving food forest full of mushrooms, gooseberries, silkworms, and more.
Abby Quillen
The Longest Race book cover

A Marathon Runner’s Lessons for a Saner Civilization

Long-distance running demands that athletes pace themselves and keep the future in mind. Might they have something to teach those who want to create a sustainable society?
Andy Lee Roth
Band of Sisters poster

How a Radical Group of American Nuns Shook Up the Vatican to Better the World

“Band of Sisters” shows why a humble group of women fell under Vatican investigation for seeing the causes—not just the symptoms—of injustice.
Valerie Schloredt
Australian Indigenous Hug photo by SidKid

Why the Future of Journalism Is in the Story of Solutions

Taken all together, the practical actions YES! Magazine features reveal large societal shifts that hold the potential for a better world.
Fran Korten