Media and Internet
Stealing the Future
Thomson Reuters sues an open-source competitor, a bibliographic software tool. Read more...
Commons Strategies; Cultural Commons; Media and Internet
Decadence and Redemption in the Music Biz
Let’s revive music by letting robust social commons support new types of markets. Read more...
Economics and Markets; Media and Internet
Online Collaboration Goes Legit
A New Vermont law lays the foundation for new types of vlrtual corporations. Read more...
Commons Strategies
Commons Strategies; Cultural Commons; Media and Internet
Decadence and Redemption in the Music Biz
Let’s revive music by letting robust social commons support new types of markets. Read more...
Commons Strategies; Community Life
“Forum Organizer's Guide”
by Project Forum Organizing
in
published Nov 1, 2008
An easy-to-use guide for citizens and organizations launching their own community-based forums.
The Commons Moment Is Now
How a small, dedicated group of people can help transform the world Read more...
Cultural Commons
Commons Strategies; Cultural Commons; Media and Internet
Decadence and Redemption in the Music Biz
Let’s revive music by letting robust social commons support new types of markets. Read more...
Cultural Commons; Knowledge Commons; Media and Internet; Politics and Government
History Commons
An open-content, citizen-driven site to create an efficient, well-researched body of historical information from many viewpoints and sources.
Who Owns the Image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
The King estate’s unseemly attempt to cash in on “The Dream." Read more...
Climate Crisis
Newsweek Hails Cap-and-Dividend as “Truly Transformative”
The latest issue of Newsweek champions Peter Barnes as one of “four thinkers whose philosophies seem to have captured the intellectual moment.”
In its special end-of-the-year/end-of-Bush-Era issue on "the Global... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Newsweek, January 5, 2009..
Cap’n Dividend’s Excellent Climate Solution
On the Web
New flash animation, “Cap’n Dividend’s Excellent Climate Solution.” Read more...
The Commons Can Help Stop the Climate Crisis
Cap-and-Dividend, the commons-based solution to global warming, came in for more media attention recently, in Forbes magazine.
Environmental author and philosopher Bill McKibben interviewed On the Commons cofounder... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Forbes Magazine.
Economics and Markets
Malcolm Gladwell deconstructs the self-made man
From Bill Gates to Wall Street, personal success depends heavily on public help Read more...
Revisiting “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas”
When it comes to understanding “value,” economists are a bit clueless. Read more...
Economics and Markets; Media and Internet
Online Collaboration Goes Legit
A New Vermont law lays the foundation for new types of vlrtual corporations. Read more...
Environment
Depicting the Earthly Devastation of Global Commerce
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of “manufactured landscapes” are beautiful and appalling. Read more...
Environment; International; Science and Health
The Drive to Commodify Nature
The life sciences industries and their alarming vision of "synthetic biology." Read more...
Environment; Politics and Government
Bush Rushes to Grant Oil Leases Near National Parks
With no concern for the impact on air, water and wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management is rushing through dozens of new leases for oil drilling on public lands adjacent to national parks in Utah. More than 40... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Felicity Barringer, "U.S. to Open Public Land Near Parks for Drilling," New York Times..
International
Depicting the Earthly Devastation of Global Commerce
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of “manufactured landscapes” are beautiful and appalling. Read more...
“El Agua Nuestro Bien Común”
by Maude Barlow
in
published Jan 8, 2007
The Spanish language version of_Our Water Commons: Towards a New Freshwater Narrative_is available here. To learn more about the Our Water Commons global network and to read the report, click on the link below.
“Our Water Commons: Towards a New Freshwater Narrative”
by Maude Barlow
in
published Jan 8, 2007
In every corner of the globe, communities (not just human, but flora and fauna as well) are in a pitched battle against thirst. One clear lesson emerges from the struggles of the world’s water warriors — water management remains a leaky endeavor unless it adheres to the principles of the commons — the gifts of society and nature that are shared by all, for generations to come. Click below to learn more about the Our Water Commons global network and to read the report.
Everyday Life
Lessons from Indian Potlatch?
I would not expect the libertarian-minded John Tierney of the New York Times to give a full, thoughtful account of the social dynamics of potlatch on its own terms, and indeed, he doesn’t. In his article in the... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at John Tierney, "Tips from the Potlatch," New York Times. .
House of Commons
Looking back at three decades of friends, family and fun in a shared household Read more...
Behold the Stick! A Classic of the Toy Commons
National Toy Hall of Fame inducts “the stick” into its venerable pantheon Read more...
Water
Toronto Takes the Lead in Banning Bottled Water
The City of Toronto has broken new ground in the fight against bottled water by banning the sale and distribution of bottled water on city premises. The city has not only banned an environmentally destructive product,... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at "Tony Clarke, "Toronto Stood Up to the Bottled Water Industry," Toronto Star..
“El Agua Nuestro Bien Común”
by Maude Barlow
in
published Jan 8, 2007
The Spanish language version of_Our Water Commons: Towards a New Freshwater Narrative_is available here. To learn more about the Our Water Commons global network and to read the report, click on the link below.
“Our Water Commons: Towards a New Freshwater Narrative”
by Maude Barlow
in
published Jan 8, 2007
In every corner of the globe, communities (not just human, but flora and fauna as well) are in a pitched battle against thirst. One clear lesson emerges from the struggles of the world’s water warriors — water management remains a leaky endeavor unless it adheres to the principles of the commons — the gifts of society and nature that are shared by all, for generations to come. Click below to learn more about the Our Water Commons global network and to read the report.
Politics and Government
Will Taxes Always Be a Dirty Word?
Bringing more public participation to how budgets are drafted will strengthen democracy Read more...
Cultural Commons; Knowledge Commons; Media and Internet; Politics and Government
History Commons
An open-content, citizen-driven site to create an efficient, well-researched body of historical information from many viewpoints and sources.
Community Life; Politics and Government
Keep Boston Common Public
Beware of public-private partnerships to "rescue" public spaces. Read more...
Community Life
Commons Strategies; Community Life
“Forum Organizer's Guide”
by Project Forum Organizing
in
published Nov 1, 2008
An easy-to-use guide for citizens and organizations launching their own community-based forums.
Community Life; Politics and Government
Keep Boston Common Public
Beware of public-private partnerships to "rescue" public spaces. Read more...
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Community Life; International; Politics and Government Enrique PeñalosaBogotá, Columbia — Commons Champion |
Science and Health
Science Commons, the Video
Jesse Dylan produces video-primers explaining Science Commons and Creative Commons Read more...
Economics and Markets; Knowledge Commons; Science and Health
The Rich Are Hogging Our Common Inheritance
And how we can take it back. Read more...
Environment; International; Science and Health
The Drive to Commodify Nature
The life sciences industries and their alarming vision of "synthetic biology." Read more...
Knowledge Commons
Economics and Markets; Knowledge Commons; Science and Health
The Rich Are Hogging Our Common Inheritance
And how we can take it back. Read more...
Cultural Commons; Knowledge Commons; Media and Internet; Politics and Government
History Commons
An open-content, citizen-driven site to create an efficient, well-researched body of historical information from many viewpoints and sources.
Cultural Commons; Knowledge Commons
The Public Domain as a “Jungle”
Eva Wirtén’s new book, "Terms of Use," explores the clashing worldviews of North and South Read more...
Food and Agriculture
Food and Agriculture; International
What's a WWOOF Worth?
Commons lessons learned by two Iowa farm girls working their way across Europe in the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program. Read more...
Commons 101; Food and Agriculture
Commons for a Small Planet
Frances Moore Lappé on why today’s food shortages are not caused by a shortage of food Read more...
US Financial Crisis
Economics and Markets; Media and Internet; US Financial Crisis
Not Just Peak Oil, But “Peak Hierarchy,” Too?
Can the economic crisis be traced to large, hierarchical institutions that are dysfunctional in an open, networked environment? Read more...
Economics and Markets; US Financial Crisis
Can $7.4 Trillion Restore Trust in Markets?
The $700 billion bailout? Old news. The Fed is ready to lend ten times as much to prop up our "free market" system. Read more...
Economics and Markets; Politics and Government; US Financial Crisis
What’s So Bad About Spreading the Wealth?
With John McCain’s screeching all over the campaign trail about Barack Obama’s supposed plans to “spread the wealth,” On the Commons Fellow Chuck Collins started thinking about what has actually happened to our... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Sojourners Magazine.
Commons 101
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Commons 101; Commons Strategies; Community Life Jonathan RowePoint Reyes Station, California — OnTheCommons.org Member |
Commons 101; Economics and Markets
Debunking the Tragedy of the Commons
The fallacies of the “tragedy of the commons” argument have been made many times since biologist Garrett Hardin made them in 1968. But given the persistence of the metaphor as a justification for privatization, it... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Ian Angus, "The Myth of the Tragedy of the Commons," The Bullet, August 25, 2008..
Commons 101; Community Life; Water
Take Us to the Water
Minneapolis, Minnesota
A festival celebrates the wonder of a water fountain. Read more...
Indigenous People
Indigenous People; International
A Breakthrough for Indigenous People’s Rights
An historic event in the annals of human progress took place last fall with virtually no media attention in the United States.
After 22 years of negotiations, the United Nations voted 143-4 on September 13 to... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at Indian Country.
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Commons 101; Food and Agriculture; Indigenous People; International Jesús León SantosMexico City, Mexico — Commons Champion |
Environment; Indigenous People
Native Americans Buying Lost Land
Casino profits fuel new push to reclaim stolen tribal commons.
White Americans’ lust for money cost Native Americans their land in the 19th Century, as pioneers hungry to make their fortunes out West continually... Continue reading summary...
Read the source at the Star Tribune.
Blogroll
History CommonsAn open-content, citizen-driven site to create an efficient, well-researched body of historical information from many viewpoints and sources.
Kim Klein and the CommonsKim Klein is the founder and former publisher of the bimonthly Grassroots Fundraising Journal, which celebrated its 25th birthday in 2006. Her work with the Building Movement Project (www.buildingmovement.org) is allowing her to explore an interest in the idea of the commons - what do we and what should we own in common? Kim is in the research and development phase of creating workshops on the commons and on fair and equitable tax policy. Kim believes that the nonprofit sector has a critical role to play in the creation and maintenance of a democratic society.
