New Future

Across the continent, from the DRC to South Africa, large-scale energy and infrastructure projects are being pushed in the name of climate goals. Yet, as multiple speakers highlighted, these projects often bypass the very communities they claim to serve. People are not at the centre of these plans; they are at best an afterthought, at worst a disposable obstacle.

We need social resilience, and what greater builder of social resilience can there be than communities coming together to work for a future that gives priority to real people and places and to a life-sustaining planet.

For a long time, I wasn’t quite sure if I should go to the CoFi #3 conference in Austria. But collaborative finance fascinates me, even if my knowledge of it is a bit fuzzy, and there were going to be speakers whose work I admired. Curious to learn more, I therefore travelled almost at the last minute to the venue in the Austrian Alps.

So, what is Life? To me, it’s a staggeringly impressive trick that the universe can perform, playing by the normal rules utilizing the normal material. Wow. Lucky us!

In this article, I’ll make a case for the increasing likelihood of conflict, internationally as well as domestically within the US, and then consider some novel ideas about conflict. As we’ll see, either taking sides in an approaching battle, or refusing to do so, comes with a cost.

Severe weather, shifting trade policies, and a lack of support for small farmers are driving coffee prices sky high. Without urgent investment, your daily brew could become a luxury.

In this week’s Frankly, Nate shares a handful of things he’s learned in the past few days that have implications for the Great Simplification. What does it mean to have a “climate-induced credit crunch” across the financial sector? What’s up with the recent tariffs on copper, and what connotations does this hold for the Great Simplification?

Despite endless talk about the purported ‘transition’ out of fossil fuels into low-carbon forms of energy, this resolutely fails to happen. Last year was no exception – the new data show that more oil, more natural gas and more coal were burned globally in 2024 than ever before in human history. Seriously, we need to stop talking about this mythical ‘transition’.

Joanna, a shining being, even in her absence, becomes more present. This was her final gift—to reveal the ambiguity of being/not-being, the forever fragile home of the deepest grief, the greatest love and the most profound compassion. To live in that ambiguity with the same compassion that flowed from the heart of her being becomes our charge to go forth now.

An unparalleled eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, systems theorist, and activist, Joanna dedicated her life to illuminating the interconnectedness of all life and empowering individuals and groups to confront the ecological and social crises of our time with courage and compassion.

Joanna asked the most pertinent of questions: How can I live so as to minimize suffering during this perilous moment? How can I maintain sanity, and help others to do so? What is my responsibility to future generations and other species? The answers she arrived at proved inspiring to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. She brought compassion, practical insight, and earthy spirituality to a world that needs those qualities more each day.

Situated within a bioregion populated by a multitude of small-scale nested ecosystems that grow food and create useful materials alongside textile fibres the fashion farm will require integration into wider production systems and seasons. It will require learning to be we not I. This dream is too big for one person and a single farm, it is something we must manifest together.

We need better places. And those places don’t emerge from assembly-line development on the edge. They come from communities that are built to rapidly adapt, mature, and endure

fantasies of perpetual economic growth have lulled us into thinking we are entitled to perpetual financial gains. I believe those fantasies are about to be tested in the near future.