networks.

at the first US Social Forum last month, 10,000 people came to Atlanta to attend workshops addressing immigration, food sovereignty, health care, climate change, queer rights and hundreds of other social and environmental justice concerns. Naomi Klein calls such activism against oppressive economies and states "a movement of movements." Vandana Shiva believes it is "Earth Democracy," a practice which "connects the particular to the universal, the diverse to the common, and the local to the global."

in this time of both global information and global corporate control, we can understand the commonality of our causes. (coca cola contaminates local water wells in India->union leaders in coca cola plants in Colombia are murdered->the obesity epidemic in the US is caused in part by soft drink sponsorship of underfunded schools.) human rights and environmental preservation are now recognized as interdependent. but this "movement of movements" is not united by a single ideology. it is more organic than historical forms of activism, functioning as natural systems do. localized and adaptive, it is a network of people working to sustain life in their own communities.

when mapped, the dynamics of this "movement of movements" have often been compared by theorists to the internet. and the internet has done much to link the efforts of dispersed organizations and individuals. Paul Hawken writes "Webs are complex systems of interconnected elements that link individual actions to larger grids of knowledge and movement. Web sites link to other sites with more links to other sires ad infinitum, creating a critical, fluid mass of information that evolves and grows as needed- very much like an immune response. At the heart of all this is not technology but relationships, tens of millions of people working towards restoration and social justice."

there is, of course, great irony in this phenomenon. relationships are formed in the forums of a disembodied medium. technology is used to learn the skills (local plant identification, sustainable farming practices) common in pre-technology societies. computers used to help labor activist and ecologists educate and organize, are manufactured in low wage factories using toxic materials. and, like other common electronic devices, they consume a large amount of energy with use and create hazardous waste in their disposable design. so here are some ways to minimize the environmental impact of our computers, while continuing to use them as tools.

-according to a variety of sources, including a New York Times article, laptop computers use less energy than desktops, LCD screens use less energy than CRTs and Macs use less energy than PCs. energy star certified computers can be found on this EPA website.

-setting your computer to sleep or hibernation mode when idling can save a lot of energy. an easy guide to changing your settings is available here. or you can download a free "Co2 Saver" program that will change the settings for you.

-you can locate places to recycle computers and other electronics on the Earth 911 website.

if you have any other ideas you'd like me to list, please feel free to write me: aswecanblog@gmail.com. i'd also be happy to research specific topics.