The 5th Floor I take the ferry from Larkspur in the North Bay to get to RAN’s downtown San Francisco office. Pulling away from the Larkspur Ferry Building, I can see Mt. Tamalpais and the hills surrounding the towns of Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield and San Rafael. They’re green and plump with trees. The fog is dark grey. I’ve always loved the contrast of fog and treed hills. These hills are protected from development by their pleasing aesthetic and subsequent property value. To me, they represent an excess of wealth, resources to spare. I don’t worry about erosion or poor soil... (continue reading)

The good: the art The bad: the message The are you serious? The gendered and racist depiction of natives vs. colonizers Avatar is a beautiful work of art in which unique creatures are brought to life in a natural world where everything is, generally, living in harmony. Everything about Pandora was absolutely spectacular, and the special effects made the piece that much more captivating. But while I try to praise the skill and effort put into making the movie, I am unable to separate cinematographic wonder from the actual story and the messages. It is difficult to avoid associating the... (continue reading)

As some of you may know that I’m coming all the way from Charlotte, NC!! I will be the 1st to admit that I love the city but I do believe that we do need some major…MAJOR improvements when is comes to sustainability and protecting our environment. By working with RAN and my fellow Earth Club members here at UNC Charlotte, we have been working on various campaigns and events to get the ball moving. Recently our Chancellor Phillip L. Dubois signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment which will designate UNC Charlotte as one of the many colleges and/or... (continue reading)

http://brighterplanet.com/project_fund_projects/48 +++ i just voted three times for this awesome project which will help move Appalachia away from MTR mining and towards a sustainable, locally-owned, decentralized model [by utilizing timber industry byproducts.] the project will entail “feedstock feasibility studies and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to ensure sustainable forestry.” please vote today! signing up for brighterplanet.com only takes about 75 seconds. they are in second place and the prize is a $5000 grant! other suggestions on how to win this thing: -... (continue reading)

P.O.S.- Optimistic On Sat. Oct. 24 after a huge 350.org Day of Action, RAN activists partnered with Substance, a Twin Cities-based activism and arts organization, to table at a POS show at 1st Ave. POS is a rockin progressive Twin Cities hip-hop artist from the Rhymesayers label. He’s got one of those incredible fan bases who knows all the words to every song. It was great to meet both POS and his fans, as well as the other performers like St. Paul Slim and Prof. Hip-hop heads from Minnesota were really supportive and concerned about the issues we presented. Tons of folks signed our... (continue reading)