September readings

On Pakistan’s superfloods, sustainable living in Uruguay, and the importance of third places

Gauchos at the Pintado wind farm in Corral de Piedra, Uruguay. Credit: Alessandro Cinque for The New York Times

Once a month, we put together a list of stories we’ve been reading: news you might’ve missed or crucial conversations going on around the web. We focus on environmental justice, radical municipalism, new politics, political theory, and resources for action and education.

We try to include articles that have been published recently but will last, that are relatively light and inspiring, and are from corners of the web that don’t always get the light of day. This will also be a space to keep you up to date with news about what’s happening at Uneven Earth.

For September, our list is short and sweet. Highlights include a comprehensive report by Global Witness that found that 1,733 land and environmental defenders have been killed worldwide over the last 10 years; analysis of Patagonia’s move to give away its profits in service of the planet; different articles on Pakistan’s devastating floods; a great story on Uruguay as an example of what a good life within planetary boundaries might look like; and a piece co-written by our editor Aaron Vansintjan on why degrowth is not austerity. We also found a cool TikTok on why ‘third places’ (places where people spend time between their home and work, like cafés, parks, or churches) are so important in fighting alienation, and a video with relaxing visuals and ambient sounds by Studio Ghibli to help us switch off after digesting the world’s heavy news.

If you find these lists useful, you can support us by sharing them on social media and with your friends and family!

A small note that the articles linked in this newsletter do not represent the views of Uneven Earth. When reading, please keep in mind that we don’t have capacity to do further research on the authors or publishers!



Uneven Earth updates

Do the impossible! Plan utopia! | A review of Half-Earth Socialism



Top 5 articles to read

Decade of defiance. Ten years of reporting land and environmental activism worldwide.

Patagonia founder gives away the company to fight climate change, but: Don’t rush to canonize Patagonia 

The west is ignoring Pakistan’s super-floods. Heed this warning: tomorrow it will be you

Degrowth is not austerity – it is actually just the opposite

What does sustainable living look like? Maybe like Uruguay



News you might’ve missed

Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals

Babies have air pollution in their lungs and brains before they take their first breath

Death of sociologist Bruno Latour, figure of ecological thought

Gen Z is apparently America’s most pro-union generation



Where we’re at: analysis

Profiting from poison: how the US lead industry knowingly created a water crisis

The US military is the enemy of climate mitigation. It alone surpasses the total national emissions of Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia combined. 

The British monarchy helped mortgage our collective future 



Global struggles

Pakistan must get rid of colonial mindset on water, and Working with local knowledge only way to save Pakistan from flood disasters

Pakistan lost $30 billion in floods. Should rich polluting countries pay up? 

Flooded Pakistan needs climate reparations, not EU charity 

How Oleksandr Vilkul led Kryvyi Rih’s unexpected fight against Russia. Led by an ex-politician with no official power, Kryvyi Rih’s miners and metalworkers have united against Russia.

‘We’re minor losses’: Russia’s mobilisation targets ethnic minorities

From dreams to dust. The ostensibly green electric vehicle revolution has a decidedly dirty side, and the winner of the 2022 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — “From dreams to dust” — vividly tells the story of the high cost of nickel mining through the life of an Indonesian mine worker. 

Al Ouneh: Autonomous resourcing in Palestine 



Cities and radical municipalism

Rurbanization: It’s time to make cities more rural

The radical roots of bikesharing

The other type of car pollution that harms us all. We all know that air pollution is choking our planet — and our lungs. But noise pollution from automobiles is almost as bad.

Urban flooding has everything to do with real estate corruption

The importance of ‘third places’. A video explanation. 

Medical care alone won’t halt the spread of diabetes. Now experts are calling for walkable communities, improved housing, and access to health care and better food, particularly in minority communities.



Food politics

Podcast on the Dutch farmer protests. Kai Heron and Alex Heffron discuss the far-right influences in the farmer protests currently sweeping the Netherlands, far-right representations of rural life, the politics of food production, and much more.

Why Puerto Rico is betting big on mushrooms. Fungi could be the secret ingredient to the island’s food sovereignty.



Just think about it…

These ‘nuclear bros’ say they know how to solve climate change

Free shipping isn’t free for everyone

Podcast: ‘Water always wins,’ so why are we fighting it? 

We need a library economy. A video essay.



Sci-fi, art and storytelling

Jean-Luc Godard. In honor of his recent death, Verso republished Peter Wollen’s essay on the great director.

30 minutes of relaxing visuals from Studio Ghibli, for a break from the bad news



Theory

Noam Chomsky on David Graeber’s Pirate Enlightenment 



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