As the world comes to terms with the mind-boggling scale of the tragedy in Pakistan, many Americans are asking what we can do to aid the flood victims.

Some may hesitate to contribute to flood relief because we associate Pakistan with qualities we don't admire -- nuclear proliferation, religious fundamentalism,...

Detroit was not an accidental choice for the U.S. Social Forum (USSF). Take a look at the decaying Packard Plant or at boarded-up homes and small businesses, and you'd say this city is dying. Less well known is that it is a city in the midst of a...

In the last week, anger at the BP oil disaster has turned into action. Here are some of the things Americans are doing.

Last week, I wrote a blog with six things we Americans could do about the Gulf oil spill, ranging from a takeover of BP to...

Instead of sitting helplessly on the sidelines, here are things every American can do.

BP has failed repeatedly to stop the gushing oil disaster in the Gulf. It's trying again--using a technique that risks making matters worse--and saying that there may be no repair until August, when it finishes drilling...

The climate summit that just wrapped up in Cochabamba was the polar opposite of Copenhagen, not only because it occurred literally on the other side of the world. Instead of being led by the most powerful people of the world, it was led by those at the margins: the poor...

President Barack Obama's offshore drilling announcement is bad news for efforts to stop runaway climate change, especially following December's failed climate talks in Copenhagen.

But there's hope -- and a whole new approach -- coming from an unusual gathering later this month. Representatives of 50 governments will...

Anyone who thought the inauguration of Barack Obama as president heralded the end of racism in America, should look no further than the tea party rallies held last weekend. The race baiting and the mocking signs show how far we still have to go. Perhaps even more troubling are the...

President Obama State of the Union speech shows little understanding of the time we're in or of the daily experience of real Americans. Maybe it comes from being in DC for a solid year now.

• In the last 18 months, Wall Street nearly brought the world economy to its knees,...

Haiti has a painful history with debt. When it won its independence in 1804 -- just the second country in the hemisphere to do so -- it was required to pay restitution to France. Haiti went millions of dollars (billions in today's dollars) into debt to compensate the French for...

Reports from Haiti indicate massive trauma and casualties from the January 12 earthquake. Outside help is needed for people who were already the poorest in the western hemisphere. But the wrong kind of help can feed corruption, dependence on outsiders, and even exploitation.

How can we support the right kind...

In my last column, I listed nine crises of the '00s.

But something else happened during the first decade of the millennium. People around the world turned away from ways of life and practices that are endangering our world and worked to make communities, work places, and technologies...

What was the decade of the '00s about? What trends showed up in the last 10 years that will set the stage for the '10s? The following nine trends are a snapshot of some of the driving forces we're dealing with now at the turn of the decade.

1....

The failure of world leaders in Copenhagen to come to terms with the climate crisis is provoking anger and disappointment. My colleague at YES! Magazine, Brooke Jarvis, reports on the climate deal and some early responses:

Even those who brokered it acknowledge that the deal on the table...

Few believe the Copenhagen Summit will result in a deal strong enough to keep climate change within safe limits.

Little wonder. Global warming could be one of the toughest issues the world has ever faced, less because of the technical challenges than the politics. That's why the growing...

What brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago?

Some argue that it was the Cold War and the escalation of military spending that was just too costly for the Soviet empire to maintain.

If that was the case, that should be a cautionary tale...

It's hard for a country to change its founding mythology, but the U.S. Senate has taken an important step towards accomplishing that. The Senate approved an apology to Native Americans on October 7, as an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill. The Senate passed an apology resolution also in 2008,...

Yes, it's unusual for the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded early in someone's career, as is the case with President Barack Obama. But these are unusual times.

In making the award, the Nobel Committee emphasized Obama's leadership in creating a new international climate, and they particularly called out his...

Van Jones is the target of the day for the right-wing attack machine. Will they succeed in driving him from his post as a green jobs adviser to the White House?

Van was a contributing editor for YES! Magazine from 2006 until he went to work at the White...

Despite the best efforts of the Obama administration, the economy is a long ways from recovery. The speculative system that created the mess remains intact, and foreclosures and unemployment continue to rise. But at the same time, a new economy is taking form. It's built on a recognition...

World leaders negotiate an historic climate agreement. ... Temperature rise will be kept below 2 degrees, averting runaway global heating and chaotic weather. ... Celebrations break out. ... World leaders at Copenhagen thank the citizens of the world for the months of protests that created the political will to take...