Cosimo Celebrates Women's Equality Day 2019

Monday, August 26th is the anniversary of national woman suffrage. Women in the United States were granted the right to vote on August 26, 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was certified as law. We at Cosimo are celebrating by reading up on women's history and learning more about suffrage and voting rights with these titles:

The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill

Mill puts forth the radical notion, one still unaccepted among many to this, that women are not inherently inferior to men but that male dominance has molded a certain kind of behavior in them, and calls for the full equality of women not only before the law but in cultural and social reality as well. Written in 1861, not published till 1869, and still not fully heeded in the early 21st century, this is must-reading for anyone striving to understand the biases and inequities of Western culture. 




A Short History of Women's Rights by Eugene A. Hecker
The fight for women's rights, particularly with regards to the right to vote, made such enormous strides between 1910, when the first edition of the book was published, and 1914, when its second edition was released with an update on the effort, that within the space of those few brief years, it became almost a historical document, not a rundown of current affairs. But that second edition-of which this is a replica-remains an important document for understanding the struggle of women in the early 20th century. Its survey of older history is still significant, exploring the surprisingly liberated state of women in ancient Roman, the inferiority of women under Christian doctrine, and the condition of women's person-hood in more recently English and American eras.

A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
One of the earliest works of protofeminist thought, this startling prescient 1792 book is the first published argument advocating for the societal elevation of women as the intellectual and emotional equals of men. Well received in its day and still an important resource for anyone wishing to understand the history of feminism, this extended essay demolishes the sexual double standard of the day, offers a rational defense for the education of girls, and demands merely that women be treated as people.

April Book of the Month: Natural Power by Rock Brynner

Celebrate Earth Day this April with our Book of the Month, Natural Power by Rock Brynner!

Natural Power: The New York Power Authority's Origins and Path to Clean Energy tells the story of the history, mission, and values of the Power Authority of the State of New York. Beginning with the birth of generated electricity in New York State, Natural Power emphasizes the role of inventors like Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse; investors like J. P. Morgan; and government figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower played in helping to spread electricity from a luxury to a necessity in America.

At its core, the Power Authority played an essential role in establishing public power over the private sector and greatly influenced the development of power from natural resources. It created affordable, sustainable alternatives for citizens across the state with the construction of the Niagara Falls and St. Lawrence River power plants, and provided a template for the rest of the country to establish public power services. Today, this essential public service provides almost a quarter of New York State's power, dedicates much research and development to environmentally-friendly power sources, and consistently leads the vanguard of utilities in sustainability and modernization in the 21st century. This book includes a Foreword by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, evidence of the importance of this matter to New York and national policymakers.

Natural Power is a fascinating read for readers, historians, environmentalists, journalists, and policymakers interested in the birth of electrification, the founding of the New York Power Authority, its role as a public entity and the importance of clean energy when the threats of climate change are obvious to New Yorkers.

About the Author 
Rock Brynner is a writer and historian who lives in Pawling, New York. He earned an M.A. in Philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, and a Ph.D. in U.S. History at Columbia University and has taught US history at Marist College and Western Connecticut State University. This is his tenth book.

About New York Power Authority
New York Power Authority  is the country's largest state public power organization, producing some of the cheapest electricity in North America. NYPA is a leader in promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable-fuel technologies.

April eBook of the Month: Earth Fever

Earth Day is Saturday, April 22, and because of this great day, we at Cosimo would like to highlight Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik Van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest as our eBook of the month. 

The human species is in a rather precarious situation. Poverty, the energy and financial crises, and above all the challenge of climate change (not to mention the rollback of major policies affecting the environment) mean that our civilization has come to a dangerous edge.

Our safety nets — on both collective and individual levels — have been removed. Can we create a future that allows for a dignified society and a peaceful world? With a change of consciousness and a new spirituality, we may.  The authors of this fascinating book bring to bear their diverse experience in the fields of sustainability, leadership, and entrepreneurialism on the challenge of building a radically different belief system about life such an endeavor will require. 

Along with the wisdom of international opinion leaders — including management consultant Peter Senge; Jeroen van der Veer, the former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell; cultural creative Paul Ray; Herman Wijffels, former governor at the World Bank; Princess Irene of the Netherlands, and others — Earth Fever delves into what is needed to bring about this essential new way of thinking.

Purchase this eBook at any of the retailers below.

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April Book of the Month: Natural Power by Rock Brynner

Due to its historic and current importance, we are once again nominating Natural Power by Rock Brynner as our April Book of the Month.

The Power Authority made its debut in Natural Power recently here at Cosimo, but is back in the headlines with the National Geographic documentary Edison vs Tesla, which documents some of the history of natural power in New York. Also, with Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent speech on the State of the State (of New York) where he stressed the importance of renewable energy as well as the goal of 50 percent of New York's electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2030. And not to mention April is when Earth Day is celebrated, and the first ever March for Science!

Natural Power: The New York Power Authority's Origins and Path to Clean Energy tells the story of the history, mission, and values of the Power Authority of the State of New York. Beginning with the birth of generated electricity in New York State, Natural Power emphasizes the role of inventors like Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse; investors like J. P. Morgan; and government figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower played in helping to spread electricity from a luxury to a necessity in America.

At its core, the Power Authority played an essential role in establishing public power over the private sector and greatly influenced the development of power from natural resources. It created affordable, sustainable alternatives for citizens across the state with the construction of the Niagara Falls and St. Lawrence River power plants, and provided a template for the rest of the country to establish public power services. Today, this essential public service provides almost a quarter of New York State's power, dedicates much research and development to environmentally-friendly power sources, and consistently leads the vanguard of utilities in sustainability and modernization in the 21st century.

Natural Power is a fascinating read for readers, historians, environmentalists, journalists, and policymakers interested in the birth of electrification, the founding of the New York Power Authority, its role as a public entity and the importance of clean energy when the threats of climate change are obvious to New Yorkers.

About the Author 
Rock Brynner is a writer and historian who lives in Pawling, New York. He earned an M.A. in Philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, and a Ph.D. in U.S. History at Columbia University and has taught US history at Marist College and Western Connecticut State University. This is his tenth book.

About New York Power Authority
New York Power Authority  is the country's largest state public power organization, producing some of the cheapest electricity in North America. NYPA is a leader in promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable-fuel technologies.

Third Straight Year of High Temps

As we head into the second month of 2017, we now have an idea of all that we left behind last year. One of the biggest discoveries was that 2016 marked the third year in a row of Earth’s highest temperature in recorded history.

To help our planet, educate those on climate change, and introduce newcomers to global warming, we at Cosimo would like to highlight some of our Earth related books:

Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change by Judy McAllister, Erik Van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest

The human species is in a rather precarious situation. Poverty, the energy and financial crises, and above all the challenge of climate change mean that our civilization has come to a dangerous edge. Our safety nets-on both collective and individual levels-have been removed. Can we create a future that allows for a dignified society and a peaceful world? With a change of consciousness and a new spirituality, we may.

WATER: The Blood of the Earth - Exploring Sustainable Water Management for the New Millennium by Allerd Stikker

"In this book Allerd describes his convincing views on desalination solutions for local and urban clean water shortages as well as his deeply felt findings on the spiritual meanings of water, all assembled on a 20 years' journey on which I was lucky to travel along."                                                                                                               -- Leonor Lindner

The Tierra Solution: Resolving Climate Change Through Monetary Transformation by Frans C. Verhagen

As climate change continues to threaten the earth and as the global financial crisis lingers, governments and communities need to take charge of their own and global monetary systems. Sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen proposes a solution-the Tierra Solution-to repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet. Verhagen calls for transformational changes in order to advance climate-resilient economic development.

Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project

As Earth Day brings awareness to the environmental issues facing us all, so does the Fanack organization bring us awareness about one of the biggest environmental issues being faced in the Middle East: the scarcity of water. "Fanack Water Files: Water Challenges and Solutions in Jordan, with a Special Report on the Red Sea-Dead Sea Project" is the first publication of the Fanack Water Files. It deals in depth with the water situation in Jordan, a critical country in the region bordering Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. For more information about Fanack and water, see also here. 

For more books by these authors, or to expand your knowledge of all things Earth related, visit our website. 

Krugman & Verhagen on Economic Bubbles

The well-known Noble prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, seems to be gaining more and more attention as a New York Times columnist than he had as a regular economist. Maybe in these times of unbridled admiration for fame and celebrities, Krugman should consider joining a reality show, if he wants to influence the world outside the U.S. and possibly outside our universe. Anyway, his latest column, This Age of Bubbles, questions why we've experienced so many economic bubbles since the late 70s. After the housing bubble in the U.S. and Western-Europe from a few years ago, before that the dot-com bubble, then the Asian bubble of the 1990s, and the real estate bubble (in the U.S.) of the 1980s, it seems now the BRICs with Brazil, India, and other emerging markets are hitting the proverbial economic walls.
Krugman:

"What’s going on? It’s a variant on the same old story: investors loved these economies not wisely but too well, and have now turned on the objects of their former affection. A couple years back, Western investors — discouraged by low returns both in the United States and in the noncrisis nations of Europe — began pouring large sums into emerging markets. Now they’ve reversed course. As a result, India’s rupee and Brazil’s real are plunging, along with Indonesia’s rupiah, the South African rand, the Turkish lira, and more."

After referring to the Federal Reserves policy of lowering interest rates and financial deregulation in the U.S. and around the world, Krugman concludes:

"As the World Burns: Can an Integrated Monetary System Save Us?" - Review of The Tierra Solution

Ethan Goffman, associate editor of the open-access journal for sustainable solutions, Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy, has written a thought-provoking review of Frans Verhagen's The Tierra Solution. You can read the original review, along with some enlightening articles about sustainability, here, but see what he has to say below.

Climate change requires an integrated global approach. Solutions cannot be isolated by borders, nor from our economic and social systems. Big thinking is needed. One recent book that thinks big is The Tierra Solution by sustainability sociologist Frans Verhagen, President of the International Institute of Monetary Transformation. The book recommends a global currency called the Tierra based on carbon. Given the severe challenge of climate change, such sweeping proposals are needed to create a larger vision and stimulate discussion. And clearly, a major shift in our monetary system is needed for a stable, sustainable planet. Still, the book is simplistic in its claims for a singular solution and understates the huge political challenges.

The Tierra would abandon our current floating currency, in which dollars, euros, renminbi, pesos, and other currency fluctuate relative to one another, oftentimes wildly so. While such volatility is economically stressful, Verhagen points out that the gold standard, the classical stable unit of currency, suffers from the artificial nature of gold, which itself ebbs and flows in price. As an international currency based on carbon, the Tierra would be both comprehensive and stable. It would also be tied to the environment, encouraging responsible behavior globally. As Verhagen explains, “[T]he proximity of a nation’s decarbonization level to the [Tierra] standard would determine the...value of its currency.”

Alas, the book leaves a hole as to how a transition to such a standard would take place. It does, however, describe a more complete system of which the Tierra is only one part, albeit the central one. Controlled by a global monetary institution, the Tierra would be a credit-based currency integrated with an exchange of wealthy countries’ ecological debts and poorer countries’ financial debt, and working alongside a carbon tax.

Read the rest of the review on the Sustainability blog, here. And don't forget to leave a comment here or there with your own thoughts on the issue!

Bookbuzz Blog Radio with Frans Verhangen: Discussing His New Book on Climate Change and the Financial Crisis

Last week, Frans Verhagen, author of The Tierra Solution (Cosimo's June Book of the Month) had a conversation with Susanna Greenberg on BlogTalk Radio about the book and the state of the climate. Verhagen discussed the current climate crisis and what is currently being done to solve those problems, currency problems and moving toward a standard currency, what a carbon standard is and why it is more beneficial than any other standard, and the benefits of the Tierra Fee and Dividend System.


This book and talk comes on the heels of the Rio+20 conference in Brazil, where "world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, [came] together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get to the future we want."

Amid Rio+20 UN Conference and Impending Climate Crisis, The Tierra Solution Delivers Answers

With the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development happening this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the upcoming presidential election--where there is sure to be at least some focus on climate issues and a lot of focus on financial issues--this month's Book of the Month is both timely and relevant. The Tierra Solution, by sustainability sociologist Dr. Frans Verhagen, offers a solution to climate change through monetary transformation, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Dr. Verhagen proposes to resolve to the current financial, economic, and monetary problems around the world with a credit-based financial system, governed by a Global Central Bank, that uses a carbon standard for a newly developed international monetary system with the Tierra as the unit of account--hence, the Tierra Solution.

Basically, Verhagen suggests that by simply holding businesses and governments accountable for the carbon-based energy they use, and basing money exchange on that energy, we can create a cleaner environment and solve the global financial crisis. Separated into two distinct parts, The Tierra Solution first describes the current climate crisis and methods of carbon reduction that already exist (and why they are not ideal). He also lays out the history and present structure of the international monetary system. Then, Verhagen describes the Tierra Fee & Dividend System, why it is the best solution for our ravaged economies, how it will improve the climate and monetary systems, and how it should be implemented.

Hazel Henderson, evolutionary economist and president of Ethical Markets Media, commented that The Tierra Solution is, "a visionary and immensely practical approach to reforming today's bubble finance and taming its global casino. Verhagen... illuminates the win-win solutions possible when we combine monetary transformation with low-carbon, renewable resource strategies and equitable approaches to sustainable development."

In his Foreword, Felix Dodds, executive director of the Stakeholder Forum, said, "This book is an important contribution because it provides some serious ideas for how we can ensure that there is international monetary justice that takes account of social, environmental, and procedural justice and intergenerational principles in the international monetary system."

This is not a light-hearted read.

But it is essential for those in finance and governements (or who want to influence those areas) to understand how our current systems are failing and why we need something new. Verhagen describes it as needing to "repair the present global monetary, financial, and economic systems that enrich the few, impoverish the many, and imperil the planet."

If you're interested in the official press release, you can read it here. Dr. Frans Verhagen is a sustainability sociologist with a Ph.D. in the sociology of international development from Columbia University. he founded the Queens Green party, the Riverside Church Ecology Task Force, and the Ecolinguistics Commission. He has worked around the world and online teaching environmental policies and sustainability.He is online at www.timun.net.

Joining the 1% for the Planet Family

Cosimo is always looking for new ways to help the planet and reinforce our mission to create a smart and sustainable society by connecting people with valuable ideas. So our decision to join 1% for the Planet and it's beneficial work was a simple one.  Read our formal announcement about joining the 1% for the Planet family.

As a tribute to upcoming Earth Day, Cosimo picks Earth Fever as April's book of the month

With spring officially here, the trees growing greener, the flowers starting to bloom, and the weather starting to warm up it’s time to announce a new book of the month. April is filled with many important days, holidays, and themes. But here at Cosimo we decided to focus on Earth Day, which falls on Sunday April 22 this year. 

The purpose of Earth Day is to bring awareness to the environmental issues that continue to have an impact on the health of our Earth.  Climate change is warming the Earth up and we need to find a way to cool down the effects our actions are having. Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change discusses not only the small ways everyone could change their habits to reduce their carbon footprint but also how they could better their own lives by helping the Earth. A truly original take on climate change this book focuses on the individual's growth as well as their ability to effect change in the current environmental woes. To learn more about the book visit EarthFeverBook.com.

• "Links a crisp and clear explanation of the climate problem to a spiritual quest for solutions... Earth Fever is something special... Read it and subsequently do something." -Pierre de Winter, in Platform for Managers and Professionals  
• "Ends with a positive, hopeful scenario. Living more consciously is not only good for our planet, but also for ourselves... The fever can be decreased, we can become healthy again." -Lisette Thooft, in Happinez
• "Inspiring... The authors show that there is a third way, a path that weaves between doomsday thinking and unfounded optimism..." -Derk Hueting and Klaas van Egmond, in Milieu

Authors Judy McAllister, Erik van Praag, and Jan Paul van Soest bring to bear their diverse experience in the fields of sustainability, leadership, and entrepreneurialism on the challenge of building a radically different belief system about life such an endeavor will require.

Happy First Day of Spring!

This year, in a somewhat refreshing change of pace which can surely be blamed on global warming, winter barely made an appearance before spring began to bloom. It's difficult, I'll admit, to really see fault in the early onset of warm weather, unless it becomes cold again in a few weeks. But we all know it's there. Lurking beneath the sunny warmer days is the cold fact of global warming. It's upon us and there's nothing we can do to stop it. There are, however, things we could do to prevent an overall worsening. Some things are simple and can be done on an individual basis. Other things will require a more global movement and awareness, which will take time. So while you may be basking in the wonderful rays of the warm sun on this glorious day, consider the small ways you could change your lifestyle/routine to help the planet. Visit Green Living Tips to find out more.

Maybe you're already committed to helping the planet. Maybe you've already done a great deal to change your lifestyle so that everything, or most everything, you do is as green as it possibly can be. Ready to do more? Yeah? Check out Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change. This book touches on more than climate change and living green. It's a book filled with solutions for global warming, lifestyle change, and soul searching. It is a comprehensive look at how you can better your life and better the planet all in one journey.