Overview

The financial crisis and its economic aftershocks have spawned the first serious examination of the structure of our current banking system and the public policies that have fueled consolidation over the last 30 years and untethered financial institutions from their communities.

View Initiative

Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on Sep 15, 2011

How State Banks Bring the Money Home

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/how-state-banks-bring-money-home/

One of the most significant, but least noticed, consequences of the rapid and dramatic consolidation of the banking industry over the last decade is how much it has hindered the U.S. economy’s ability to create jobs. Our financial system is top-heavy with big banks that are scaled to meet the needs of large multinational corporations. There’s no single solution to this problem, but one of the most promising strategies involves creating state-owned banks that can bolster the lending capacity of local banks, helping them grow and multiply. Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Mar 18, 2011

Why Republicans Hate Warren’s CFPB But Love Another Bank Regulator

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/why-republicans-hate-warrens-cfpb-love-another-bank-regulator/

What’s really at issue in the fight over the CFPB is not how the agency is structured or how much power it will have, but whose interests it serves. Continue reading

Featured Article, ILSR Press Room filed under Banking | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2012

Banking For the Rest of Us

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/banking-for-the-rest-of-us/

In this cover story for Sojourners Magazine, Stacy Mitchell writes that there is remarkably little evidence to support the idea that bigger banks are superior. They have come to dominate, not because they are more efficient or offer better services, but because they have rigged government policy in their own favor. It’s time for a new set of rules—banking policies for the 99 percent. Continue reading

Biomaterials

Overview

In 1992, ILSR’s work on plant derived plastics and other materials led to our co-hosting the first International Workshop on Biodegradability. The concept of a Carbohydrate Economy – one that uses plant-based chemicals to replace petro-chemicals – was born...

View Initiative

Featured Article, Resource filed under Biomaterials, Composting, Waste to Wealth | Written by Brenda Platt | No Comments | Updated on Apr 25, 2012

Atlanta Airport Launches Compostable Foodservice Ware Program

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/atlanta-airport-launches-compostable-foodservice-ware-program/

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) sends more than 19,000 tons of waste to Georgia landfills each year. Food scraps are the single largest component of HJAIA waste, making up about one-third of this tonnage. HJAIA has a goal to divert 50% of its waste from landfill disposal by 2015. Composting food waste is essential to reach this goal, and switching to compostable food packaging will enable successful food residuals recovery. Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Biomaterials | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 17, 2012

SBC Co-chair to Keynote the Biopolymer World Congress

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/sbc-co-chair-keynote-biopolymer-world-congress/

Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative co-chair, Jim Kleinshmit, will keynote the Biopolymer World Congress in Italy Monday, April 23, 2012. His talk will be on sustainable sourcing and the concerns about and opportunities for biopolymer feedstocks. Continue reading

Broadband

Overview

Access to the Internet is an essential infrastructure for any community that cares about economic development, quality of life, and educational opportunities. Unfortunately, most communities are presently dependent on a few unaccountable absentee corporations that act as gatekeepers to...

View Initiative

Featured Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Mar 8, 2012

Charter Fights Dirty to Kill Competition in Monticello

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/charter-fights-dirty-kill-competition-monticello

When Monticello, Minnesota, decided to build its community fiber network — Fibernet Monticello — it expected the incumbents to lower their prices and fight to keep subscribers. But Monticello had no idea the lengths to which they would go. The telephone incumbent, TDS, delayed the project for a year with a frivolous lawsuit and then… Continue reading

Featured Article, Resource filed under Broadband | Written by Lisa Gonzalez | No Comments | Updated on May 9, 2012

Community Broadband and Economic Development Presentation – Dallas 2012

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/ilsrs-christopher-mitchell-speaks/

Christopher Mitchell recently presented at the Broadband Communities Summit 12 in Dallas, Texas. The two-day event, April 24th and 25th, brought together experts from all over the world to discuss the policy and economic challenges and achievements in broadband. Christopher discussed the new ILSR Report, Broadband at the Speed of Light, and presented information on… Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Mar 20, 2012

Big Bucks: Why North Carolina Outlawed Community Networks

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/big-bucks-why-north-carolina-outlawed-community-networks

Less than a year after North Carolina became the 19th state to create barriers to community networks, effectively outlawing them, the non-partisan organization Follow the Money has crunched the… Continue reading

Energy

Overview

Wind and sun are available everywhere, so renewable energy can be economically harnessed at small scales across the country. This nature of renewable energy, and the exponential increase of renewable energy generation, promises to decentralize the nation’s grid system. ...

View Initiative

Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 6, 2012

Solving the Local Clean Energy Puzzle

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/solving-local-clean-energy-puzzle/

In this April 2 presentation to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative of Johnson City, TX, ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell discussed how solving the clean local energy puzzle requires much more than a consideration of cost per kilowatt-hour. Instead, cooperatives, municipal utilities and others considering developing local clean power should consider issues of scale, value and… Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 1, 2012

Local Solar Could Solve ‘Massive Supply-Demand Imbalance’ in Renewable Energy Financing

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/massive-supply-demand-imbalance-for-solar-and-wind-project-financing/

In the next two years, the U.S. may get a lot less solar and wind power than it could. It’s not a shortage of solar panels or the cost of turbines. Rather, it’s a problem of the perverse nature of federal incentives for renewable energy. Right now, the owner of a solar or wind energy… Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 20, 2012

Welcome to the new Energy Self-Reliant States

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/energy-self-reliant-states-2/

ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell launched the Energy Self-Reliant States blog in late 2010 to provide hard data and analysis on the economic and political advantages of focusing on distributed renewable energy and local ownership. For a while, it lived off our website, due to technical and aesthetic limitations. Today, we’re happy to repatriate the… Continue reading

Independent Business

Overview

Over the last 25 years, a handful of giant retailers have grown to dominate the U.S. economy. ILSR challenges the wisdom of this market concentration. Through research and analysis, we have built a compelling case that places that are home to...

View Initiative

Featured Article, ILSR Press Room, Resource filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 3 Comments | Updated on Mar 7, 2012

New Report: Walmart’s Greenwash

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/new-report-walmarts-greenwash/

In this new report, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance documents how Walmart’s heavily promoted sustainability initiatives are falling short. “Walmart’s sustainability campaign has done more to improve the company’s image than to help the environment,” said Stacy Mitchell, the report’s author and a senior researcher at ILSR. Continue reading

Number of Small Firms per 1,000 People, By State

Featured Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on May 9, 2012

Are Lightly Regulated States Really More Friendly to Small Businesses?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/lightly-regulated-states-friendly-small-businesses/

A new ranking of states based on “small business friendliness” gives low scores to those with more stringent environmental, labor, health & safety, and other regulations. The trouble with this analysis, however, is that many of the supposedly “unfriendly” states are actually home to much larger numbers of small businesses than the “friendly” states. Continue reading

Featured Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 1 Comment | Updated on May 16, 2012

Walmart Heirs Quietly Fund Walmart’s Environmental Allies

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmart-heirs-quietly-fund-walmarts-environmental-allies/

The staggeringly rich Waltons, who own half of Walmart and have a net worth equal to the bottom one-third of Americans combined, are using their family foundation to reshape the environmental movement. Now the second largest grant-maker in the country, the Walton Family Foundation, is steering large grants to organizations that work closely with Walmart, helping to build its green image and reinforcing the power of large corporations in our economy. Continue reading

The Public Good

Overview

At the founding of the American Republic the word “private” had pejorative connotations. Derived from the Latin word “privare”, private meant to divide or tear apart. A privateer was a pirate. The word “public” was an honorable adjective, often...

View Initiative

Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 1 Comment | Updated on May 9, 2012

Romney, Hoover, Eisenhower and that Pipeline

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/romney-hoover-eisenhower-pipeline-2/

After winning the Illinois primary, Mitt Romney delivered a victory speech in which he deplored America’s lost “can do spirit”. Unsurprisingly, he blamed it on government. If elected he promised, “We’re going to get government out of the way”. Then he offered a few examples of what he meant. “We once built the interstate highway… Continue reading

Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Apr 16, 2012

Are Republican Governors Truly Representing Their Citizens on Health Care?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/republican-governors-representing-citizens-health-care/

A few days ago 26 states argued before the Supreme Court that the health law’s dramatic extension of Medicaid coverage constitutes unconstitutional federal coercion. ”Congress easily could have designed an act that encouraged rather than forced states to expand their Medicaid programs,” their brief submitted to the Court argues. “By making a conscious decision to… Continue reading

Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 4, 2012

Democracy Under Attack

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/democracy-attack/

For its first 200 years the American Republic slowly, sometimes infuriatingly slowly and at horrific human cost (e.g. the Civil War) expanded the franchise. In 1870 the 15th Amendment gave blacks the right to vote. In 1920, the 19th Amendment extended the franchise to women. In 1924 Congress granted Native Americans citizenship and thus the… Continue reading

Waste to Wealth

Overview

ILSR's Waste to Wealth program helps communities across the country create policies and practices that address citizens' environmental concerns and economic needs. We help citizens fight the incinerators and landfills that pollute their air and water, and drive property...

View Initiative

Our Projects

San Pedro, Los Angeles, CA incinerator chimney, Gaffey Street author: Jengod

Featured Article filed under Stop Incineration, Waste to Wealth | Written by Neil Seldman | No Comments | Updated on Mar 27, 2012

History is Repeating Itself: Trash Burner Proposals Proliferate

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/history-is-repeating-itself/

Proposals for large-scale garbage incineration are proliferating throughout the US, just as they did 30 years ago. They claim to be new and improved with some companies offering ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies such as plasma arc, gasification, and pyrolysis. Once again citizens, small businesses and elected officials are saying “No.” Continue reading

Featured Article, Resource filed under Biomaterials, Composting, Waste to Wealth | Written by Brenda Platt | No Comments | Updated on Apr 25, 2012

Atlanta Airport Launches Compostable Foodservice Ware Program

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/atlanta-airport-launches-compostable-foodservice-ware-program/

filed under General

David Morris Discusses America’s Oil Addiction on NPR’s On Point Program

| Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Apr 19, 2006 The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/david-morris-discusses-americas-oil-addiction-nprs-point-program/

David Morris Discusses America’s Oil Addiction on NPR’s On Point Program

Overview

How State Banks Bring the Money Home

Why Republicans Hate Warren’s CFPB But Love Another Bank Regulator

Banking For the Rest of Us

Overview

Atlanta Airport Launches Compostable Foodservice Ware Program

SBC Co-chair to Keynote the Biopolymer World Congress

Overview

Charter Fights Dirty to Kill Competition in Monticello

Community Broadband and Economic Development Presentation – Dallas 2012

Big Bucks: Why North Carolina Outlawed Community Networks

Overview

Solving the Local Clean Energy Puzzle

Local Solar Could Solve ‘Massive Supply-Demand Imbalance’ in Renewable Energy Financing

Welcome to the new Energy Self-Reliant States

Overview

New Report: Walmart’s Greenwash

Are Lightly Regulated States Really More Friendly to Small Businesses?

Walmart Heirs Quietly Fund Walmart’s Environmental Allies

Overview

Romney, Hoover, Eisenhower and that Pipeline

Are Republican Governors Truly Representing Their Citizens on Health Care?

Democracy Under Attack

Overview

Our Projects

History is Repeating Itself: Trash Burner Proposals Proliferate

Atlanta Airport Launches Compostable Foodservice Ware Program

Strengthening communities for more than 35 years!

David Morris Discusses America’s Oil Addiction on NPR’s On Point Program

Thank you for your interest in ILSR