I recently learned that Sim van der Ryn passed away. Sim’s work influenced me greatly. In the mid-80s I was studying passive design architecture at CSU Sonoma and was affiliated with the Farallones Institute. I also was the last caretaker/tour operator of the Integral Urban House in Berkeley, California. For some strange reason I remember one Farallones Institute Board meeting he had arranged to be held on a houseboat in Sausalito. The last saw Sim at the 2019 fortieth reunion of the Farallones Institute.




I was fortunate in being able to attend ANTICOP 2024 in Oaxaca, Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Getting outside of the United States and being with other activists from around the world is always rejuvenating and renewing. Themes that were explored at ANTICOP included globalization, extractivism, militarism, land and water grabs, community displacement, government inaction towards climate change, and the commodification of nature. All this just before the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference, which will be recorded in the history books as one of the greatest ruses of all time.
