Catch up with Simply Living’s founding member Chuck Lynd — a lifelong advocate for local economies, sustainability, and the power of community to shape a just future.

Few people embody Simply Living’s mission as fully as Chuck Lynd — longtime board member, community organizer, and local economy advocate. Chuck’s journey from small-town Ohio to the frontlines of social and environmental change offers a model of what it means to “live simply so that others may simply live.”

“I was very lucky to grow up in a loving family in Ironton, a small town on the Ohio River. My parents grew up during the depression and my brother and sister and I were all born during WWII, while my dad worked double shifts at Armco Steel. Later my dad owned the Ironton Book Store, which also sold office supplies, typewriters, gifts and dishware. From age 11 though high school I worked at the store and learned everything about running a retail store, and even kept the books. This experience gave me a good work ethic and influenced my love of local economics and my involvement in helping start the Clintonville Community Market.”

Athens County’s new treasurer, Taylor Sappington, has chosen not to reinvest the $300,000 Israel bond of county funds that came due October 1. In a memo (attached) to Athens County Commissioners, he explained: “On October first, $300,000 in our tax dollars matured from an Israel Foreign Government Bond alongside a domestic government debt maturity of nearly $1,000,000. I directed our investment firm to reinvest these dollars as close to home as possible, defined as investing in our region or state if rates and the market would allow for it. But beyond the geography, the decision was backed by the recommendations and advice of Meeder [Investment Management] who see the bonds’ downgrades and negative financial outlook as risky for public entities at the moment.”

Suddenly and violently, their childhoods were shattered. No child should have to live in a war zone. No child should have to bear witness to the murder of their mother. Some stopped talking. Others endured long rehabilitation for physical wounds in hospitals. We spoke to half a dozen Ukrainian orphans who witnessed their mothers killed in Russian drone or missile attacks. They are the hardest cases in a generation of children growing up scared by war, though many young people in Ukraine will have to make their way in life without one or both parents. We asked about interests, hobbies, plans and coping in times of terrible uncertainty, of facing the future and moving on.

Katia and Yulia

#Nuclear War, #Armageddon, #Doomsday Clock, #Nuclear Waste, #Nuclear Meltdown, #Nuclear Arms Treaty, #Nuclear Disarmament; et al

You probably haven’t read much in depth news coverage about nuclear war, right? Nuclear holocaust, like Climate Change and the possibility of an uninhabitable earth for human civilizations — or is it the probability? or inevitability? Both “topics” are too big, too scary, and most eyes and ears would likely ignore the “story” or change the channel.

And yet, we are all aware of these topics. Putin and Trump both make threats about the escalation beyond drone warfare, the new norm, to the use of “small scale” or “tactical” nuclear weapons designed for battlefield use rather than strategic destruction, with yields from less than 1 kiloton (1000 tons of TNT) to tens of kilotons. How small are these weapons, you might ask? They’re small enough to be deployed by individual soldiers.

Wednesdays, October 15 and 22, 7:00 – 8:15 PM
More information and registration for the zoom here
Across the country, immigrant communities are under attack and authoritarian forces are gaining ground. But there’s a growing movement of people ready to take action with clarity, courage, and discipline.

This training is for all of us who want to stand up in solidarity, especially those of us who are white who are ready to organize, respond, and show up with commitment and care.