We can have one without the other
The ghost of Puerto Rico’s industrial past has re-emerged, amid recent U.S. military actions against Iran that have sent shockwaves through global energy markets, driving oil and gas prices to new heights,. The current crisis recalls the 1973 Arab–Israeli War and OPEC’s oil embargo, highlighting… Read More »Oil Wars and Industrial Decay: The Urgent Case for Decontaminating Puerto Rico’s PR-127
After Hurricane María, Puerto Rico’s prolonged power outages revealed a stark reality: when electricity fails, people die. In this blog, David Southgate examines the public health consequences of the island’s fragile electric grid and the disproportionate burden it places on vulnerable communities like Playa de Ponce. He describes his work via the community organization Un Nuevo Amanecer and national energy researchers to developed a Strategic Energy Plan to strengthen local resilience through solar lighting, community microgrids, and energy education. The story highlights how a community facing chronic blackouts is turning toward locally driven solutions to improve safety, reliability, and energy justice.
Visitors to Puerto Rico’s south coast inevitably come across the PR-127 former petrochemical corridor, among the world’s largest petroleum complexes in the 1960s. Commonly referred to as La CORCO—a name derived from the anchor industry, the Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, the zone encompasses approximately 3,500… Read More »Progress, Poverty, and Petroleum: Reclaiming the Common Inheritance of the World’s Largest Petrochemical Zone
The following is Part 2 of a two-part discourse by David Southgate during the South Puerto Rico Community Summit. While Part 1 detailed the reality of “slow violence” and historical planning failures, this section outlines the transdisciplinary framework we used to empower the residents of… Read More »VIDA Costera: A Theory of Change for Community-Led Climate Justice
The following is part 1 of a two-part discourse by David Southgate during South Puerto Rico Community Summit (January 24, 2026) held at the Centros Sor Isolina Ferré, Santa Maria de la Luz Hall in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where 103 community members attended. Present also… Read More »VIDA Costera: Community Resilience and Justice-based Transdisciplinary Science
In the discourse surrounding economic justice and public policy, it is common to encounter skeptics of established narratives. Skepticism, when grounded in inquiry and evidence, is healthy. However, a recent exchange on a professional forum highlighted a troubling trend: the misappropriation of Henry George’s philosophy… Read More »Why Henry George is Not a Shield for Climate Change Denial
Carmen didn’t just save one thousand jobs; she built a bank. When a severe austerity policy at her husband’s employer threatened to slash her family’s income—along with that of more than 1,000 of his colleagues, Carmen (not her real name), a community activist in Playa… Read More »The Invisible Bank of Carmen: The Power of Reciprocity
I could sense something was wrong the moment Lourdes spoke into her phone. We’d met through our shared affinity for community empowerment and local advocacy; the urgency in her voice signaled a deep crisis. I listened as my neighbor from Playa de Ponce detailed her… Read More »When the Taxman Comes for the Doghouse: Property Taxes, Sweat Equity, and Dispossession in Puerto Rico
Opportunities for climate adaptation can emerge unexpectedly, prompting communities and their institutions to explore a maze of complicated decisions. As a board member for the CBO Un Nuevo Amanecer, Inc. (UNA), I’ve learned to embrace these moments through rigorous analysis. The challenge lies in balancing… Read More »Lessons from the Frontline of Climate Change Why Every Community Organization Needs a Decision Matrix
A fundamental paradigm of our political economy is that government has an ethical and moral obligation to intervene when markets fail. The paradigm is central to the Market Failure Doctrine. The doctrine recognizes that rational self-interest produces undesirable externalities. It advances welfare economics on the… Read More »Challenging Market Failure in a Climate-Vulnerable Community: How La Playa Produces Its Own Public Goods
