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… by Rivera Sun If you enjoy this Solutionary Climate Fiction Story, you will also enjoy Ghosts & Gleaners. … “That crow lady’s back.” “She’s more buzzard than crow.” “Magpie, I’d say. Always on the lookout for shiny trinkets.” Peering through the grimy window, clutching identical mugs of steaming herbal tea, the three workers watched […]

One of the great joys of my life is having a front-row seat to some of the most innovative, inspiring, solutionary work that’s going on. Over the 10+ years since I wrote The Dandelion Insurrection, I’ve found enduring hope in learning how people are building new systems in their local communities, solving problems, and strengthening […]

(Note: This tale is part of the fictional Stories of the Third Brother, an ancient book of folktales about Alaren in Ari Ara’s world. Each folktale teaches a lesson in waging peace using true stories as a spark of inspiration for the tales of courageous nonviolent action. You can find the stories in The Adventures of Alaren […]

This article was originally published on Campaign Nonviolence’s Community Page on Waging Nonviolence. It is reposted with permission. “Aren’t we supposed to sing beyond the choir?” This question recently came up during a training, the person’s eyebrows drawing down into a perplexed expression. On the screen, a diagram of the Spectrum of Allies – a […]

When I was a teenager, I knew global warming was caused by fossil fuels. So did Exxon.  For decades, Exxon has been hiding the truth about the climate crisis, burying their own scientific reports. From 1970 to 2003, the oil company ran studies that accurately predicted the disastrous consequences of continuing to burn fossil fuels.  They modeled […]

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay By Rivera Sun. Note: In this solutionary climate fiction story, I chose to re-envision my childhood home of Auburn, Maine in the year 2200. In exploring this transformed future, the writing offers a glimpse of how solutionary climate fiction could be an empowering form of worldbuilding for our changing world. […]

How can anyone sleep at night? My first nightmare about environmental crisis occurred in 1990. I was eight years old. In it, acid rain poured from the sky, scalding the skin of humans and stripping holes in the leaves of trees. On either side of a long, ashen-gray street, billowing plumes of smog chugged out […]

This story by Rivera Sun is part of a 5-story series on climate solutions commissioned by Metta Center for Nonviolence. Find out more, watch an animated film, and find a lesson plan for students ages 11-18 here. Each night was war. The elephants invaded in the dark. They came from the forest, crashing and cracking […]

This story by Rivera Sun is part of a 5-story series on climate solutions commissioned by Metta Center for Nonviolence. Find out more, watch an animated film, and find a lesson plan for students ages 11-18 here. Leonardo sulked in the bow of his father’s boat. The sky blazed blue. The water sparkled. The wind […]

This is an excerpt from The Crown of Light, the fourth novel in the award-winning Ari Ara Series. Find it here. Note: The Paika are a group of clans that live in the Border Mountains between the two nations of Ari Ara’s world. In this scene, Ari Ara, after being taken hostage by them, agrees […]

This is an excerpt from The Crown of Light, the fourth novel in the award-winning Ari Ara Series. Find it here. “Tell her the first Alaren tale, great-grandmother,” Finn cajoled, tossing a grin in Ari Ara’s direction. “The one about the Paika Huntress.” “I have told you many times,” The Paika chided Finn, “they are not Alaren […]

The Ari Ara Series Challenges The Glorification of Violence & WarWe need these stories now, more than ever before. In a culture addicted to violence, your support of Ari Ara’s novels is powerful. Ari Ara doesn’t just live in a utopia of peace. She and her friends challenge the culture of war. They use active […]

Today, a child was born, tiny hands curling and unfurling with the startled shock of cool air on wet skin, oxygen flooding into newly-opened lungs as she cries upon entering this strange new world. This child will likely live to see 2100. The date hangs, inconceivable, futuristic, but now within the span of a single […]

It’s outdated. It’s dysfunctional. It’s hated by most of the populace. No, we’re not talking about the line at the DMV. We’re talking about the Selective Service and the military draft. For decades, young men have had to register. Now, congress is considering expanding draft registration to women.  Here’s a better idea: let’s abolish the […]

8 Magical Stories Of How Peace Literature Changes Culture – And Lives By Rivera Sun Four hours per day, six days per week, I take action for peace. It may not look like your typical nonviolent action – I don’t hold signs or block the gates of military bases. The way I wage peace is […]

This is an excerpt from Winds of Change, the third novel in the Dandelion Trilogy.You can find it here>> By morning, the smoke had swallowed the sky. The day dawned in an eerie orange glow. The Council of All Beings disbanded and evacuated. Charlie and Zadie drove north, shoulders twitching and tensing as the fire tripped […]

This is an excerpt from Winds of Change, the third novel in the Dandelion Trilogy.You can find it here>> A high wind smacked the water, kicking up waves that glinted grey as the overcast sky. Barrie eyed the river warily as he slurped his coffee. He set the mug down and tied a second bowline to […]

This is an excerpt from Winds of Change, the third novel in the Dandelion Trilogy.You can find it here>> Heat flattened the city. Asphalt gleamed, shiny and malevolent. Concrete endured in washed-out weariness. Anything green wilted and crisped at the edges in the inferno of the record-breaking summer temperatures. Heat waves curled off the concrete, steel, […]

“Starling Murmuration – Eastbridge” by Airwolfhound is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 The Murmuration – From Winds of Change .This is an excerpt from Winds of Change, the third novel in the Dandelion Trilogy.You can find it here>> _________________ The murmuration swarmed through the streets like a wild dance class released from studio walls. It was a flocking movement, modeled […]

Hip hip hooray! The Lost Heir is the winner of the 2019 Nautilus Award Silver Medal in Middle Grade Fiction. This honor is given to books with socially-engaged themes. Ari Ara’s second adventure, full of youth organizing, economic justice, and a fantasy world where street urchins and migrant workers build peace and wage nonviolence to stop […]

by Rivera Sun “Wendy” is a mind-blowing, intense, and soul-shattering new film from the creators of Beasts of the Southern Wild. The movie burst through my heart and soul like the freight train that conveys the modern-day remix’s characters to Never Never Land. This adaptation transcends the syrupy interpretations we’ve come to expect from Peter […]

By Rivera Sun As the editor of Nonviolence News, I collect 30-50 stories of nonviolence in action each week. Each story offers us a take-away lesson for our own work for change. These lessons offer us best practices and pro-tips from our fellow human beings who are working for change around the world. We can learn from […]

Here’s the good news: The debate is over. 75% of US citizens believe climate change is human-caused; more than half say we have to do something and fast.  Here’s even better news: A new report shows that more than 200 cities and counties, and 12 states have committed to or already achieved 100 percent clean electricity. This means that […]