Issue 19 - Tunnel Girl Gets Busted ⚖

Welcome to issue nineteen of the Eco Punks Gazette. We’re picking up speed for the new year. Expect more activity, more programming, more events, and from more punks!

Table of Contents

• Upcoming Events

• January Media Club: Patria/Homeland

• Now is the time for Agroecology

• Eyes on Taiwan’s Upcoming Election

• Kala a/k/a “tunnel girl” gets busted for no permit …

• Do your animals talk to you?

Upcoming Events

Tues Jan 9th at 2pm EST - Advocacy in the age of AI

We’ve created a Signal group for Eco Punks to share links, ideas, and get a friendly reminder about salons and events. If you’d like to join us on Signal, email [email protected].

January Media Club: Patria/Homeland

We invite you to read the book and/or watch the show and we’ll convene later in the month to discuss it. What we think of the book/show, the story, but also the history this narrative explores. As a media club it’s the equivalent of a book club, only in this case you can choose to watch the show if reading is not your thing. We’ll then convene a salon like discussion where we can explore the issues/plot lines further. Cool?

Now is the time for Agroecology

Is the farmer that strives to maximize yield and profit by heroically battling whatever obstacles the natural world throws up (weeds, loss of soil fertility, disease, increasingly violent and unpredictable weather) fighting a war that can never be won? Mobilizing increasing amounts of costly inputs and ever more sophisticated technology, but mostly jusr going deeper and deeper into debt.

What if there’s a way to farm that requires less in the way of effort and resources and does more to provide tasty, nutrient-rich food to surrounding communities?  What if this approach blended time tested techniques of harnessing the forces of nature with strategic uses of high technology?  What if it could scale from urban backyards to large regional commercial enterprises? Isn’t this something everyone should know more about?

Agriculture, like all human activity, is practiced inside a web of relationships between and among various players: the earth, the weather, flora and fauna both wild and domesticated, and of course, people. How that complex system of interaction is understood and acted upon is what shifts, over time and from culture to culture or place to place. 

Stay tuned for a podcast on this subject.

Eyes on Taiwan’s Upcoming Election

Social media has played a significant role in the campaigns and elections of Taiwan. There is growing evidence that China has sought to influence Taiwanese public opinion through disinformation campaigns, particularly targeting younger audiences through TikTok.

It is important to note that social media is not the only factor that will determine the outcome of the election. The security implications of the vote are also a significant concern, with China warning that independence “means war” and Xi Jinping stating that Beijing is willing to use “all necessary measures” to secure unification. Taiwan is critical to the global economy, and open war over Taiwan would be a disaster, perhaps even outstripping the shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Unfortunately this has been one of the largest and loudest narratives online. That war is not only inevitable, but looming, even as soon as a few weeks.

That kind of propaganda plays directly into China’s desire to intimidate and coerce Taiwan and Taiwanese voters. Perhaps a more likely scenario is not conventional war, but an economic one:

Kala a/k/a “tunnel girl” gets busted for no permits

Kala, also known as “tunnel girl” on TikTok, has been making headlines recently for her unusual home improvement project: digging a tunnel that is 30 feet long and 20 feet deep under her suburban home in the Northeast. Kala, who has no formal background in engineering (yet claims to be one due to work in software), began the project in August 2022 and has since amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok. She documents her journey of excavating below her house and has become the latest person to captivate the internet for documenting an obscure hobby.

@engineer.everything

Should I go deeper? #engineering #minecraft #secrettunnel #construction #mining #diy

However, Kala’s project has raised concerns among her neighbors and the local authorities. By foregoing municipal inspections and engineer approvals, Kala is endangering her neighborhood. This is a classic example of someone who has expertise in one area and falsely believes they can transfer that to another domain.

This story isn’t about all the people who fell in love with Kala and her courage in building a mine below her suburban house. No, it’s about the fallout. That started with an investigative reporter who spoke with Kala’s neighbours, who are mostly migrants from Central America.

@aurabogado

#stitch with @derek the solarboi ⚡️ Kala’s neighbors didnt know—and she flaunted that for her audience. #Kala #TunnelGirl #migrants #equity

Given all the stories we hear in the US about nosy neighbours, it makes sense that Kala got away with it until now. Her neighbours had their own incentives to avoid contact with officials.

@engineer.everything

Replying to @dogs.bestfriend Sadly yes, but we are working it out. #engineering #mining #tunnel #permits #construction

Oh uh. The man is involved. Work has been shut down. What will Kala do now?

@no_dilemma

Replying to @📷 Curio Gal 🪙 ok friends, dont aspire to be a diy structural engineer, thx 🙌🏻 #structuralengineering #forensicengineering #fo... See more

No doubt the story of Kala the tunnel girl from TikTok will continue. Especially as it has been revealed she’s a full MAGA supporter, which suggests she’s not going to let the law stop her from exercising her self-assigned rights.

What do you think? Cool or dangerous or some mix of the two?

Do your animals talk to you?

Ours talk us! So we started a newsletter to share their thoughts and stories.

Thanks for reading until the end!