Articles By This Author
YES! co-founder Sarah van Gelder reflects on her conversations with the late Rev. Desmond Tutu, who spoke with YES! for our 2015 “Make It Right†issue.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 11, 2022
Rebecca Adamson offers Native American views on scarcity, Wall Street, and how to thrive in hard times.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 8, 2019
A rabbi, a minister, and an imam forge a bond, discovering new spiritual depths via dialogue and friendship.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 11, 2018
On the anniversary of the March on Washington, we revisit an interview with the musician and civil rights activist about his anthology of Black music.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 29, 2018
A society that fails to invest in its children, to protect its land and water, or to build a future is courting collapse.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 28, 2018
Alarm over John Bolton, who has pushed for pre-emptive war in North Korea and bombing Iran, isn’t just among progressives.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 27, 2018
We can build long-term power in our communities and help elect our favorite candidates if we work strategically, inclusively—and independently.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 21, 2018
How former debt collectors showed everyone how to buy up people’s medical debt at pennies on the dollar.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 1, 2018
Wisconsin dairy farmers reminded me not to allow Fox News and the NRA to define groups of people.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 22, 2018
One of the most chilling reasons for being sent back to prison is failure to pay a fine or court or supervision fees.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 2, 2018
Imagination, as Hawaiian Native rights advocate Poka Laenui describes it, is more than an antidote to hopelessness. It is a source of power.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 25, 2018
The next women’s march is in the works. Although big mobilizations are important, they’re just one tactic.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 5, 2018
Removing debris after a hurricane or giving blood after a shooting empowers us.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 1, 2018
Let’s say goodbye to top-down revolutions and embrace grassroots action.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 27, 2017
Last week, a Washington state energy panel voted unanimously to oppose what would be the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 7, 2017
The point isn’t to win. It’s to ignite understanding.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 22, 2017
The era of empire, white supremacy, dirty energy, and global capitalism is coming to a close.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 10, 2017
The effort to restore prairies in Washington state before they disappear.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 28, 2017
It’s OK to be a part-time crusader or half-hearted fanatic. That helps you stay resilient.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 12, 2017
Royalties for “We Shall Overcome†used to go to building the power of African Americans and other marginalized people. Not anymore.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 28, 2017
The country’s universal, low-cost health care system works well.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 19, 2017
The companies responsible for the climate crisis should cover the costs of fighting wildfires and recovering from hurricanes. Â Â
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 13, 2017
Every region of our country has its history of racial exclusion and white supremacy. Here are 13 ways to right those wrongs.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 30, 2017
An online platform might be just the thing to spread around our grassroots genius.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 9, 2017
While it is true that climate change is a global problem, we have power when we act locally.
Sarah van Gelder, Another Test Page | Aug 2, 2017
My gratitude goes out to the millions of Americans who launched a resistance that has slowed or stopped many of Trump’s policies.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 19, 2017
A new report finds public ownership is the best way for cities and towns to meet renewable energy and efficiency targets.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 5, 2017
Instead of using debt to punish communities of color and the poor, we should invest in everyone and defend our civic legacies for future generations.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 21, 2017
In Norway, a high-tech seed vault flooded from melting permafrost. In Montana, locals keep their seeds in the library.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 7, 2017
A birthing center opening next year in New Mexico will provide a safe place for women to heal through their traditions.
Sarah van Gelder | May 24, 2017
Nearly 60 percent of Americans want Medicare for All. Democrats must support it, too.
Sarah van Gelder | May 10, 2017
We must protect the parks, pathways, and gardens that connect us to each other and to the ecosystems of our home.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 26, 2017
Cities with vibrant arts, music, and social scenes are being hit hard by gentrification. But Berlin’s “co-housing culture†shows that a city’s future doesn’t have to go that way.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 12, 2017
Last month, bank officials met face to face with leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux, and this week they announced the bank had sold the loan at the request of tribal leaders.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 24, 2017
Although many people in these struggling regions voted for the new president, his cynical answers will not bring them prosperity. But I saw what could.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 15, 2017
If Democrats want to retake government, they will need to do more than be the party that isn’t as bad as Trump, starting with closing the wealth gap.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 20, 2017
When 500 refugees arrived in their community, residents of Zaandam were wary. But by the time the newcomers could apply for residency status in Europe, neighbors didn’t want them to leave.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 15, 2017
We can start difficult conversations by speaking from the heart and sharing our wish for a world where everyone is safe and free.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 1, 2017
After the inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington, what comes next? To make real change, we’ll need to build power where we live.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 18, 2017
The election divided the year into “before†and “after.†But there remain signs of hope for 2017.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 27, 2016
“We fought you. We took your land. We signed treaties that we broke … But we’ve come to say that we are sorry.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 21, 2016
We can’t count on Republicans or Democrats to save us. Instead, we are the ones to build the world we want, starting in our communities.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 21, 2016
As we work toward a post-fossil fuel society, we can look to these lessons from the Sioux.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 7, 2016
We’ve learned a lot in 20 years of solutions journalism. We know that we can fix what’s broken in our communities, regardless of who inhabits the White House.
Christa Hillstrom, Sarah van Gelder, Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz | Nov 17, 2016
“We’re about protecting our future. And that’s what he should be about.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 10, 2016
Don’t talk about moving to Canada or Costa Rica. Reach out to those who are vulnerable and promise to stand with them.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 9, 2016
A four-month road trip showed me how many of us are already building a better America by working together.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 7, 2016
Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner talks about being disinvited to introduce Bernie Sanders at the DNC, racism in America, and grassroots leadership.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 2, 2016
Songs and prayers, words of encouragement, and spaces for recovery are at the core of the healing happening here at Standing Rock.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 2, 2016
The real change we need to stop the social and ecological unraveling can be found in the neighborhoods and cities, where we encounter each other every day.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 28, 2016
Constitutional amendment organizers are confident of an eventual victory. “The push toward justice has always started at the grassroots.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 26, 2016
Four reasons communities all over the country are winning against the powerful and extremely wealthy fossil fuel industry.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 12, 2016
Instead, White folks need to realize we have the power to stop police violence and defend Black lives.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 28, 2016
Protecting the water and sacred sites brought people here. The experience of being here is changing lives.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 14, 2016
Dallas Goldtooth, a veteran organizer of the Keystone XL fight, is amazed at the historic support from tribes at Standing Rock—even tribes that rely on resource extraction.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 11, 2016
After the pipeline decisions, many at the protest site wonder whether future generations will look back on this as a turning point in U.S.-tribal history.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 10, 2016
Celebration and solidarity as hundreds of tribes unite behind the Standing Rock Sioux’s opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 9, 2016
When we take the time to connect, we make our communities more resilient and compassionate, and maybe we find the courage to defeat racism.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 31, 2016
When we live connected to a community, we are more likely to become champions for one another, not just for ourselves.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 17, 2016
Our hope lies in shifting power to communities and regions that prioritize safety, clean air, children’s health, and locally rooted livelihoods.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 3, 2016
The one thing we can count on is change. But what will make that change inclusive and sustainable instead of violent and fascistic?
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 20, 2016
When Donald Trump gets more air time than Bernie Sanders, the media misses the mark on grassroots change.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 6, 2016
With a mix of anger and excitement, Bernie Sanders supporters shift focus away from the presidency and search for ways to sustain the political revolution sparked by his campaign.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 22, 2016
Five ways to build on the momentum of the Bernie Sanders campaign and transform American politics in ways his supporters envisioned.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 8, 2016
In every community I visited, I found people working hard to lay a different foundation for our society.
Sarah van Gelder | May 25, 2016
Our next president must be someone who understands the science of climate change and can build a clean energy future.
Sarah van Gelder | May 11, 2016
Like many startups, YES! Magazine began with an energized small team, an idea we thought important, and a basement office. Twenty years later, we're stronger than ever.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 28, 2016
Even with Tuesday’s campaign setbacks, Bernie Sanders’ pledge to make the country more equitable and sustainable is more realistic than some people are letting on.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 27, 2016
Twelve years ago, John Perkins published his book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.†Today, he says “things have just gotten so much worse.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 18, 2016
"Self-care and healing and attention to the body and the spiritual dimension—all of this is now a part of radical social justice struggles."
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 19, 2016
Many survivors of domestic violence have had their attempts at work and creativity sabotaged for years. On these 40 acres of rolling farmland, they're being restored.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 10, 2016
Author Florence Williams and her daughter discovered they had high levels of toxins—like flame retardants—in their bodies. Getting rid of the chemicals was harder than they expected.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 28, 2016
The Turtle Mountain Band was among the first tribes to ban the drilling process. Here’s the difference it made.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 21, 2016
The TPP makes the rights of companies sacrosanct, and that includes the right to mine. But what about the rights of people who live in the way of proposed mining sites?
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 5, 2016
Despite conflicts and crises at home and abroad, 2015 offered glimpses of the road to a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 29, 2015
As a Syrian family seeks safety in Texas, some voice outrage against the “Islamization†of America. This Sunday, I attended church services in Dallas where I found a commitment to live out the welcoming, compassionate side of Christianity.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 9, 2015
"We realize that in this country we don’t have political power. So we have always looked at building alliances, coalitions, or being part of coalitions."
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 1, 2015
A "Jubilee" initiative in Cincinnati aims to wipe out the debts of the city's poorest people. Theologian Walter Brueggemann explains the idea's biblical foundations.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 13, 2015
When Republic Windows and Doors closed down without giving workers notice, the issue drew national attention. Since then, they’ve turned the factory into a worker-owned co-op—where they hold the power.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 9, 2015
Rest well, dear friend. Millions of us have been enlivened and empowered by your wisdom and spirit.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 6, 2015
The author and activist talks with YES! about millennials, climate change, and how she can't imagine being alive at "a more thrilling, challenging time."
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 5, 2015
Meet the ranchers, grandmothers, professors, and tribes who are bringing back grizzlies, blocking oil equipment deliveries, getting arrested—and having a great time doing it.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 4, 2015
University of Montana professor George Price on permaculture, race, and how he's standing up to tar sands extraction.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 28, 2015
YES! co-founder Sarah van Gelder sets out on a road trip to find the edge of change.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 13, 2015
A leading activist pastor speaks about the emerging face of civil rights leadership in 21st century America.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 22, 2015
South Africans surprised everyone by transitioning to a relatively peaceful post-apartheid society. Here’s what Americans can learn.
Fania Davis, Sarah van Gelder | May 29, 2015
The father and daughter recently published The Book of Forgiving, a guide to help perpetrators and victims embrace their mutual humanity.
Sarah van Gelder, Fania Davis, Miles Schneiderman | May 23, 2015
For decades, we've been taught that economic growth and buying more stuff will make us happy—while trashing the planet. The good news is, there’s a better kind of happy: It starts with meaningful work, loving relationships, and a thriving natural world.
Sarah van Gelder | May 15, 2015
From slavery to police brutality, reconciliation begins with the truthâ€.
Sarah van Gelder | May 2, 2015
Partisan gridlock keeps the focus on the fight—but we might have some radical ideas in common.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 7, 2015
Alternative business models such as worker-owned cooperatives are gaining ground, proving that a more just and sustainable future is possible.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 27, 2015
From Native activists to urban youth, new leadership finds ways to deal with climate chaos.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 8, 2015
Let’s be honest: It was a brutal year for human rights. But we still have victories worth celebrating.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 29, 2014
New energy is transforming our cities into hotbeds of democracy and progressive innovation.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 20, 2014
At a time when nations are gridlocked and corrupted by special interests, cities are taking on poverty, social isolation, and the climate crisis.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 19, 2014
The starting point is to realize we have choices—like meaningful work, authentic relationships, and gratitude.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 15, 2014
Naomi Klein’s powerful new book explains why not only can the climate movement win—but it’s our best chance at overturning some of history’s greatest injustices.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 4, 2014
First the anger, then the love—overcoming generational anger to find the courage required for the difficult work ahead.
Sarah van Gelder | May 31, 2014
Today's storytellers show that each of us can be part of something more powerful, diverse, and creative than we might have imagined.
Sarah van Gelder | May 24, 2014
This issue of YES! looks at the ways new voices are being heard, and at how their stories are transforming our culture.
Sarah van Gelder | May 24, 2014
For decades the myth of failing public schools justified industrial-scale testing and a privatization agenda. Now radical educators are bursting the bubble test, getting culturally relevant, and restoring justice to the classroom.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 22, 2014
Lama Tsomo is a Tibetan Buddhist lama, a former homesteader, and an heiress to a family fortune who lives a quiet life in the mountains of Montana. Now she is beginning to teach the practices and insights gained through years of solitary retreats and study.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 12, 2014
While the president outlined important steps forward last night, bolder steps are needed. Here are eight with the power to truly create the universal opportunity the president called for.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 30, 2014
In December 2007, YES! editor-in-chief Sarah van Gelder interviewed Pete Seeger in his home in Beacon, New York. Seeger showed Sarah his family photo albums, his DIY solar-powered car, and, of course, a whole wall filled with banjos.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 29, 2014
Beyond the headlines of conflict and catastrophe, this year’s top stories offered us some powerful proof that the world can still change—for the better.
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 28, 2013
“Our philosophy is good, clean, and fair food: Good because it is healthy and tasty; clean because it is produced with low environmental impact and with animal welfare in mind; and fair because it respects the work of those who produce, process, and distribute it.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Dec 21, 2013
It's time to reclaim the well-being and exuberance that is part of healthy food culture.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 20, 2013
‘‘A seed sown in the soil makes us one with the Earth. It makes us realize that we are the Earth.â€
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 16, 2013
Here are four cases in yesterday's election where people power won out over corporate interests. And one that went the other way.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 7, 2013
Of course the media needs to start talking honestly about climate change. But there's more to the issue than just gloom and doom.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 12, 2013
In Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other cases, the people protested and got war anyway. Why—at least, so far—has the story played out differently with Syria?
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 12, 2013
Many of the legal and diplomatic processes that led to peace in other times of conflict haven't even been tried yet in Syria.
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 6, 2013
Remember the last time we were told military strikes were needed because a Middle Eastern despot had used weapons of mass destruction?
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 30, 2013
Your community is the perfect place to begin healing the wounds of racism.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 17, 2013
It can be hard for youth to deal with the overwhelming effects of climate change. But, by taking action, we can erode the hold that oil, fracking, and coal has on people and the environment.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 14, 2013
On life, leadership, and the future in an age of catastrophic change.
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 10, 2013
Pastor Jim Wallis has been arrested for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline, builds bridges between polarized politicians, and pushes Christians to worry less about gay marriage and more about justice. And even better—there’s a whole new generation following his lead.
Sarah van Gelder | May 31, 2013
The climate crisis is spinning out of control, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow unabated. It’s time to let the radical uncertainty of this moment enlarge our sense of possibility.
Sarah van Gelder | May 23, 2013
From 1999 to 2013, Hugo Chavez served as president of Venezuela. He leaves behind a mixed legacy that includes admirable efforts to empower the poor, but also a disturbing tendency toward authoritarianism.
Sarah van Gelder | Mar 9, 2013
Co-ops—just like people—can get more done together than anyone can do alone. They come in many forms, and are more common than you might imagine.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 20, 2013
Video: At her TEDx talk, YES! magazine editor Sarah van Gelder discusses the “mean world syndrome†caused by excessively negative news coverage, and describes how solutions journalism creates a more balanced—and hopeful—point of view.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 11, 2013
When a new law paved the way for tar sands pipelines and other fossil fuel development on native lands, four women swore to be “idle no more.†The idea took off.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 8, 2013
Many were surprised to hear President Barack Obama take up climate change at today’s inaugural address. Here are a few ways the president can seize the moment and transform our approach to climate action.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 22, 2013
2012 was a year of superstorms, mass shootings, debt strikes, and the most spendy election ever. Here’s how last year’s most important stories will shape 2013.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 3, 2013
The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner accepted an appointment as U.S. poet laureate so he could offer just one simple warning.
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 3, 2011
Corporations aren’t hiring, and Washington is gridlocked. Here’s how we take charge of our own livelihoods.
Sarah van Gelder, Doug Pibel | Sep 7, 2011
Van Jones is leading a national mobilization to rebuild the middle class—through decent work, fair taxes, and opportunities for all.
Sarah van Gelder | Aug 18, 2011
In the work you do each day, how do you distinguish truth from fraud, build community, and speak up for what’s right?
Sarah van Gelder | Sep 10, 2009
Meet the man who’s convincing the country, and the new President, that the next economy needs to be green and just.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 14, 2009
Large majorities of Americans agree on some of the most important issues of the day, from health care to foreign policy.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 30, 2008
On Wild Rice, Wind Power, Thunder Beings, Self-reliance, and our Covenant with the Creator
Sarah van Gelder | Jun 18, 2008
George Shultz was there when nuclear disarmament slipped through our fingers. Today, he says, action is even more urgent. Sarah van Gelder interviews George Shultz, former Secretary of State.
Sarah van Gelder | May 22, 2008
In a 2007 interview, folk singer Pete Seeger talks about hitchhiking with Woody Guthrie, inspiring people with music, and the power of millions of small changes.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 2, 2008
Investment in energy projects will total $16 trillion in the next two decades. Sarah van Gelder lays out over a dozen sustainable energy policies and technologies that can make our infrastructure more climate friendly.
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 30, 2008
Why is Cuba exporting its health care miracle to the world's poor?
Sarah van Gelder | May 12, 2007
Americans spend the most, get the least, and have no health care security. The solution is not that difficult.
Doug Pibel, Sarah van Gelder | Jul 20, 2006
On YES! Magazine's 10th anniversary, we look at trends that are changing our culture, our relationship to the earth, and our sense of self.
Sarah van Gelder | Feb 22, 2006
Matthew Fox, formerly of the Roman Catholic Church, nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Some 500 years after Luther pounded his theses on the door of the same church, Fox is after a transformation just as radical
Sarah van Gelder | Nov 1, 2005
Sprawl overruns open space, jams up roads, degrades air quality, and leaves center cities without jobs and services. Policies that fight sprawl could bring new life to cities and suburbs, diversify our neighborhoods, and save the environment.
Sarah van Gelder | May 10, 2005
What if the American people chose a different path? What if we chose not to assume the mantle of empire?
Sarah van Gelder | Jan 1, 2003
Vandana Shiva is a physicist and an organic farmer, an instigator of India’s historic “tree-huggers†movement, and a renowned author. She speaks internationally on the perils of globalization, while mobilizing fellow citizens to reclaim their rights to life itself.
Sarah van Gelder, Vandana Shiva | Jan 1, 2003
Since winning election to Congress in 1996, US
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has proposed such
radical ideas as a Department of Peace, universal health care,
and action on climate change.
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 1, 2002
Danny Glover is a life-long activist. His involvement ranges from raising awareness about the AIDS crisis in Africa, to literacy, to the well being of African Americans and impoverished communities in the US. Danny is also a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 1, 2001
Are all crime victims after revenge? Genesee County criminal justice officials are finding that victims are after something else-something that our criminal justice system rarely offers.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 1, 2000
Editor Sarah Van Gelder reflects on the WTO, peacebuilding, and the zen of double zeros.
Sarah van Gelder | Apr 1, 2000
Bill McDonough says we can make and enjoy the things we need without destroying the natural world. This is the task of the next industrial revolution, and McDonough is one of its designers.
Sarah van Gelder | Oct 1, 1999
A multi-cultural coalition can lead the way to greener and more vibrant cities that work for all residents, says Carl Anthony in this interview with YES! executive editor, Sarah van Gelder
Sarah van Gelder | Jul 1, 1999