“What do you see? What do you see when you look up at the sky at night, at the blazing stars against the midnight heavens? What do you see when the dawn breaks over the eastern horizon? What are your thoughts in the fading days of summer as the birds depart on their southward journey, or in the autumn when the leaves turn brown and are blown away? What are your thoughts as you look out over the ocean in the evening? What do you see? "Many earlier peoples saw in these natural phenomena a world … Continue reading
Archives for September 2015
Small Is Still Beautiful
"As Americans continue to climb their way back from the nosedive that started in 2008, we’d be wise to think twice before putting our faith in rebuilding the very institutions and cultural mythologies that were, at least in part, responsible for getting us in so much trouble in the first place. For all of globalization’s gifts — an increased sense of empathy for those on the other side of the world, being my personal favorite — one of the burdens has been feeling entangled in an economic web so … Continue reading
All-blue skies in Paris as city centre goes car-free for first time
"The lack of sound on the Champs Elysées was striking. "With the eight lanes of France’s most famous avenue cleared of all traffic on Paris’s first car-free day, the usual cacophony of car-revving and thundering motorbike engines had given way to the squeak of bicycle wheels, the clatter of skateboards, the laughter of children on rollerblades and even the gentle rustling of wind in the trees. It was, as one Parisian pensioner observed as she ambled up the centre of the road taking big gulps of … Continue reading
One of the poorest regions in Afghanistan is teaching the world about sustainability
"The Rural Green Environment Organization is entirely rewriting the environmental narrative for 90 villages and 40,000 people in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. The region has endured “decades of conflict, insecurity and the overharvesting of natural resources.” What was once a region battered by conflict and environmental degradation is now flourishing. The best part is, this is a peaceful and fruitful model that can be adopted all around the world." Read the full story by Joe McCarthy.... Continue reading
Major Shifts in Science Challenge Religions, and Especially Their Activists
"Pope Francis' May 24, 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, on the state of the earth's environment and humanity's responsibility for action, represents a growing transformational shift in the relationship between science, social justice, progressive secularism, and religious consciousness. "On the scientific front, a new book from Yale University Press/ Templeton's "Foundational Questions in Science" series, Does Altruism Exist? Culture, Genes and the Welfare of Others, by David Sloan Wilson, … Continue reading
Ninety-Six Cities That Are Quitting Fossil Fuels and Moving Toward 100 Percent Renewable Energy
"While countries have dragged their feet for years on meaningful climate action, many cities around the world have forged ahead with sustainability efforts. In July, about 60 mayors pledged to fight climate change at a two-day conference hosted by Pope Francis. "Several cities have even made impressive strides to ditch fossil fuels in favor of renewables. Two recent reports have confirmed that 100 percent renewable energy is possible. Earlier this summer, professors out of Stanford and U.C. … Continue reading
Why the living wage is victory for people power, not party politics
"Neil Jameson, whose campaign for decent pay has won over Lidl, explains why he prefers taking a battle to the streets to Westminster infighting.... "Greying, bearded and radiating a determined calm, Jameson has more than a hint of the Jeremy Corbyn about him. Like Corbyn, he believes passionately in the value of politics as a democratic, bottom-up, grassroots process and has spent much of his working life trying to shift the balance of power in society. "But unlike Labour’s new leader, … Continue reading
Living without money: what I learned
"A moneyless economy shows how our lives are intrinsically linked to the great web of life. In this deep ecology, our security comes from our relationships with people and nature.... "With little idea of what I was to expect, or how I was to go about it, seven years ago I began living without money. Originally intended as a one-year experiment in ecological living, I wanted to explore how it felt as a human being to live without the trappings and security that money had long-since afforded me. … Continue reading
Living Spirituality | Kosmos Journal
"There can be no doubt that we are living in a time of transition. A new human community is being born in us and through us — all 7 billion of us — as we respond to the challenges that flow from impressions of wholeness. In a transition time nothing is certain and the future is unclear. The wholeness vision disturbs as well as inspires; it leads some to want to move forward too fast into an idealized world and others to do everything in their power to resist the momentum towards the new. It … Continue reading
Five ways people are building a new economy
"Grassroots projects are springing up across the UK to empower local people and build communities.... "A new economy is coming into play. No longer wielded as a weapon to legitimise austerity, this is an economy where the community and the environment, not the corporate shareholder, benefits. "Beneath its ruthless, business-as-usual veneer, Britain hosts a colourful array of grassroots enterprises. Some of these are sparked into action by artists or dynamic working groups, many are … Continue reading