George Ripley presents us with a timely and urgent message for this new year with his book, Tao of Sustainability. Perhaps no more salient than now, this book will propose the Daoist way of being one with nature as a substitute to the nature-separation story, and its maladaptive effects, to which we have subscribed.
Published by Three Pines Press, a leading publisher of Taoist works.
by Mary A. Hernandez
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Hamish John Appleby is working on the publication of his book, Proboscidea – the Emotional Lives of Elephants. This 190-page book will be sent to eligible Kickstarter funders in March 2016, according to the crowdfunding site. Thereafter, the picturesque book will be available through the main website at www.proboscidea.org.
Proboscidea – The Emotional Lives of Elephants focuses on Asian elephants whose numbers, Appleby noted, are considered “critically endangered” at roughly 25,000-40,000 individuals. In comparison, the larger African elephant, whose valued tusks leave it greatly vulnerable to ivory poachers, are 470,000 in number (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.).
by Pat Holland
Sometimes my winter walks across the farm were more like winter scrambles than rambles. Whenever the earth froze and hid under a thin layer of snow, footing was chancy. Even a clump of dried grass could cause a stumble. Putting a foot down in mud often ended in a too-swift slide downhill.
Yesterday, I took the long path down to the creek. I heard wild turkeys gobbling down there—I supposed they were talking to each other about the weather and walking conditions. Birds walking? Yes, from previous trips down that path, I knew that the flock of turkeys rarely lifted off to fly more than a few feet above my head. When I spotted them yesterday, they were keeping their heads down—probably looking for food—and good footing.
I was keeping my head down too, watching the obstacles in my path so I wouldn’t stumble. Then I saw it, an arrowhead gleaming in the sunlight. Weather conditions were just right; the ground heaved it up into the light from deep below the frost line. I knew that during a hard freeze the ground would often swell upwards and bring buried treasures to the surface.
Exploring themes in the personal development of sustainability leaders
A book review by Mary A. Hernandez
*****
A New Psychology of Sustainability Leadership: The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews
by Steven Schein 2015 Greenleaf Publishing
Steven Shein is both a professor and a highly experienced entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in human development and organization systems. Drawing on his own experiences with nature and his companionship with others who are likewise nature-oriented, his personal stories of communion and revelation in nature draws us into his own motivation to becoming curious about other leaders equally concerned about the environmental crisis. His interests are inclusive and extend to eastern, aboriginal, and depth psychologies. The author’s educational and occupational backgrounds and interests position him well to make recommendations related to the topics presented in the book.
Continue Reading →
by David Sparenberg, author of Life in the Age of Extinctions
i am standing now
i am standing in this place:
i am standing at ocean shore
i am talking with water
with sand and water
(in mist
of betwixt and between)
i give myself to you
may my presence
be healing energy
do not abandon
the children of humanity
Home Life Could Be Simpler:
Perceptions of Home Among Married Couples While Staying at an Eco-lodge
Dr. Tal Litvak Hirsch, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Dr. Alon Lazar, Independent scholar
Abstract
Individuals relate to their homes in a myriad of ways. The current study suggests that in order to expand our understanding of people’s perceptions of “home” it would be beneficial to also consider these perceptions when individuals are on vacation, and especially in locations in which living arrangements are very different from their homes. Inspection of the perceptions of married Jewish-Israeli couples who holidayed at an eco-lodge in the Israeli desert revealed that the disparity between the two abodes was generally positive and similar. The wives were more prone to point out that the stay at the eco-lodge, led them to consider the possibility of conducting their homes in a simpler manner. The results are discussed in light of social behavior , connectivity to nature and consumerism.
FOR MORE
Download a PDF of the full article – Home life could be simpler
Download a PDF of Tables – Home life could be simpler – Tables
~ submitted by John Scull
Sing for the Climate is a big singing manifestation that first took place on September 22 and 23 2012 in Belgium. More than 80.000 people in more than 180 Belgian cities and communities sang the song “Do it Now”, urging politicians to take more ambitious climate measures both on local, national and international level. This video is a synthesis of recordings that were made in all locations. The success of ‘Sing for the Climate’ proves that a mass mobilization around climate change is still possible even after the COP15 in Copenhagen.
But Belgium is a small country and climate change is global problem, which needs to be tackled on an international level. Therefore we appeal to local groups and organizations worldwide to organize their own version of Sing for the Climate.
More information, tools and support for your local action can be found on http://www.singfortheclimate.com
Sing for the Climate is the culmination of three years campaigning for ‘The Big Ask’.
Learn all about this story in the video.
The Earth Manifesto: Saving Nature with Engaged Ecology
by David Tracey
Rocky Mountain Books
ISBN 9781927330890
Reviewed by John Scull
Here is a small review of this deceptively small book (132 pages), which is much bigger on the inside. David Tracey (author of Guerilla Gardening) introduces the idea of “Engaged Ecology”, or E2, which has six laws:
The first three chapters cover the first three “laws”, which come down to connecting to your place and with yourself. Then the next three chapters cover what to do with this connection – join a small group where you are and do what you can to cool the earth and support biodiversity. Engaged Ecology is what Ecopsychology should be about — local, personal, and reflective, but also global, communitarian, and active.
An article by Jonathan Stein
“Sadly, most people in the western world remain in denial of their inherent interconnection with all of life, merely through their avoidance of anything that remotely reminds them of their mortality (pain, discomfort, suffering, etc.), and they endure, much to the detriment of The Whole, self-selectively abdicating the responsibilities of their true nature as rescuers with a deep and powerful purpose. Instead, most wait, hoping that somebody or something “out there” will come and make everything all better again. Awakening in this time of crisis requires a more courageous response. It involves choosing to become conscious of the deleterious effects of one’s own sense of entitlement and how it is contributing to destroying life on planet Earth.” – Jonathan Stein
Read the article here – being moved from entitlement to enlightenment
This Changes Everything
by Naomi Klein
Knopf Canada, 2014.
Reviewed by John Scull
“At nearly 500 pages plus 60 pages of endnotes, Klein has written an imposing book. Most of the space is taken up with case histories to illustrate and reinforce Klein’s arguments. Klein is a very good storyteller and she has done a great deal of research; the book is a goldmine of specifics. In this discussion I summarize her conclusions, omitting most of the factual background for those conclusions. I assure you it is there.
In chapter after chapter Klein convincingly makes her points, but I do not believe she succeeds in her main point that it is capitalism vs. the climate. In fact, she even suggests several “capitalist” solutions to the climate crisis. As I will describe later, I believe she has done something even more valuable by reframing the issue as Extractivism vs. Blockadia, abstract economics vs. our connection to the earth.”
