Long but comforting

[Guest guest]

We are not alone........

Subject: "Blessed Unrest">> > For as long as space endures,> > > And for as long as living beings remain,> > > Until then may I, too, abide> > > To dispel the misery of the world.> > > - The Dalai Lama, Freedom in Exile>>> Blessed Unrest> Hawken is the author of Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement > in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming>> Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and > author. Starting at age 20, he dedicated his life to sustainability > and changing the relationship between business and the environment. > His practice has included starting and running ecological businesses, > writing and teaching about the impact of commerce on living systems, > and consulting with governments and corporations on economic > development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy.>> Introduction>> Over the past fifteen years I have given nearly one thousand talks > about the environment, and every time I have done so I have felt like > a tightrope performer struggling to maintain perfect balance. To be > sure, people are curious to know what is happening to their world, but > no speaker wants to leave an auditorium depressed, however dark and > frightening a tomorrow is predicted by the science that studies the > rate of environmental loss. To be sanguine about the future, however, > requires a plausible basis for constructive action: you cannot > describe possibilities for that future unless the present problem is > accurately defined. Bridging the chasm between the two was always a > challenge, but audiences kindly ignored my intellectual vertigo and > over time provided a rare perspective instead. After every speech a > smaller crowd would gather to talk, ask questions, and exchange > business cards. These people were typically working on the most > salient issues of our day: climate change, poverty, deforestation, > peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights. They came from the > nonprofit and nongovernmental world, also known as civil society; they > looked after rivers and bays, educated consumers about sustainable > agriculture, retrofitted houses with solar panels, lobbied state > legislatures about pollution, fought against corporate-weighted trade > policies, worked to green inner cities, and taught children about the > environment. Quite simply, they had dedicated themselves to trying to > safeguard nature and ensure justice. Although this was the 1990s, and > the media largely ignored them, in those small meetings I had a chance > to listen to their concerns. They were students, grandmothers, > teenagers, tribe members, businesspeople, architects, teachers, > retired professors, and worried mothers and fathers. Because I was > itinerant, and the organizations they represented were rooted in their > communities, over the years I began to grasp the diversity of these > groups and their cumulative number. My interlocutors had a lot to say. > They were informed, imaginative, and vital, and offered ideas, > information, and insight. To a great extent Blessed Unrest is their > gift to me.>> My new friends would thrust articles and books into my hands, tuck > small gifts into my knapsack, or pass along proposals for green > companies. A Native American taught me that the division between > ecology and human rights was an artificial one, that the environmental > and social justice movements addressed two sides of a single larger > dilemma. The way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we > treat one another is reflected in how we treat the earth. As my talks > began to mirror my deeper understanding, the hands offering business > cards grew more diverse. I would get from five to thirty such cards > per speech, and after being on the road for a week or two would return > home with a few hundred of them stuffed into various pockets. I would > lay them out on the table in my kitchen, read the names, look at the > logos, envisage the missions, and marvel at the scope and diversity of > what groups were doing on behalf of others. Later, I would store them > in drawers or paper bags as keepsakes of the journey. Over the course > of years the number of cards mounted into the thousands, and whenever > I glanced at them, I came back to one question: Did anyone truly > appreciate how many groups and organizations were engaged in > progressive causes? At first, this was a matter of curiosity on my > part, but it slowly grew into a hunch that something larger was afoot, > a significant social movement that was eluding the radar of mainstream > culture.>> So, curious, I began to count. I looked at government records for > different countries and, using various methods to approximate the > number of environmental and social justice groups from tax census > data, I initially estimated a total of 30,000 environmental > organizations around the globe; when I added social justice and > indigenous peoples' rights organizations, the number exceeded 100,000. > I then researched to see if there had ever been any equals to this > movement in scale or scope, but I couldn't find anything, past or > present. The more I probed, the more I unearthed, and the numbers > continued to climb, as I discovered lists, indexes, and small > databases specific to certain sectors or geographic areas. In trying > to pick up a stone, I found the exposed tip of a much larger > geological formation. I soon realized that my initial estimate of > 100,000 organizations was off by at least a factor of ten, and I now > believe there are over one -- and maybe even two -- million > organizations working toward ecological sustainability and social > justice.>> By any conventional definition, this vast collection of committed > individuals does not constitute a movement. Movements have leaders and > ideologies. People join movements, study their tracts, and identify > themselves with a group. They read the biography of the founder(s) or > listen to them perorate on tape or in person. Movements, in short, > have followers. This movement, however, doesn't fit the standard > model. It is dispersed, inchoate, and fiercely independent. It has no > manifesto or doctrine, no overriding authority to check with. It is > taking shape in schoolrooms, farms, jungles, villages, companies, > deserts, fisheries, slums -- and yes, even fancy New York hotels. One > of its distinctive features is that it is tentatively emerging as a > global humanitarian movement arising from the bottom up. Historically > social movements have arisen primarily in response to injustice, > inequities, and corruption. Those woes still remain legion, joined by > a new condition that has no precedent: the planet has a > life-threatening disease, marked by massive ecological degradation and > rapid climate change. As I counted the vast number of organizations it > crossed my mind that perhaps I was witnessing the growth of something > organic, if not biologic. Rather than a movement in the conventional > sense, could it be an instinctive, collective response to threat? Is > it atomized for reasons that are innate to its purpose? How does it > function? How fast is it growing? How is it connected? Why is it > largely ignored? Does it have a history? Can it successfully address > the issues that governments are failing to do: energy, jobs, > conservation, poverty, and global warming? Will it become centralized, > or will it continue to be dispersed and cede its power to ideologies > and fundamentalism?>> I sought a name for the movement, but none exists. I met people who > wanted to structure or organize it -- a difficult task, since it would > easily be the most complex association of human beings ever assembled. > Many outside the movement critique it as powerless, but that > assessment does not stop its growth. When describing it to > politicians, academics, and businesspeople, I found that many believe > they are already familiar with this movement, how it works, what it > consists of, and its approximate size. They base their conclusion on > media reports about Amnesty International, the Sierra Club, Oxfam, or > other venerable institutions. They may be directly acquainted with a > few smaller organizations and may even sit on the board of a local > group. For them and others the movement is small, known, and > circumscribed, a new type of charity, with a sprinkling of ragtag > activists who occasionally give it a bad name. People inside the > movement can also underestimate it, basing their judgment on only the > organizations they are linked to, even though their networks can only > encompass a fraction of the whole. But after spending years > researching this phenomenon, including creating with my colleagues a > global database of its constituent organizations, I have come to these > conclusions: this is the largest social movement in all of human > history. No one knows its scope, and how it functions is more > mysterious than what meets the eye.>> What does meet the eye is compelling: coherent, organic, > self-organized congregations involving tens of millions of people > dedicated to change. When asked at colleges if I am pessimistic or > optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look > at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and > aren't pessimistic, you don't have the correct data. If you meet the > people in this unnamed movement and aren't optimistic, you haven't got > a heart. What I see are ordinary and some not-so-ordinary individuals > willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in an > attempt to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to > this world. In the not-so-ordinary category, contrast ex-president > Bill Clinton and sitting president W. Bush. As I write this, > Bush is on TV snarled in a skein of untruths as he tries to keep the > lid on a nightmarish war fed by inept and misguided ambition; > simultaneously the Clinton Global Initiative (which is a > nongovernmental organization) met in New York and raised $7.3 billion > in three days to combat global warming, injustice, intolerance, and > poverty. Of the two initiatives, war and peace, which addresses root > causes? Which has momentum? Which does not offend the world? Which is > open to new ideas? The poet Adrienne Rich wrote, "My heart is moved by > all I cannot save. So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with > those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, > reconstitute the world."1 There could be no better description of the > audiences I met in my lectures.>> This is the story without apologies of what is going right on this > planet, narratives of imagination and conviction, not defeatist > accounts about the limits. Wrong is an addictive, repetitive story; > Right is where the movement is. There is a rabbinical teaching that > holds that if the world is ending and the Messiah arrives, you first > plant a tree and then see if the story is true. Islam has a similar > teaching that tells adherents that if they have a palm cutting in > their hand on Judgment Day, plant the cutting. Inspiration is not > garnered from the recitation of what is flawed; it resides, rather, in > humanity's willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, > reimagine, and reconsider. "Consider" (con sidere) means "with the > stars"; reconsider means to rejoin the movement and cycle of heaven > and life. The emphasis here is on humanity's intention, because humans > are frail and imperfect. People are not always literate or educated. > Most families in the world are impoverished and may suffer from > chronic illnesses. The poor cannot always get the right foods for > proper nutrition, and must struggle to feed and educate their young. > If citizens with such burdens can rise above their quotidian > difficulties and act with the clear intent to confront exploitation > and bring about restoration, then something powerful is afoot. And it > is not just the poor, but people of all races and classes everywhere > in the world. "One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, > though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice"2 is > Oliver's description of moving away from the profane toward a deep > sense of connectedness to the living world.>> Although the six o'clock news is usually concerned with the death of > strangers, millions of people work on behalf of strangers. This > altruism has religious, even mythic origins and very practical > eighteenth-century roots. Abolitionists were the first group to create > a national and global movement to defend the rights of those they did > not know. Until that time, no citizen group had ever filed a grievance > except as it related to itself.3 Conservative spokesmen ridiculed the > abolitionists then, just as conservatives taunt liberals, > progressives, do-gooders, and activists today by making those four > terms pejoratives. Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does > not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and > persistence. It is not a liberal or conservative activity; it is a > sacred act. It is a massive enterprise undertaken by ordinary citizens > everywhere, not by self-appointed governments or oligarchies.>> Blessed Unrest is an exploration of this movement -- its > participants, its aims, and its ideals. I have been a part of it for > decades, so I cannot claim to be the detached journalist skeptically > prodding my subjects. I hope what follows is the expression of a deep > listening. The subtitle of the book -- how the largest movement in the > world came into being -- cannot be answered by one person. Like > anyone, I have a perspective based on biases accumulated over time and > a network of friends and peers who color my judgment. However, I wrote > this book primarily to discover what I don't know. Part of what I > learned concerns an older quiescent history that is reemerging, what > poet Snyder calls the great underground, a current of humanity > that dates back to the Paleolithic. Its lineage can be traced back to > healers, priestesses, philosophers, monks, rabbis, poets, and artists > "who speak for the planet, for other species, for interdependence, a > life that courses under and through and around empires."4 At the same > time, much of what I learned is new. Groups are intertwingling -- > there are no words to exactly describe the complexity of this web of > relationships.5 The Internet and other communication technologies have > revolutionized what is possible for small groups to accomplish and are > accordingly changing the loci of power. There have always been > networks of powerful people, but until recently it has never been > possible for the entire world to be connected.>> "Blessed Unrest" is an overview that describes how this movement > differs from previous social movements, particularly with respect to > ideology. The organizations in the movement arise one by one, > generally with no predetermined vision for the world, and craft their > goals without reference to orthodoxy. For some historians and > analysts, movements only exist when they have an ideological or > religious core of beliefs. And movements certainly don't exist in a > vacuum: a strong leader(s) is an earmark of a movement and often its > intellectual pivot point, even if deceased. The movement I describe > here has neither, and so represents a completely different form of > social phenomenon.>> The following three chapters are glimpses of some of the movement's > roots. One cannot do justice to its history in a clutch of books, much > less a few chapters. America has been the home of some of the most > important progressive efforts in history -- women's suffrage, > abolition, civil rights, food safety -- but you would not know that, > given the narrowness of scope of today's education. My survey reflects > the views of a North American because it is the only history I can > adequately present. This bias is important to acknowledge, because > global history is invariably skewed when seen through the eyes of > Western culture, no matter how hard one tries to be objective. There > are other histories, African and Native American, English and > Japanese, Brazilian and Mediterranean, all equally valid, and all with > their own particular inflections. In India, for example, > environmentalism is a social justice movement, concerned with the > rights of people to the land and its bounty. In 1991 Sunita Narain, > the director of the Center for Science and the Environment in New > Delhi, called global warming environmental colonialism, and was one of > the first to question whether environmental management should be based > on human rights rather than legal convention. In the United States the > environmental movement found itself faced with a backlash when it was > accused of placing the rights of the animals and plants on the land > before those of people. Ron Dellums, an African-American congressman > from Oakland, California, asked the Sierra Club, "I know you care > about black bears but do you care about black people?"6>> In Germany the green movement became an organized political party, > and its members now hold positions at the highest echelons of > government. In the global South, environmentalism is a movement of the > poor, with peasants leading campaigns that include land reform, trade > rights, and corporate hegemony. The environmental movement began in > England as a series of public health campaigns during the Industrial > Revolution. In Italy, it concerns the dynamics between la città and la > campagna; in South Africa it is inextricably bound to social justice > issues embedded in the country's history.7>> My purpose in recounting some of the threads of the past is not > merely to extol great personages such as Darwin, Gandhi, > Carson, or Thoreau, but to recognize the importance of connection and > coincidence. Long ago small, seemingly inconsequential actions took > place that eventually changed the world -- outcomes the original > actors might never have imagined. One such occurrence was Emerson's > encounter with the Jussieu family of scientists in Paris, a little > remarked-upon event whose influence, as we will see, eventually wends > itself into the civil rights movement 123 years later. In a time when > people feel powerless, a history of altruism can be a balm because it > reveals the power of helpful and humble acts, a reminder that > constructive changes in human affairs arise from intention, not > coercion.>> "Indigene" and "We Interrupt This Empire" concern globalization. > "Indigene" is concerned with indigenous cultures. Their traditional > lands represent the greatest remaining sanctuaries of life on earth, > and resource-hungry corporations are commercializing and destroying > these biological arks. The cultures that have coevolved with these > environments are resisting the encroachment, uniting with alliances of > nonprofits to bring accountability and limits to unchecked > development. "We Interrupt This Empire" focuses on organizations that > are engaged in protecting citizens, workers, and environments from the > juggernaut of free market fundamentalism.>> The final two chapters look at the entire movement from two > perspectives. "Immunity" uses the cellular metaphor of how an organism > defends itself as a plausible way to describe the collective activity > of the movement. The immune system is the most complex system in the > body and provides a useful model for examining the properties of these > groups. The terms environment and social justice encompass innovative > organizations that are redolent with ideas and inventive techniques, > and a few are explored here. I also consider the weakness of the > movement, how its multiplicity and diversity may hobble it as the > world descends into violence and disorder. "Restoration" describes the > biological principles that inform all forms of life, including human > beings, and uses the principles as a framework to bring a different > vocabulary to the movement. In biologist Janine Benyus's > quintessential summation, "life creates the conditions that are > conducive to life." It is fair to ask whether that might not be a > suitable organizing principle for all human activity, from economics > to trade to how we build our cities. While it is risky to rely on life > sciences to explain social phenomena, it is equally risky to assume > that the standard language that has served to chronicle past social > movements is sufficient to describe this one. The individuals featured > in this book all try to do good, but this book is not only about doing > good. It is about people who want to save the entire sacred, cellular > basis of existence -- the entire planet and all its inconceivable > diversity. In total, the book is inadvertently optimistic, an odd > thing in these bleak times. I didn't intend it; optimism discovered > me.>> Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) > Inc., from BLESSED UNREST by Hawken. Copyright © Hawken, > 2007>> Source: http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/5/15/16245/1159> ____>> Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution> By Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins>> Book Description:> In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge > companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more > efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating > jobs. Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next > century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising > safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their > products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further > damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia?>> In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades > to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in > place," the authors write.They call their approach natural capitalism > because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the > environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and > employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly > system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also > describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might > think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are > ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If > natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources > will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as > housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called > Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the > Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank.>> The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy > makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring>> More about Hawken: > http://www.paulhawken.com/paulhawken_frameset.html> ____>See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.