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CES published CES Musings, an online magazine, from 2007 to 2017. 

Access articles published in CES Musings by clicking the links below.

To obtain citations for these articles, refer to the Index of Articles.

The Chronicle

CULTURE A revived interest in religion in China has inspired environmental activism. In recent years hundreds of millions of people have turned to religions like Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, and as they do they are starting social service organizations to oppose polluters, and citing their faith to protest plans to build factories and power…
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Abundance

Editor’s Note: We repeat this article annually during gardening season. There is so much to learn in a garden.  This week was explosive. My garden produced cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes and the first cherry tomatoes. I was overwhelmed and since I can’t share the fruits, I share the reflections. I am not sure there…
Read More Abundance

We Need A Much Bigger Leap! John Bellamy Foster on Naomi Klein’s ‘No Is Not Enough’

    NO IS NOT ENOUGH Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need By Naomi Klein Haymarket Books, 2017 Editor’s Note: John Bellamy Foster is editor of Monthly Review and a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon. This review first appeared on June 13, 2017, in the Monthly Review Online…
Read More We Need A Much Bigger Leap! John Bellamy Foster on Naomi Klein’s ‘No Is Not Enough’

For Climate Cause, Trump’s Withdrawal from Paris Accord Just One Hurdle among Many

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in ProPublica, on June 2, 2017, and is reprinted with permission under a Creative Commons license. Revkin provides an analysis of economic forces beyond the reach of the Paris climate accord, forces that are at work regardless of the US or other nations are committed to the Paris…
Read More For Climate Cause, Trump’s Withdrawal from Paris Accord Just One Hurdle among Many

The Chronicle

CLIMATE Climate action continues. “As the federal government abdicates its role on this important issue, it is critical for states to fill the void,” said Virginia’s Governor Terry McAuliffe as he issued an executive order on May 16, 2017, instructing officials to begin crafting regulations to “abate, control, or limit” emissions from power plants in…
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Changes Coming in CES

  When we begin our CES Service Group meetings we begin by reciting We are about the Great Work . . . the Work of moving on from a terminal Cenozoic, to an emerging Ecozoic era in the history of the planet Earth . . . which is the Great Work! We firmly believe this…
Read More Changes Coming in CES

CES-Led Symposium with David Orr on the Long View in Addressing the Ecological Crisis

On April 1, 2017, EcoCiv and CES convened a major symposium at the home of Steven Knapp, President of George Washington University in Washington, DC. Participants included leaders of environmental organizations, policy experts, scholars, and activists. The symposium provided attendees an opportunity to step back from their day-to-day efforts to construct and implement sustainable policies…
Read More CES-Led Symposium with David Orr on the Long View in Addressing the Ecological Crisis

Amazing the Tree

Silently progressing towards her, Crying unexplained tears, We inched our way towards Her elegantly dressed grace. Greeting us with every branch’s spring growth, Draped elegantly in Spanish moss, We bowed and she smiled; We threw her kisses and honored her. “Wow, she must be old, very old,” “Oh, oh my, she’s grand. Look at her….
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Does Thomas Berry Provide a Foundational Set of Principles for the Transition to Ecozoic Societies?

  Author’s Note: For the first time I have combined in one article what I see as Thomas Berry’s guiding principles for ecozoic societies. I have also described the need to, and difficulty of, applying these principles in a real world context, namely that of an urbanized, globalized world. This article will appear in the…
Read More Does Thomas Berry Provide a Foundational Set of Principles for the Transition to Ecozoic Societies?

Being Dreamt

Sometimes dissonance sneaks up on you like a shy child wanting a hug, but at other times, the child gleefully turns a spurting hose on your shocked and screaming face. After reading Martin Shaw’s notion of being actively dreamt by the Earth[1], I knew I’d been soaked to the soul, but the shock arose from…
Read More Being Dreamt

An Empire of Things: An Ecological Response

Editor’s Note: Roy Morrison’s latest book is “Sustainability Sutra: An Ecological Investigation.” [1]Morrison argues for a transition to ecological civilization using market mechanisms and pursuing a global growth strategy with a focus on sustainability. He proposes ecological consumption taxation, new market rules, fiscal and monetary policies, and investment strategies. Morrison’s website is EcoCivilization.info.   Is…
Read More An Empire of Things: An Ecological Response

My Country ‘Tis of Thee

Events of past months have stirred me to a patriotism I never thought I’d feel for my nation. From childhood my allegiance has been universal. I fell in love with the one-world concept when, in Camp Fire Girls, during summer camp we sang these words to the tune “Finlandia:” My country’s skies are bluer than…
Read More My Country ‘Tis of Thee

What To Do about Trump

Sustainability involves both nature and human societies. In our view there are three criteria for sustainability: The human community must live within Earth’s carrying capacity. According to the Ecological Footprint Network we humans are now at 150% of the carrying capacity of Earth and rising; Within the human community there must be justice, equity, respect,…
Read More What To Do about Trump

The Chronicle

ENERGY The new administration is pro-oil and pro-coal, but nevertheless momentum is with sun and wind. Solar ranked as the number one source of new US electric generating capacity additions in 2016. It represented 39 percent of new capacity additions across all fuel types. greentechmedia.com Solar is also the largest employer in the US electric…
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Trump Is a Dangerous Anomaly

Donald Trump is an anomaly in that he presents a unique danger that would not be presented except for his highly unlikely election as President of the United States and his conduct in that office. Consider these questions: What were the odds that Trump would run against 17 Republican contenders and win nomination by receiving…
Read More Trump Is a Dangerous Anomaly

The Chronicle

CLIMATE Scientists gathering at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco on December 13, 2016, expressed concern about what one speaker called the “Trumpocene.” More than 20,000 researchers from the Earth, atmospheric and space science communities attended the annual meeting, and in references subtle and overt, speakers referred to the unsettled atmosphere in…
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Trump and the Climate: His Hot Air on Warming Is Far from the Greatest Threat

  Editor’s Note: The following article which is reprinted with permission from ProPublica provides a very thoughtful analysis of the likely impact of the Trump administration on US greenhouse gas emissions and puts this in the context of the larger “super-wicked” issue of global emissions. This html coding is required by ProPublica as a condition…
Read More Trump and the Climate: His Hot Air on Warming Is Far from the Greatest Threat

A Psychiatric Clinician’s Analysis of the US Elections: The Last Embers Of Patriarchal Self-Confidence

I am writing a brief response to Herman Greene’s recent letter, “Are Ecozoans Now at War? Should They Be?“, and his essay, “We Now Live in the Cabaret: Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!” Our world is a confusing and dangerous place which we humans have coped with by developing illusions of control through intellectual mastery…
Read More A Psychiatric Clinician’s Analysis of the US Elections: The Last Embers Of Patriarchal Self-Confidence

Understanding Possible Futures in an Increasingly Insecure World: Review of Paul Raskin’s Journey to Earthland: The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization

  Editor’s Note: Felix Dodds is one of the world’s most informed writers on intergovernmental efforts toward sustainable development. He has written three books giving the history of the UN’s sustainable development process, his latest (written with Ambassador David Donoghue) being “Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A Transformational Agenda for an Insecure World.” Felix is…
Read More Understanding Possible Futures in an Increasingly Insecure World: Review of Paul Raskin’s Journey to Earthland: The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization

Want a Collaborative Distance Learning Master’s Degree in the Great Work? Look No Further than Endicott’s Master’s Program in Integrative Education. Entering Students May Begin in March 2017

  The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES) at Endicott College, Beverly, MA, is offering a collaborative distance learning M.Ed. in Integrative Learning that begins in March 2016. Questions that contextualize the course of study include: How does integrative learning create a context for exploring one’s Great Work? What is a learning community and what capacities…
Read More Want a Collaborative Distance Learning Master’s Degree in the Great Work? Look No Further than Endicott’s Master’s Program in Integrative Education. Entering Students May Begin in March 2017

New Year’s Day Statement on Hope and Resistance by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of the North Carolina NAACP

Many of us, not knowing what to do, face 2017 with uncertainty and anxiety. Rev. Dr. Barber, who has become an important prophet for justice in our time, made a powerful statement on hope and resistance in a January 1, 2017 interview of him by Michel Martin on NPR’s All Things Considered. You may listen…
Read More New Year’s Day Statement on Hope and Resistance by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of the North Carolina NAACP

The New and Dangerous Period of Social History: Statement from the President of Pax Romana/Cmica-usa, 9 November 2016

It seems that Trump will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, will promote greater fossil-fuel dependency, and weaken environmental regulation. ~Herman Greene, Center for Ecozoic Societies We are now beginning a new, difficult, and dangerous period of social history for the people of the United States of America, for the entire human family, and for…
Read More The New and Dangerous Period of Social History: Statement from the President of Pax Romana/Cmica-usa, 9 November 2016

Playing the Odds

For over twenty-five years I have been predicting that the human species has a twenty percent chance of surviving fifty or one hundred more years. While it doesn’t sound like it, I am an eternal optimist. But our species is attacking everything on this planet that we are dependent on. We are changing the air,…
Read More Playing the Odds

The Next Four Years Will Be a Difficult Challenge for the Nation and the World

The election of Donald Trump is very puzzling and troubling, both nationally and internationally. His failings as a leader, businessman, husband and person are legion. He has never held elective office, has never served in the armed service, is contemptuous of the law and international treaties, insults anyone who disagrees with him, and is ill-…
Read More The Next Four Years Will Be a Difficult Challenge for the Nation and the World

When Magic Fails

Since the election most of the “what now?” articles I have read seem to be stuck in the old paradigm: Go on policy defense in DC backed by street action, build the party, and win next time with a better message and a better candidate. This is a failure of imagination that greatly underestimates what…
Read More When Magic Fails

Earth Morning

There are a few beings I love so very deeply that even the thought of them being harmed, suffering, or lost is totally unbearable to me. I instantly feel my heart ready to sob without restraint. One of those beings is Earth. My feelings upon first readings of the new administration’s attitudes and objectives regarding…
Read More Earth Morning

The Deal Maker May Make Deals

  We do not know if a Trump administration will be globally catastrophic, or tend to revert to the neoliberal mean, or move in surprising directions. It is business as usual that has already set us on the path toward global ecological catastrophe: billions of poor, wars without end, and an ever expanding national security…
Read More The Deal Maker May Make Deals

Current

Part I Mama left us girl eggs with instructions: Paddle your way across the sand to the sea. I did that, mama! Swim out as far as you can, as fast as you can. Farther. Faster. Slip away from the ones that try to hurt you. I did that, mama! When you have eggs, come…
Read More Current

Downhill Tromp

Though a journalouse and a wordsmutter myself, I, Padrollian Bassoonius, have read and listed to too many analusters about the Downhill Tromp insistering they know what the man is triumphing to say. Taking himcondon at his warps to be the chump of the working mad, I deciphered to cut to the cheese and call up…
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Civility Lost

December 2016, Mariana Islands. I was at my neighborhood store getting their 13-year-old who just came from China to speak English, and I’d shared all the pedagogical tricks I knew. She can retain words and speak the language, like naming the goods on display at her store, and pronounce all the words she can read….
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Toes

  11/27/2016 Toes pointing into black depths—face and arms arch, I scream inwardly—air bubbles blowing past my ears. Ten thousand things I want to shout, twelve to do.   Dance, laugh, and pray—to ease the shame, To bear the distaste inside my throat.   Cry and lie down by a cool rock—grasping dirt, Stroking moss,…
Read More Toes

Before a New Day

On the morning of November 9, 2016, people around Planet Earth awoke to the realization that Donald J. Trump had been elected President of the United States. For some this was the answer to a prayer, for others the foreboding of impending disaster. Some were confused and dismayed, still others were just relieved that a…
Read More Before a New Day

Both USA and Brazil

I’m considering the past presidential election in USA and the democratic crisis we undergo in Brasil. Both, I take, are determined by a capitalist economic model where power locally and internationally is the most pervading criteria adopted as its core element—its concept and bureaucratic management strategy. I am foreseeing, imagining, a basic dialogue comparing interconnected…
Read More Both USA and Brazil

The Chronicle

CLIMATE  Despite President-Elect Donald Trump’s stated intention to withdraw US participation in the Paris agreement on climate change, US Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Jonathan Pershing went to Marrakech, Morocco, to take part in the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP), held November 10-18. The State Department communication said, “The United States goes to…
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Cyber Monday

It is a reality of relationships today that what used to be face-to-face connections have been replaced by “electronic, digital, wired, virtual, web, Internet, Net, online” links. Worse, “social media” hides an actual person. Four construction workers from China, setting up electrical and water systems, and finessing doors, windows, and floors, wanted to speak English….
Read More Cyber Monday

Wealth, Demographics, and the Transition to Ecological Civilization

September 25, 2016  Human beings must move into ecological civilization. There is a subtext to this. Civilization began with Neolithic villages 10,000 years ago. Early civilization was based on agriculture and it continued this way until the industrial revolution. During this period, the period of Agricultural Civilization, the classical civilizations arose—the Sinic, the Indic, the…
Read More Wealth, Demographics, and the Transition to Ecological Civilization

The Chronicle

  CLIMATE More than three billion people watched as rising carbon dioxide levels and consequent flooding of low-lying areas were depicted during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics: Amsterdam, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Florida, Shanghai, Lagos, and Rio de Janeiro were shown disappearing under water due to a warming climate caused by human…
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Abundance

Editor’s Note: This is one of our favorite articles. We usually repeat this article once a year during gardening season This week was explosive. My garden produced cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes and the first cherry tomatoes. I was overwhelmed and since I can’t share the fruits, I share the reflections. I am not sure…
Read More Abundance

Thomas Berry’s “Communion of Subjects”: Awakening the “Heart of the Universe”

Communion at the Heart of Reality In The Dream of the Earth, Thomas Berry writes: At present…we are in that phase of transition that must be described as the groping phase. We are like a musician who faintly hears a melody deep within the mind, but not clearly enough to play it through. This is…
Read More Thomas Berry’s “Communion of Subjects”: Awakening the “Heart of the Universe”

2016 World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – Summary

Sometimes many of us feel isolated and wonder if anything is going on that matches the challenge of the ecological crisis. We can take heart from the work of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and what has just occurred at their 2016 World Conservation Congress. The Congress, titled “Planet at the Crossroads,…
Read More 2016 World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – Summary

Fall Programs Announced by the Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain, The Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World, and The Center for Human-Earth Restoration

Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain (Chapel Hill, NC)  The Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain is offering a full schedule of fall programs, including Wisdom of the Elements: Fire (Sept 17) The case for permaculture (Sept 17) Energetic Outdoor Yoga (Sept 17 and 24) Principles of Design (Sept 24) Building from Our Surroundings (Oct 22) Wisdom of the…
Read More Fall Programs Announced by the Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain, The Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World, and The Center for Human-Earth Restoration

Free Yale University Online Classes—”Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times” (Two Courses); “The Worldview of Thomas Berry”; and “Living Cosmology”

In the fall of 2016 Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Senior Lecturers and Research Scholars at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will offer four six-week online courses. These will be featured as a specialization under the theme of “Journey of the Universe: A Story for our Times.” This will include two courses on Journey of the Universe, a course…
Read More Free Yale University Online Classes—”Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times” (Two Courses); “The Worldview of Thomas Berry”; and “Living Cosmology”

Video Replay Available of Webcast with Mary Evelyn Tucker on “Living Cosmology: Dwelling within the Journey of the Universe”

We are living in a time of immense challenge on every front—socially, politically, ecologically, and spiritually. As Thomas Berry suggested, we need a new story to reorient and ground ourselves to meet these challenges. Mary Evelyn Tucker tells such a story—an epic of evolution—that has the potential to bring together the best of modern science…
Read More Video Replay Available of Webcast with Mary Evelyn Tucker on “Living Cosmology: Dwelling within the Journey of the Universe”

Climate Year Program to Have the United States Commence a World War II-Scale Mobilization to Restore a Safe Climate

CES has received this invitation, which we pass on to you. Allies, We are thrilled to announce our new Climate Year program. As part of our strategy to ensure that the US federal government commences a WWII-scale climate mobilization to restore a safe climate by July 4, 2017, we are looking for brilliant, talented, dedicated…
Read More Climate Year Program to Have the United States Commence a World War II-Scale Mobilization to Restore a Safe Climate

The Chronicle

By Alice Loyd It’s All About Pollution This Time More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that do not meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The WHO update issued in June 2016 finds the worst exposure in low- and middle-income countries, where 98%…
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Grief and Gratitude

By Bill Peck Humans gain insight by Linking trillions of cells Within each brain, stretching a Mirror vast and complex enough to Catch the entire universe Reflecting its amazing Beauty and wonder We need one another All seven billion of us To weave by our cultures The interlocking segments of Vision that together As if…
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Eco-Restorative Design: An Evolutionary Process toward Care for the Greater Community of Life

By Tim Watson, Principal, TLW Architect, Hillsborough, NC And God blessed them, and said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish Earth, and care for the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and every living thing that moves upon Earth.” —Genesis. 1:28 (paraphrase).  While pushing wheelbarrows on the community renewal…
Read More Eco-Restorative Design: An Evolutionary Process toward Care for the Greater Community of Life

Announcing the Second Edition of Matthew David Segall’s Physics Of The World-Soul and His Just Completed Dissertation on Cosmotheanthropic Imagination

Matthew David Segall is one of the brightest young philosophers around. He recently earned his PhD from the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program of the California Institute of Integral Studies. He was a student of Brian Swimme and fortunately will continue as a member of the CIIS faculty. He is taking a leading role in…
Read More Announcing the Second Edition of Matthew David Segall’s Physics Of The World-Soul and His Just Completed Dissertation on Cosmotheanthropic Imagination

Brian Swimme’s Podcast on “Why We Study the Universe” and Announcement of Online Graduate Program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies

By Herman Greene Few of us have the opportunity to hear Brian Swimme lecture. Here’s a fine 40-minute lecture by him on “Why We Study the Universe” of April 20, 2016. Brian teaches that cosmology is an inward desire and intention, we are one with the universe, and (of course) much more. Many of us…
Read More Brian Swimme’s Podcast on “Why We Study the Universe” and Announcement of Online Graduate Program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies

Free Yale University Online Classes: “Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times” (Two Courses); “The Worldview of Thomas Berry”; and “Living Cosmology”

Announcement by The Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale In the fall of 2016 Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Senior Lecturers and Research Scholars at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will offer four six-week online courses. These will be featured as a specialization under the theme of “Journey of the Universe: A Story for our Times.” This…
Read More Free Yale University Online Classes: “Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times” (Two Courses); “The Worldview of Thomas Berry”; and “Living Cosmology”

Toward Ecological Civilization—An Important New Nonprofit and Movement

Toward Ecological Civilization, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation (EcoCiv), emerged out of the vision of John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor of Theology (emeritus) of Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA, a 501(c)(3) organization (CST), and the work of the Center for Process Studies (CPS), a center within CST. Under the leadership of Cobb, CPS…
Read More Toward Ecological Civilization—An Important New Nonprofit and Movement

Innovation In Solar Technologies

Introduction Photovoltaic cells (PV) Batteries and storage Wireless transmission Concentrating solar power (CSP) Conclusion  Introduction Each day the news about climate change grows more disheartening, and the most disheartening aspect is that it didn’t have to happen. Energy sources able to supply power for human activities without wrecking the planet and altering its atmosphere have…
Read More Innovation In Solar Technologies

A Guide to the New Thomas Berry Website: It Will Not Disappoint

The new Thomas Berry website, http://thomasberry.org/, will not disappoint, be you a veteran  scholar or a new disciple. It is a good tool for understanding Thomas Berry, his contribution, and his influence. The site has a number of parts and functions: book store, summary of his contribution to our current moment, original source audio-video library,…
Read More A Guide to the New Thomas Berry Website: It Will Not Disappoint

Spring’s Promise

Editor’s Note: Mary Southard will be one of the leaders of the April 29-30, 2016, event on “Living the Creative Life: Art, Beauty, Ecology.” She will give a talk on “My Creative Life as an Artist” and will lead a workshop involving drawing with pastels. Her art is inspired, beautiful, heavenly. Both originals and prints…
Read More Spring’s Promise

In Memoriam: Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores (4 March 1973 – 3 March 2016)

Berta Cáceres was a Honduran environmental activist and leader of the Lenca people. She organized a grassroots campaign to prevent the building of dams on the Gualcarque River. The Lenca engaged in the dangerous fight against the project because of the harm it would cause to the environment, their access to water, food and medicine,…
Read More In Memoriam: Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores (4 March 1973 – 3 March 2016)

Living the Creative Life: Art, Beauty, Ecology

CES EVENT: “LIVING THE CREATIVE LIFE: ART, BEAUTY, ECOLOGY” APRIL 29-30, 2016, Church of Reconciliation, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Sandra Lubarsky, PhD; Mary Southard, CSJ; and Marcus Peter Ford, PhD Adult workshops on art, poetry writing, singing, movement, and poetry reading All-Day Saturday children’s workshop with Cely Chicurel of www.celyshouse.com Adult Programs – For more…
Read More Living the Creative Life: Art, Beauty, Ecology

The Chronicle

By Alice Loyd (through December 31, 2015) CLIMATE  The much-anticipated 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21), was held in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 12, 2015, with 196 nations participating. The adopted version of the Paris Agreement will become legally binding if joined by at…
Read More The Chronicle

What Is Different About CES? What Are the Next Steps for CES?

By Herman Greene, Founder and President, Center for Ecozoic Societies We invite your comments and questions on this article. Please send them to ecozoic.societies@gmail.com. I was recently asked, “What is different about CES?” My response was, “Our Ideas.” So how does that make CES different? There are many organizations concerned about ecological well-being, but there…
Read More What Is Different About CES? What Are the Next Steps for CES?

My Magic Manifesto

By Katherine Savage Katherine Savage lives next to the same patch of woods in which—as a child—she played, dreamed, and learned about being wild. Though this patch is thin now, the woods continue to speak; and she, in love with listening, keeps paper and pen with her at all times. She translates what she hears…
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CES Event: Ecology Beauty Art

CES EVENT: “ECOLOGY, BEAUTY, ART” Featuring Sandra Lubarsky, PhD; Mary Southard, CSJ; and Marc Ford, PhD Includes workshops on art, music, and poetry April 29-30, 2016 Chapel Hill, North Carolina The importance of beauty and of art for ecologically-minded people is underrated, or at least seldom discussed. “Aesthetics,” while remaining as a subject matter of…
Read More CES Event: Ecology Beauty Art

Five Years of Drought Now Rain–Three Rivers, California, A Country Village in the Foothills of the Sierra Mountains–I am Earth

  October 16, 2015. Coffee in hand, I wander in predawn darkness through my candle-lit living room. The outside doors are open to the sweet, fresh smells of wet soil from last night’s thunderstorm, a brief respite from our five-year drought. I let my dog out to sit on his deck bed where he can…
Read More Five Years of Drought Now Rain–Three Rivers, California, A Country Village in the Foothills of the Sierra Mountains–I am Earth

Uncompromising Sustainability: How the United Nations’ New Sustainable Development Goals Will Transform Our World

  The Center for Ecozoic Societies in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is one of many organizations grounded in the work of Thomas Berry. Thomas Berry was[1] a self-described “geologian,” a lover and student of Earth. He has been credited with beginning the spiritual ecology movement. With respect to the relation of ecology, religion, and culture,…
Read More Uncompromising Sustainability: How the United Nations’ New Sustainable Development Goals Will Transform Our World

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Dear world, I want to say “thank you” for the privilege of the joyous journey of life on this planet.  Each day is an adventure to learn more and see more of the splendid gifts in nature that surround us, if only we open our eyes and other senses to perceive them. Amen
Read More A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Re-Imagining Civilization as Ecological: Report on the “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization” Conference

The conference was highly anticipated. The invitation read: Some 1,000 presenters from more than 30 countries and 80 fields of specialty and are coming together for the most ambitious trans-disciplinary event ever held on behalf of the planet: “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization.” June 4-7, 2015, Claremont, CA. The conference is for everyone…
Read More Re-Imagining Civilization as Ecological: Report on the “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization” Conference

Agreement Reached on Outcome Document for the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda; UN Conference on Financing for Development Completed

AGREEMENT REACHED ON OUTCOME DOCUMENT FOR THE UN’S POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA; UN CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT COMPLETED As reported in CES Musings in our immediately preceding issue, 2015 is a signal year for sustainability with these highlight events: June 4-7, 2015 – Conference on “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization,” Pomona College, Claremont,…
Read More Agreement Reached on Outcome Document for the UN’s Post-2015 Development Agenda; UN Conference on Financing for Development Completed

Pope Francis and Integral Ecology

POPE FRANCIS AND INTEGRAL ECOLOGY By Sam Mickey Editor’s Note: This article was first published on the blog Becoming Integral: Coexistence in the Planetary Era and is reprinted with permission. Dr. Mickey teaches at the University of San Francisco in the Environmental Studies program and the Theology and Religious Studies department  The new encyclical by…
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Religion, Ecology, Race, and Cultural Evolution

Editor’s Note: This article was posted on June 23, 2015 on the blog Footnotes 2 Plato. Matthew David Segall is a doctoral candidate in philosophy and religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California. He recently chaired the session on “Late Modernity and Its Re-Imaging” at the conference on “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an…
Read More Religion, Ecology, Race, and Cultural Evolution

The Colder Winter Anomaly

Was it weather or was it climate? The colder winter anomaly in the Eastern United States For those of us in the eastern part of the United States, the shortest month was long and hard. About the time we recovered from one severe cold front, another moved in. February 2015 continued a trend James Hansen…
Read More The Colder Winter Anomaly

CES News

  CES to co-sponsor conference on “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization,” Claremont, California, June 4-7, 2015. The Center for Ecozoic Societies is now an official Co-Sponsor of the conference “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization,” Claremont, California, June 4-7, 2015.   Herman Greene to co-lead Law Track of conference on “Seizing an…
Read More CES News

Poem: Winter’s Wrap

Winter’s Wrap (February 21, 2015)   Snow Freezing rain Rain frozen Now a sheet of ice   More snow Lubricating the ice Down I go On my tail Do I have a tail?   Dogs slipping Cars slipping Children sledding And slipping   New snow A winter wonderland Evening falls Wind blows Snow flies from…
Read More Poem: Winter’s Wrap

“The earth,” “earth,” or “Earth?” What Should We Call Our Planet?

Should we call our planet “the earth,” “earth,” or “Earth”? Generally our planet should be called “Earth.” Like the other planets, it should be capitalized and generally not be preceded by “the.” When earth refers to soil, it should not be capitalized. We don’t say, the Mars, and certainly not the mars, or the Venus…
Read More “The earth,” “earth,” or “Earth?” What Should We Call Our Planet?

Imbolc

Thomas Berry calls for intimate rapport with Earth community and for celebrating the grand liturgy of the universe. He says that no viable mode of human presence on the planet will take place until this happens. We look for ancient and new ways to accomplish this. For many Celtic spirituality has become a primary resource….
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Imbolc 2015 Reflections

Hakima Betty Lou Chaika is Coordinator of the Ziraat Circle, Rose Heart Sufi Community At Imbolc we call back the sun and call forth the transformative flame of Brigid, the Celtic Goddess of healing, inspiration and creativity, as the natural world begins to awaken from its dream of hibernation. Embodied ritual opens us to the possibility…
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Alfred North Whitehead’s Process Thought and Related Ideas in the Works of Teilhard De Chardin, Brian Swimme, and Thomas Berry

Alfred North Whitehead was a British mathematician, logician, and philosopher. His early work, as a student and professor at Cambridge University, was on mathematics and logic. The second period, 1910-24, when he had appointments at University College London and Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, he concentrated on the philosophy of science. The…
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What Is Process Philosophy and Why Is It Important to the Ecozoic? Questions and Answers

What Is Process Philosophy? A process philosophy is one that understands the universe as continually becoming. In the Greek tradition Heraclitus said than no person ever steps into the same river twice. He was in the process tradition. Daoism and Buddhism are also in the process tradition. The opposite of process philosophy is not ontology,…
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Introduction to a Remarkable Essay and a Remarkable Young Philosopher: Matthew David Seagal

The following essay would be a stunning accomplishment by a person of any age. It is even more remarkable that it is by Matthew David Segall, a man in his twenties. Matthew undertakes with aplomb the task of making sense of modern science and evolutionary theory in light of Whitehead’s philosophy and also a vision…
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Physics of the World-Soul

Editor’s Note: Alfred North Whitehead was a British mathematician, logician and philosopher. His early work, as a student and professor at Cambridge University, was on mathematics and logic. The second period, 1910-24, when he had appointments at University College London and Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, he concentrated on the philosophy of…
Read More Physics of the World-Soul

The Chronicle

CLIMATE It’s all about climate. On Sunday, September 21, New York City saw what is being called the largest mobilization against climate change in the history of the planet. The crowd, estimated at 400,000 people of all ages and from around the world, filled midtown Manhattan streets to demand action to avert catastrophic climate change….
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The Anthropology And Political Ecology Of Climate Change

THE ANTHROPOLOGY AND POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF CLIMATE CHANGE (Course Syllabus – Fall 2014, Anthropology 490, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Professor Arturo Escobar Course Description This course is intended as an upper division seminar devoted to a study in contemporary anthropology and new directions in research or applications. There are few topics in…
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SIGNS OF THE ECOZOIC

SIGNS OF THE ECOZOIC By Alice Loyd (through August 31, 2014)   A great number of people are working to create a more livable future, and their activities have recently been given a new name—the anti-apocalyptic movement. Here CES Musings highlights some of the positive, life-serving collective actions that may lead to an Ecozoic future….
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ISSUES AFFECTING CONTEMPORARY PHYSICAL COSMOLOGY

ISSUES AFFECTING CONTEMPORARY PHYSICAL COSMOLOGY By Timothy E. Eastman, Ph.D. (Space Plasma Physicist)   A full consideration of issues in contemporary physical cosmology requires a treatment that includes philosophical presuppositions, scientific method, political and sociological issues, data and data analysis, basic science questions, and the consideration of viable alternatives. Brief notes on such considerations are…
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The Chronicle July-August 2014

The Chronicle By Alice Loyd (through August 31, 2014)   CLIMATE We begin this edition with the warming of Gaia. June 2014 was the hottest June we’ve ever had, and was the 352nd hotter-than-average month in a row.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on July 21 that June’s average global temperature was 16.2C…
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The Chronicle May-June 2014

The Chronicle By Alice Loyd (through July 2, 2014) Social Justice: Immigration Communications: Privacy Climate Change Pollution Shorts SOCIAL JUSTICE: IMMIGRATION The wave of immigrant children flooding Texas Border Patrol facilities calls our attention to a human dilemma that is bound to increase as climate change worsens, resources become scarcer, and governments lose ground to…
Read More The Chronicle May-June 2014

FREE THOMAS BERRY!

FREE THOMAS BERRY! By Herman Greene   I realize that the title of this article and the accompanying picture are provocative. Further, I understand they imply Thomas Berry has been restrained by someone or some group. I began this article under several other titles, but continued to come back to this one. I felt it…
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The Chronicle March-April 2014

The Chronicle By Alice Loyd (through April 30, 2014) CLIMATE Story 1: IPCC Working Group Reports on Adaptation to and Mitigation of Climate Change Released Perhaps the most important news event of spring 2014 was the release of two new reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Working Group II (Adaptation – this…
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CONSIDERING THE LEGACY AND FUTURE OF THOMAS BERRY’S WORK ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH

CONSIDERING THE LEGACY AND FUTURE OF THOMAS BERRY’S WORK ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH By Herman Greene   It seems there are multiple ways to appropriate the work of Thomas Berry. Common ways are in terms of the Universe Story, meaning the scientific account of the evolutionary development of the universe; eco-communalism, meaning…
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ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD’S PROCESS PHILOSOPHY IN RELATION TO DE CHARDIN, BERRY AND SWIMME

ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD’S PROCESS PHILOSOPHY IN RELATION TO DE CHARDIN, BERRY AND SWIMME By Herman Greene   Thomas Berry and Teilhard de Chardin, who greatly influenced Berry,[1] have been impressed by the story of the universe as narrative, and from this narrative have drawn conclusions about the nature of the universe. Their reflections were based…
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THOMAS BERRY, WHITEHEAD, DE CHARDIN, BEING, BECOMING, PROCESS AND ONTOLOGY

THOMAS BERRY, WHITEHEAD, DE CHARDIN, BEING, BECOMING, PROCESS AND ONTOLOGY By Herman Greene   Not always appreciated is the fact that Thomas Berry was the consummate scholar. As a Catholic Priest and a member of the Passionist Religious Order he received a classical education in philosophy and theology and earned a doctoral degree in history…
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CES Musings – March-April 2014

AT A GLANCE The Chronicle (March-April 2014) by Alice Loyd Climate Pollution Communications – Privacy Shorts ARTICLES by Herman Greene Considering the Legacy and Future of Thomas Berry’s Work on the Fifth Anniversary of His Death Thomas Berry, Whitehead, De Chardin, Being, Becoming, Process and Ontology Alfred North Whitehead’s Process Philosophy in Relation to De Chardin,…
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THE MULTIPLE FACES OF SCIENCE IN ETHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING

THE MULTIPLE FACES OF SCIENCE IN ETHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING By Herman Greene This paper was originally presented as a plenary lecture at the “Bounds of Ethics in a Globalized World” conference held at Christ University in Bangalore, India. There were over 500 participants in the Conference from 47 countries.  This is an essay on the…
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Upcoming Events

BARBARA MARX HUBBARD PUBLIC LECTURE AND WORKSHOP—FEBRUARY 21‐ 22, 2014, UNITED CHURCH OF CHAPEL HILL World renowned futurist and social visionary Barbara Marx Hubbard will be giving a public lecture on Friday, February 21, 2014, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at United Church of Chapel Hill followed by a full day workshop on Saturday,…
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CES Musings April 2011

In this issue: “Garden as if Your Life Depended On It, Because It Will,” by Ellen LaConte   “Excerpts on Gardening, Humans, Humus and Spirituality: Thomas Berry On Gardening and Children, Mary Oliver on ‘The God of Dirt,’ Humans, Humus and Gardening in Genesis, and ‘In the Garden’ (a gospel hymn),” selected by Herman Greene…
Read More CES Musings April 2011

What’s at Stake in Barbara Marx Hubbard’s Conscious Human Evolution?

What’s at Stake in Barbara Marx Hubbard’s Conscious Human Evolution?* By Marilyn McNamara Barbara Marx Hubbard lectured on “Conscious Evolution” in Chapel Hill on February 21, 2014, a presentation co-sponsored by CES, the C.G. Jung Society of the Triangle, Emerson Waldorf School, the Fenwick Foundation, Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute and United Church of Chapel Hill.  The…
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DOUGLASS HUNT LECTURERS FOR THOMAS BERRY COLLOQUIUM

DOUGLASS HUNT LECTURERS FOR THOMAS BERRY COLLOQUIUM The Douglass Hunt Lecture Series of the Carolina Seminars program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) has invited five distinguished lecturers to present at the “Colloquium on the Work of Thomas Berry: Development, Difference, Importance, Applications,” to be held on the UNC-CH campus, May…
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ACADEMIC COLLOQUIUM CRITICALLY ASSESSING THE WORK OF THOMAS BERRY

ACADEMIC COLLOQUIUM CRITICALLY ASSESSING THE WORK OF THOMAS BERRY, MAY 28-30, 2014, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL   On May 28-30, the Center for Ecozoic Societies and the Relationality Seminar of Carolina Seminars of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) will co-sponsor a “Colloquium on the Work of Thomas Berry:…
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THOMAS BERRY

THOMAS BERRY* By Michael Colebrook   Of all the writers and thinkers to have shaped what we now call GreenSpirit, by far the most influential was Thomas Berry. Thomas Berry, C.P. (November 9, 1914 – June 1, 2009) was a Catholic priest of the Passionist order, cultural historian and ecotheologian (although cosmologist and geologian –…
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A Prophetic Voice: Thomas Berry

A Prophetic Voice: Thomas Berry By Marjorie Hope and James Young Introduction Whenever Thomas Berry looks out over the Hudson River from his home at the Riverdale Center for Religious Research, he experiences anew “the gorgeousness of the natural world.” The Earth brings forth a display of beauty in such unending profusion, a display so…
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Report on Peter London Workshop: “Artists are Not Illustrators, Rather Art is a Work of Relationship”

REPORT ON PETER LONDON WORKSHOP: “ARTISTS ARE NOT ILLUSTRATORS, RATHER ART IS A WORK OF RELATIONSHIP” By Alice Loyd   CES, featuring the leadership of artist and master teacher Peter London, held its first artists’ workshop on September 27 and 28, 2013. From the first lecture through the closing exercise, the sessions were marked by…
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AUTUMN

AUTUMN   I love autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for The beauty of it. ~Lee Maynard Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance ~Yoko Ono
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CES Musings – September-October 2013

In This Issue: Autumn The Chronicle (September-October 2013) From Alice Loyd Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report Summary; Climate Panel’s Fifth Report Clarifies Humanity’s Choices; Climate Panel Cites Near Certainty on Warming; What 95% Certainty of Warming means to Scientists; Politics Is Poorly Suited to Address Global Warming; We Need Climate Change Risk Assessment; Anger…
Read More CES Musings – September-October 2013

WALKING TO NEW HOPE CREEK: LANDSCAPE HISTORY AND ECOLOGICAL CHANGE

WALKING TO NEW HOPE CREEK: LANDSCAPE HISTORY AND ECOLOGICAL CHANGE By Norman Christensen, Ph.D.   Norman Christensen was the Founding Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University where he continues to work as a research professor. He is also past President of the Ecological Society of America. The text below was…
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CES Musings – June 2013

In This Issue: 2014 Colloquium and Conference on Thomas Berry’s Legacy and Promise Naming a New Geological Era: The Ecozoic Era, Its Meaning and Historical Antecedents The Chronicle Alaska to Africa: It’s Hot (June 20, 2013), by Jim Heck Moral Mondays in North Carolina, by Herman Greene Become a Member
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NAMING A NEW GEOLOGICAL ERA: THE ECOZOIC ERA, ITS MEANING AND HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS

NAMING A NEW GEOLOGICAL ERA: THE ECOZOIC ERA, ITS MEANING AND HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS By Allysyn Kiplinger*   1. Introduction The universe gropes its way forward in fits and starts, progressing by trial and error through a multiplicity of attempts and efforts, moving in many directions as it looks for a breakthrough to leap forward in evolution…
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2014 COLLOQUIUM AND CONFERENCE ON THOMAS BERRY’S LEGACY AND PROMISE: MAY 28-30 AND MAY 30-JUNE 1, 2014

2014 COLLOQUIUM AND CONFERENCE ON THOMAS BERRY’S LEGACY AND PROMISE: MAY 28-30 AND MAY 30-JUNE 1, 2014  The year 2014 will be the 100th anniversary of Thomas Berry’s birth (November 9, 1914) and the fifth anniversary of his death (June 1, 2009).  Thomas Berry’s work is significant because of the work it has inspired, but…
Read More 2014 COLLOQUIUM AND CONFERENCE ON THOMAS BERRY’S LEGACY AND PROMISE: MAY 28-30 AND MAY 30-JUNE 1, 2014

CES Musings – May 2013

In This Issue: Meeting of the Ethics and Spirituality Initiative for Sustainable Development, New York City, May 14, 2013, by Herman Greene Culture: Key to Sustainable Development, Hangzhou (China) International Congress, May 15- 17, 2013 The Hangzhou Declaration: Placing Culture at the Heart of Sustainable Development Policies Great Transition Stories for Becoming a Global Eco-Civilization,…
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The Chronicle – May 2013

The Chronicle – May 2013 Our readers are invited to present their own reports of what they are paying attention to in the transition from economic-industrial ecological-cultural societies.   Herman Greene – 2052: What Do We Ask of the Future?   I hope for a future that will be good for me, my children and…
Read More The Chronicle – May 2013

THE HANGZHOU DECLARATION: PLACING CULTURE AT THE HEART OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

THE HANGZHOU DECLARATION: PLACING CULTURE AT THE HEART OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES (Adopted at the World Cultural Forum in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, on May 17, 2013)   We, the participants gathered in Hangzhou on the occasion of the International Congress “Culture: Key to Sustainable Development” (15-17 May 2013), wish to express our gratitude…
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GREAT TRANSITION STORIES FOR BECOMING A GLOBAL ECO-CIVILIZATION

GREAT TRANSITION STORIES FOR BECOMING A GLOBAL ECO-CIVILIZATION Duane Elgin   Humanity’s Journey to Great Transition In recent speeches, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has described our world as moving through a time of “Great Transition”: Throughout the ages, people have said that the world is in the midst of big change. But the…
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MEETING OF THE ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, NEW YORK CITY, MAY 14, 2013

MEETING OF THE ETHICS AND SPIRITUALITY INITIATIVE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, NEW YORK CITY, MAY 14, 2013 Herman Greene   Every once in a while, a meeting stands out as being of potentially great significance. Such was the meeting of the 20 people, listed below, who gathered in the Forum 21 Research Institute’s Green Building in…
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The Lurking Inconsistency

The Lurking Inconsistency[1] By Herman Daly   Ecological economics of course has roots in ecology and biology as well as in economics. Most of ecological economists’ and steady-state economists’ time has been well-spent correcting economics in the light of biology and ecology. And there is still more to do in this direction. However, we should…
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We Cannot Act Effectively in the World Without an Adequate Understanding of the Nature of the World

We Cannot Act Effectively in the World Without an Adequate Understanding of the Nature of the World[1] By Herman Greene   How we understand the nature of the world is our philosophy whether we use the term philosophy or not. We cannot act effectively in the world without an adequate understanding of the nature of…
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The Chronicle – April 2013

The Chronicle Our readers are invited to present their own reports of what they are paying attention to in the transition from economic-industrial ecological-cultural societies. Herman Greene – The Sacred and Sustaining Values Alice Loyd’s article in this issue made me think of sustaining values that would take us through difficult periods of transition related…
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Twelve Understandings Concerning the Ecozoic Era (a CES Foundational Statement)

The Nature of the Universe 1.         The Unity of the universe. The universe as a whole is an interacting community of beings inseparably related in space and time. From its beginning, the universe has had a psychic-spiritual as well as a physical dimension. The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of…
Read More Twelve Understandings Concerning the Ecozoic Era (a CES Foundational Statement)

Resilient Sustainability

Resilient Sustainability By Mike Bell   In 1972, the book Limits to Growth[1] was published. It was the result of a research project commissioned by the Club of Rome and developed by a team of scientists, many of them from MIT. The prime author was Donella Meadows, and her husband, Dennis Meadows, was the Project…
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Perspectives on Limits to Growth: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Planet

Perspectives on Limits to Growth: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Planet 1 March 2012   9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Club of Rome and the Smithsonian Institution’s Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet hosted a one-day symposium on March 1, 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launching of Limits to Growth, the first report to the…
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The Chronicle – March 2013

The Chronicle (March 31, 2013) Our readers are invited to present their own reports of what they are paying attention to in the transition from economic-industrial ecological-cultural societies.   Herman Greene – Are We Entering a Period of Uncontrolled Decline? Thomas Berry would often speak from the template of where are we, how did we…
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The Chronicle – February 2013

The Chronicle  Here we begin the “chronicle” portion of this online magazine, the chronicle of what we believe is a global transition from economic-industrial to ecological-cultural societies. In each issue of Musings authors will share their reflections on what they see going on in relation to this transition, both good and bad. We invite our…
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CES Musings – January 2013

2013, twelve years after we began publishing, we begin anew with the next stage of CES Monthly Musings. We of CES have had to ask ourselves what we can contribute that will be beneficial when there are now so many other email newsletters and blogs covering all aspects of environmental awareness and sustainability. We have…
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CES Musings – July 2012

IN THIS ISSUE VIDEO • Isn’t this What the Ecozoic Is All About? – Abundant Life! REVIEW OF MATTHEW FOX’S EVENT IN CHAPEL HILL AND DVDS • Eco-Spirituality: A Weekend with Matthew Fox (April 27-28, Chapel Hill, NC), reviewed by Marilyn McNamara • DVDs of Matthew Fox Weekend on Eco-Spirituality Are Available REPORTS ON RIO+20 •…
Read More CES Musings – July 2012

CES Musings – June 2012

IN THIS ISSUE • ¿Qué Pasó? CES Monthly (?) Musings • Rio+20: Third UN Earth Summit (June 20-22), Sustainability Dialogues (June 16-19), and People’s Summit (June 13-23, 2012) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • Is “Sustainable Development” an Oxymoron? • The Ethics and Spirituality Initiative for Sustainable Development in Connection with Rio+2 • Rio+20 and the Earth Charter • The Wisdom of Youth: Children’s Sustainable Development Goals
Read More CES Musings – June 2012

CES Musings September-December 2011

IN THIS ISSUE MUSE “CES 2012,” Herman Greene “Economic Problems, Cultural Solutions” D. Paul Schafer “Powered with Compassion: Joanna Macy and the Work that Reconnects,” Hope V. Horton   REVIEW Ervin Lazlo and Allan Combs, eds., Thomas Berry, Dreamer of the Earth: The Spiritual Ecology of the Father of Environmentalism (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2011),…
Read More CES Musings September-December 2011

CES Musings August 2011

IN THIS ISSUE MUSE CES’s New Logo and Motto Publications of the Center for Ecozoic Societies The Age of Austerity   NEWS World’s First Ecozoic Cuisine Website Death of Lou Niznik – Chronicler of the Ecozoic Death of Peter Berg–Father of Bioregionalism Keystone XL Pipeline, Consequences, Mass Protests and Arrests Climate Change Causes Migrations Increase…
Read More CES Musings August 2011

CES Musings – July 2011

New Name The Center for Ecozoic Studies is now the Center for Ecozoic Societies. The purpose of CES is to foster ecozoic societies; ecozoic studies is a means to that end. New Mission Statement CES’s mission is to advance new understandings and ways of living for an ecological age. We do this through publishing, education,…
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CES Musings June 2011

IN THIS ISSUE: “July Issue of CES Monthly Musings: New Format, and Focus on Reframing CES” “Identity and Difference: On Being Hungarian, American, Christian and Buddhist,” by Les Muray “Mutually Enhancing Relations: Buck the film, and the Orangutan and the Hound,” by Herman Greene
Read More CES Musings June 2011

CES Musings February 2011

In this issue: “Definition of Ecological Democracy,” “The Theory of Building an Ecological Civilization: Postulates and Corollaries,” and “The Practice of Building an Ecological Civilization: Renewable Energy Super Grids, Ecological Consumption Taxation, and Global Catalytic Dynamics,” Each by Roy Morrison
Read More CES Musings February 2011

CES Musings January 2011

In this issue: “Living in Accord with the Rules of Life: A Review of Ellen LaConte’s Life Rules,” By Herman Greene       Ellen LaConte has worked freelancing articles, essays and stories for magazines including The Sun, East/West Journal, New Perspectives, Odyssey, Country Journal, Countryside, Convergence and Gaia: A Literary & Environmental Journal, and…
Read More CES Musings January 2011

CES Musings April 2010

Climate justice as equality and as dignity are on a collision course. Equality calls for postponing action on climate until the conditions of equality of development are satisfied. Dignity demands action immediately unless the future of, for example, the Maldives is to be sacrificed. The important core is human rights—the right to have a decent and gracious life.
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CES Musings June 2010

In this issue: “The Importance of Thomas Berry,” by Center for Ecozoic Societies “Celebrating Thomas on EAARTH,” by Angela Manno “The Most Succinct Presentation of Thomas Berry’s Ideas,” by Thomas Berry “Is It Ethical to Ride on Airplanes?,” by one of our readers
Read More CES Musings June 2010

CES Musings May 2010

Scientists in the former Soviet Union called for an ecological civilization in 1984. The idea was taken up in China by Ye Qianji in 1987. The Chinese as a whole rejected a separation of man and nature in the sense that one could become whole without the other. This aspect of Chinese traditional culture had a great impact on Thomas Berry’s thinking. Robert Woolf prefers the term “culture,” the necessarily local way a group of people have learned to live in balance with each other and with their local environment.
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CES Musings March 2010

We have entered in a completely new horizontal historical dimension, where the simultaneous transmission of facts, disrupts each order of succession between past and presence, while the bombardment of information causes confusion and disorientation in the thought. Nobility (ever set on excelling oneself) underlies civilization; each generation has to reproduce it afresh based ideas from the past.
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CES Musings December 2009

For many, the experience of Thomas’s thought was a sudden, powerful opening to a hitherto unsuspected major and life-altering reality. That reality might be expressed as the unity of a sacred Earth community in which humans are [but] the climactic part in a unified, divinely revelatory, evolutionary enterprise.
Read More CES Musings December 2009

CES Musings November 2009

The universe is so vast it will answer any cosmological question we put to it. Newton asked: “What are the principles of motion and action?” Einstein asked: “What are the meanings of time and moving frames of reference?” It is now time to ask the universe a new cosmological question: “What is love?”
Read More CES Musings November 2009

CES Musings September 2009

To bring into being the Ecozoic Era means building an ecological civilization, moving from a human-centered to an Earth-centered norm of reality and value. In this issue we call for ecozoic writing to be published in The Ecozoic #3; honor deceased ecozoic author Edward Goldsmith; and offer two poems by Therése Halscheid.
Read More CES Musings September 2009

CES Musings May 2009

In a visit with Thomas Berry near the end of his life, I was grounded by looking down at his familiar shoes. I had once washed mud from them, and at another time, in a moment of spiritual vertigo, I had studied his black shoes steady on the floor under the table.
Read More CES Musings May 2009

CES Musings April 2009

A public protest on April 20, 2009 in Charlotte, NC, called attention to the Cliffside coal plant, a symbol of the suicidal momentum now driving collective human conduct. Cliffside is well-named in this respect, since burning coal is one of the most dangerous features of the pattern that has put us at the edge of the cliff. 44 people risked arrest through civil disobedience, stepping over an orange line drawn around Duke Energy headquarters. Attendee Alice Loyd and arrestee Lib Hutchby report their reasons for participation.
Read More CES Musings April 2009

CES Musings January 2009

I’ve seen people return with slightly glazed eyes. I’d heard about them, those “huddled masses,” “those who live on less than a dollar a day,” “the bottom half.” Most people. But I hadn’t really seen them until I went to India. Now I understand in a new way that humans are part of nature.
Read More CES Musings January 2009

CES Musings – January 2008

In this issue: “Comparing Thomas Berry’s “Twelve Principles of the Universe” written at the Riverdale Center (before 1994) with the “Twelve Principles of the Universe” in Evening Thoughts (2006),” by Herman Greene; “Dave Cook’s Book Events,” by Dave Cook and Joanna Haymore “CES in 2008” by Herman Greene.
Read More CES Musings – January 2008

CES Musings – March 2007 (4)

Herman Greene – Further Thoughts on the April 21 Service Group Meeting of CES This issue of Musings will be a disappointment for the new members of the list, especially those who are not in the Raleigh-Durham Area of North Carolina. The next Musings (April 7 edition) will move back to the general topics this publication is…
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CES Musings – March 2007 (2)

This week’s musings cover Ellen LaConte on the Great Transition, Thomas’ Earth Jurisprudence and CES, Marc Dreyfors on Thomas’ Earth Jurisprudence Principle 6, Herman Greene on Marc Dreyfors’ Thoughts on Principle 6 of Thomas’ Earth Jurisprudence, Richard Reiger in gratitude and praise for CES, and Herman Greene on an April Service Group meeting for CES and next steps.
Read More CES Musings – March 2007 (2)

CES Musings – February 2007 (2)

Here is a question I have that stems from my reading Thomas Berry’s (and Mary Evelyn Tucker’s) book Evening Thoughts. On. p. 45, Berry writes “Humans as a planetary presence are currently terminating the Cenozoic era of Earth history and entering the Ecozoic era. This geological shift is marked by the fact that the sixth extinction spasm is…
Read More CES Musings – February 2007 (2)