The Human Prospect: a new CES study group launching May 2026

We are pleased to announce a new study group beginning in May: The Human Prospect. Please see the below message from Herman Greene for more information and your invitation to join this journey.

In 2021, the Center for Ecozoic Studies began a series of study groups on creating the Ecozoic era.
 
●       2021 – Climate Change and Energy
●       2022 – Humans and the Biosphere
●       2023 – Regenerative Economics
●       2024 – Ecocentric Governance
●       2025 – Ecozoic Culture
●       2026 – The Human Prospect

The 2026 study is an extension of the Ecozoic Culture study, so it can be thought of as a study on “Ecozoic Culture and the Human Prospect.”

The 2026 study will begin on Tuesday, May 12, and end on Tuesday, July 28. Each Tuesday there will be two concurrent sessions, one may come to either or both. The first will be from noon to 1:30 pm NYC time, and the second will be from 7:00 to 8:30 pm NYC time. The studies will be held on Zoom. There will be no charge for joining the studies, however voluntary contributions in recognition of CES’s work in hosting the studies will be appreciated.

What will this study cover?

Each of our past studies concerned the relations of humans with nature. This closing study will consider the prospect for humans themselves as members of Earth community.

Participants will be encouraged to make presentations on the human prospect during the study sessions. They may speak about issues such as these:

•    What is human nature and how capable are humans of adapting?
•    The meaning of Thomas Berry’s phrase “reinvent the human”
•    How tightly bound are humans to modernity?
•    What is the fate of our species?
•    Ecozoic culture and humans
•    Ecological literacy, intimacy with nature, and other survival skills
•    Coping with a degraded Earth
•    Extinction of humans (yes/no), good for planet and cosmos (yes/no)
•    A way forward
•    What does Earth want humans to be
•    Where are we as a species, what will need to change, the likelihood of such change, what would or would not make change possible
•    Obstacles to thriving: economic, cultural, political, biological, geological
•    War, weapons of mass destruction, pandemics

In general, the question to be considered  in the study is “Earthbound as we are, what is the prospect for humans at this point in geostory?”

As with past studies, at the end of the studies participants will be encouraged to submit articles for the final Ecozoic Journal in this series, which will be titled, “Creating the Ecozoic Era: Ecozoic Culture and the Human Prospect.”

Please contact Herman Greene if you wish to participate in this study
 
CES will announce the study to its email list and will spread word about the study in other ways. People who are interested in participating should email Herman Greene at h.greene@ecozoicstudies.org. If you are new to CES (and thus unknown to Herman Greene), please submit a short description of yourself and why you wish to participate in this study.
 
What are the expectations for participants?
 
Participants will be expected to regularly attend meetings, engage in a self-directed study related to the study group, share their area of study by making a presentation, write an article on their area of study for publication in The Ecozoic Journal, and engage in dialogue with other members of the study.
 
When will the study begin?
 
The study will begin on May 12, 2026.
 
Herman Greene