The New Ecozoic Reader No.1

In this next phase of CES’s work, we commit to serving ecozoans by being a place where ecozoans come to share, being a source of wisdom and information for ecozoans, and engaging in collaborative action with ecozoans.

A Poem

A number of significant articles and reports on the state of Earth have come out in the last year. These reports cover the continuing degradation of Earth’s life systems and loss of biodiversity, and they indicate an increasingly difficult path to meeting goals for global warming and preserving a habitable planet for humans and other species. On the good side they also show increasing concern and involvement of people and organizations at every level for responding to these challenges.

After four years of presidential malice and incompetence, a Trump-incited insurrection, two impeachments, and a pandemic, what else could go wrong? Many things actually. Just below nuclear war is the growing threat of a rapidly destabilizing climate. The 45th president and his enablers wasted four years that we did not have to waste to avert the worst outcomes. Instead, they diverted the United States down into a fact-free rabbit hole of tweets, QAnon, Fox news, Newsmax, and Sinclair news—each spreading lies that fed on gullibility and political cowardice. Meanwhile back on planet Earth, here is what we know.

Pre-colonial Indigenous Americans were able to support complex societies with extensive agriculture as well as building large cities and towns without degrading the environment. Indeed, the capitalist-driven invasion and destruction of these civilizations, replacing them with use of land to produce non-food crops while industrializing food productions triggered the onset of man-made climate change, which is now threatens the destruction of all life on the planet.

Human civilizations, while their histories have been checkered, have aimed at betterment of the human condition in terms of health, wealth, education, security, justice, freedom, and morality. These civilizations have taken various relations to Nature. The ability of such Nature to support human and other life has not, however, until recently been an issue. For the first time, humans are dealing with a globalized eonomy and culture, planetary limits, environmental human rights, the rights of Nature, and the rights of future generations.

Living into a Continual Reframing of Societies

From the teachings of Daesun Jinrihoe, the idea of 解怨相生 aims to promote the Betterment of Others and Achieve Eternal Harmony with One Another. For followers of these teachings, 冤, Grievance, is one kind of feeling that which always brings conflict to people in different levels. The feelings which the supporters of the two parties have are the kind of grievance. Therefore, Haewonsangsaeng is the way to resolve grievances via emotion.

Ecozoans are people who live the ecozoic and are engaged in the Great Work. To live the ecozoic is to live in life-giving ways with appreciation and concern for life in all of its diverse forms. To be engaged in the Great Work means to be consciously aware of our moment in the history of Earth and to be engaged in bringing into being an ecological age.

Ecozoic studies concern the art and skill of living well in Earth Community. Modern humans are not very good at this. There are exceptions ancient and contemporary— and from these exceptional human individuals and communities we need to learn— but broadly speaking, we moderns are not very good at this.

A Poem