What is Ecological Civilization
Crisis, Hope, and the Future of the
Published on 5. September 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-940447-41-4 (ISBN)
Description
The present trajectory of life on this planet is unsustainable, and the underlying causes of our environmental crisis are inseparable from our social and economic systems. The massive inequality between the rich and the poor is not separate from our systems of unlimited growth, the depletion of natural resources, the extinction of species, or global warming. As climate predictions continue to exceed projections, it is clear that hopelessness is rapidly becoming our worst enemy. What is needed—urgently—is a new vision for the flourishing of life on this planet, a vision the authors are calling an ecological civilization. Along the way they have learned that this term brings hope unlike any other. It reminds us that humans have gone through many civilizations in the past, and the end of a particular civilization does not necessarily mean the end of humanity, much less the end of all life on the planet. It is not hard for us to conceive of a society after the fall of modernity, in which humans live in an equitable and sustainable way with one another and the planet. This book explores the idea of ecological civilization by asking eight key questions about it and drawing answers from relational philosophies, the ecological sciences, systems thinking and network theory, and the world’s religious and spiritual traditions. It concludes that a genuinely ecological civilization is not a utopian ideal, but a practical way to live. To recognize this, and to begin to take steps to establish it, is the foundation for realistic hope.
More details
Language
English
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
265 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-940447-41-4 (9781940447414)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Philip Clayton, Ingraham Professor at CST at Willamette University, holds a PhD from Yale University and has published several dozen books and some two hundred research articles, as well as holding guest professorships at Harvard University, Cambridge University, and the University of Munich. Philip works at the intersection of science, religion, and ethics and researches societal changes that are necessary for establishing sustainable forms of civilization on this planet. Philip is the president of the Institute for Ecological Civilization (EcoCiv.org).
Kelli M. Archie is the senior science advisor at the Institute for Ecological Civilization. She has a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is a native of Colorado. Her previous research addresses climate change adaptation in the United States, the Indian Himalayas, Vanuatu, and New Zealand. Kelli currently lives on the side of a ski run high in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, Tim, and their four young daughters.
Jonah Sachs is the director of One Project. He is the co-founder of Free Range Studios, one of the minds behind the Story of Stuff series, and the best-selling author of Winning the Story Wars.
Evan Steiner works to address global issues at their roots, focusing on structural issues within economics, finance, and business that are causing harm to people and the planet. His passion is building infrastructure that enables new economic paradigms based on ethics, ecological regeneration, and human flourishing. His current role is supporting partnerships and strategy for One Project, a social venture working to create new forms of governance and economics that are equitable, ecological, and effective.