I’m optimistic about The 11th Hour documentary because it features many Bioneers. If you don’t know about the Bioneers, the best way to learn about them is to go to their annual conference every October in Northern California, or attend one of their many satellite gatherings (see their site for locations and schedule). Though they look at the world critically, they also offer solutions. The conference is one of the few places that leaves me believing that there is a way out of our mess, and that practical solutions do exist. My sense is that the movie, though alarming in its trailer, will offer solutions as well.
Bioneers was conceived to conduct programs in the conservation of biological and cultural diversity, traditional farming practices, and environmental restoration.Our vision of environment encompasses the natural landscape, cultivated landscape, biodiversity, cultural diversity, watersheds, community economics, and spirituality. Bioneers seeks to unite nature, culture and spirit in an Earth-honoring vision, and create economic models founded in social justice.
Restoration addresses the premise that “sustainability” is problematic in the context of an environment that is already depleted. As Paul Hawken has noted, sustainability is simply the midpoint between destruction and restoration. The goal of Bioneers is restoration, addressing the interdependent array of economics, jobs, ecologies, cultures, and communities.
Bioneers are biological pioneers who are working with nature to heal nature and ourselves. They have peered deep into the heart of living systems to devise strategies for restoration based on nature’s own operating instructions. They come from many cultures and perspectives, and all walks of life.
Bioneers are scientists and artists, gardeners and economists, activists and public servants, architects and ecologists, farmers and journalists, priests and shamans, policymakers and citizens. They are everyday people committed to preserving and supporting the future of life on Earth. They herald a dawning Age of Restoration founded in natural principles of kinship, interdependence, cooperation, reciprocity, and community.
Uniting nature, culture, and spirit, Bioneers embody a change of heart – a spiritual connection with the living world that is grounded in social justice. Their pragmatic strategies effectively address many of our most pressing ecological and societal challenges.
Above all, Bioneers represent a culture of solutions. Their stories demonstrate that just as people have created the environmental and social problem we face, people can solve them – through a reciprocal partnership with nature. Over and over, they show how great a difference the actions of one individual can make.
Technorati Tags: bioneers, 11th Hour
Tags: Activism, Documentary, Ecology
For everyone that is a Paul Hawken fan, I recommend checking out his latest book, Blessed Unrest. Which is both a description of the unprecedented number of organizations and people working towards social justice and environmental restoration and a history of the intellectuals that inform their work.
I think one of the most important analogies Paul makes is between this new type of social movement and the immune system. The success of the immune system depends on the quality of its connections and the social movement’s success depends on the same. Connections, rather than the strength of any individual organization or person, will set the stage for our success. And as a result of Paul’s research, his staff created WiserEarth, an online tool to improve the quality of the connections between the millions of organizations and people that work in social justice, the environment and indigenous rights.
Great site. Thanks for the link and the comment. You are right on!