Category — deep ecology

Nova Scotia deep ecologist and writer David Orton believes that the work of deceased Canadian deep ecologist John Livingston (1923-2006) deserves to be better known in the activist community. Orton suggests that Livingston’s writing forces the reader to face up to what is required for the Earth’s survival and is thus extremely important for today’s rapidly disintegrating ecological and social world. (This article first appeared in Green Web Bulletin #79 )

With the growing complexity and interdependence of ecosystems in the entire planet, these social organizations pose a grave threat to human beings, to the environment, and to non-human species. Incorrect decisions made at the top of the human power structure can easily propagate, augment their impact, and affect a great number of humans as well as animals of the non-human world. Decentralisation of power and “local” solutions seem to offer the only remedies that can avert us from imminent global destruction.

Have you ever experienced a situation in which you meditate on an idea for some time and, surprisingly, acquire confirmations from various sources? Such coincidences brought Russian writer Victor Postnikov to the idea of ‘lost tactility,’ and the need for us to regain it through poetry and magic.

Alexander Blok (1880–1921) was one of the greatest Russian lyricists of the 20th century. A posthumous collection of his poetry became a constant source of inspiration for writer and translator Victor Postnikov. This small book of verse from his father’s library launched him on his quest to to preserve Russian poetry.

The reason that we are in a climate emergency is that our western culture has been in a ‘cultural trance’ for about 60 years, drunk on oil and living in a delusional bubble. How do you tell someone that their house is on fire? Writer and Buddhist Dharmagaian Suzanne Duarte attempts to do just that.

Newtonian science accepts the Cartesian chasm without critiquing it, writes Italian eco-centrist Guido Dalla Casa. His review of the major philosophical breakthroughs in western scientific thinking of the past century concludes that a new scientific paradigm that includes the natural world must arise.

Global Warming For Dummies can raise a person’s general level of knowledge about climate change. But by offering solutions from an individualist perspective and promoting optimism in fighting climate change, Green Party leader Elizabeth May has chosen to play the Pollyanna, writes David Orton in this critical review.

Norwegian eco-philosopher Arne Naess died on Monday January 12th, 2009 age 96. Naess promoted Deep Ecology, an intimate and all-embracing relationship between the Earth and humans that inspired environ-mentalists and Green political activists around the world. Here is leading left-biocentrist David Orton’s eulogy to him.

Left Biocentrism began with the work of David Orton and his Green Web. It combines Deep Ecology with an equally serious commitment to social justice and contemporary spirtuality. Politically, Left Biocentrists include social democratic, liberal (in the Millsian sense), anarchist and most forms of socialist, as well as feminist thinkers, who believe that any positive ecological change must address collective social and political structures as much as personal, psychological and spiritual ones. Author Patrick Curry traces the roots of this Earth-centric philosophy.

The main premise of the poetic paradigm is that the mind has an intimate connection with poetry, which imparts greater meaning to life. This connection has been recognized by many poets and philosophers of the past; however, it is now that their ideas seem vital for raising human consciousness and saving the planet. Writer, poet, and translator Victor Postnikov traces the poetic vision of humanity as a constant struggle for greater consciousness, and shows its relevancy for contemporary society.