Can Yogic Philosophy Save the Planet?

Recently I came across this article in “Planet Green”. It struck me that with all the problems and proffered technological and scientific solutions for climate change, we still haven’t addressed the “human factor” of cause and effect and the need for reintegration of the human species into the whole web of life as a species within it and not separate from it.  The human ego and desire for “things” and instant gratification has created havoc with our natural resources and disposal thereof. We cannot find solutions in isolation of the whole.

We cannot expect to have a healthy human race without a healthy, balanced natural world which we depend upon for our very survival. All species are equal in their own right and all species play a part in the great biodiversity of our planet home. We will have to put our great minds to finding solutions that embrace both the health and well-being of our environment and of human health and not race to euphoric solutions that can make gobs of money in the short term.  We have to think differently from the past.  Otherwise we will create another environmental nightmare, more pollution and more disease.  For example, do we know what nanoparticles will do to the environment or human health when they are released into non-targeted areas?  Or do we really know that GMO will not damage the human body or the environment?

Quick fixes ARE NOT the answer.  Huge profits should not be the first motivation. Careful, deep and mindful deliberation is demanded of us now.   Many solution ideas will come and go. We must take care not to rush into “the” answer of which there are many examples: biofuels that not only take up land and water, but having the awareness that our biodiversity is at stake here.  That wind turbines can kill birds and bats; and desalination has to address the excess salt issue; and nuclear power the radioactive waste neutralization.  Are solar panels biodegradable when finally disposed of?  We have great scientific minds on the planet.   Let them put this greatness to good use and expand our myopic, specialized categorical thinking to cross-pollinate solutions.  Nothing should be manufactured that is not biodegrable and that hasn’t taken into account the end-of-life cycle impact. Thinking things through to it’s ultimate end and how our behavior and products impact the entire web of life is crucial so we can move forward in a commonsense and reasonable “do no harm” manner.  It is time to exercise our wisdom and deep intuition that we are all in this together and no one thing will escape a major eco collapse on this planet.  (see my blog “An Urgent Memo to The World”)

Realigning into a Sense of Wholeness with our Natural world

PLANET GREEN: A study recently released by Worldwatch, which I saw on Grist, makes this clear. According to the study,

“More than 6.8 billion human beings are now demanding ever greater quantities of material resources, decimating the world’s richest ecosystems, and dumping billions of tons of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere each year.”

The study continues by concluding that the problem will just get worse and worse as more and more developing nations undergo industrialization. (more….)

Can Yogic Philosophy Save the Planet? : Planet Green.

COPENHAGEN: It’s up To Us

Copenhagen: Unrealistic Expectations?

Saturday, December 19, 2009

It is not the expectations that were unrealistic, but the limited time frame in which we expected such mammoth life-changing decisions to be made with global consensus.

Let us be very clear. Although much of the world has been pre-occupied with global economical woes, there will be no economy or jobs if the climate and eco-systems collapse. We have to find a way to restore the health of the planet while creating a (new) economy that works for all. And we cannot find new paradigm solutions with old paradigm models.

We are in a New World

Now that the UN Copenhagen Summit has ended with so many expectations unmet, there will be lots of recriminations, “shooting from the hip” accusations and plenty of blame going around. The World as a collective political body, cannot turn on a dime – they need time to deliberate, jockey for position and short of a major catastrophe (God Forbid) the wheels of politics and government move slowly – particularly in a democracy. It is not as if the world is going to end tomorrow – and, in their minds, the matter can be deferred while they attend to more pressing domestic issues – like the economic crisis – and their re-elections. The pressure must be kept on.

The U.N. may need restructuring for 21st Century needs, but before we slam it let’s get educated on what it is and what it can and cannot do: WHAT IS THE UNITED NATIONS: http://ow.ly/OmTP

What Was Copenhagen? About 45000 traveled to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen – the vast majority convinced of the need for a new global agreement on climate change. So why did the summit end without one – and without agreement?

An Urgent Memo to the World (updated)

One World

One Humanity

One Environment

FINDING A WAY FOR THE GREATER GOOD

An Urgent Task

Embracing Human Health, Social, Economic and Environmental Issues as One Wholistic Organism

A new paradigm has formed on planet earth requiring a fundamental awareness and consciousness shift on the part of humanity. Faced with many of the old business, economic and social models rapidly disintegrating, our eco systems decimated and the dignity of cultures dismantled, the world population is in need of a strong message of reconnection and hope. The high-flying party is over. It is time for us to come down to earth – Mother Earth.

OUR HOME: We Live on a Wondrously Diverse Planet and We are a vital, integral species within the Magnificent Web of Life not separate from it. Nature needs us. Let us Honor and Respect That.

THE GREAT AWAKENING

Over the past 50 odd years we have become preoccupied with, and fixated on, our man-made lives of production and consumption and profit. In this process we have increasingly excluded Nature and Humanity from our daily decisions and equations. We can now see how this myopia has wreaked havoc upon both our environment and ourselves.

While we were flying high our natural world began to get sick, really sick . We forgot that we abide in Mother Nature’s womb. Just as we depended on our mother for nurturing and sustenance while in her womb, we depend on Mother Nature’s health, abundance and generosity for our daily nurturing and sustenance and FOR SURVIVAL as a species.

Cheap Fodder - Cows searching for food In Garbage

We forgot our deep and profound responsibility to care for and nurture the greater whole. This amnesia has resulted in us almost consuming ourselves out of existence.

Now our oceans are severely depleted and dying; our soils and food supply are laden with pesticides and insecticides; our water and waterways are contaminated with pharmaceuticals, artificial hormones, antibiotics and toxic chemical pollutants; our fish and birds are dying as are our children and tens of millions of humans are starving and without fresh drinking water. Our forests are ravaged and crucial species are going extinct at an alarming rate. It is impossible to restore Mother Earth back to balance and health overnight. She has a natural maturation process. We can, however, restore our absolute connection to Her and make Her healing our healing.

YOU ARE INVITED….

I AM BLOGGING ON

GREENWALA: http://www.greenwala.com/profiles/2963-PDJ-MOO/blog

TWITTER:

http://www.twitter.com/pdjmoo

I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART

That everything we humans create has its origins in the Natural World and;

That to the degree Nature is “sick” and out of balance so are we– spiritually, psychologically and physiologically; and

That until we humans reintegrate into the web of life as a species within it – and not separate from it -we can never bring true balance and health back to ourselves or to our magnificent Planet.

NATURE IS THE KEY. pdj The Natural Eye Project

India Protests Monsanto’s gmo control

Farmers and others who were opposing the introduction of GMO Bt brinjal get support from an unexpected quarter – Former managing Director (India) of Monsanto)

“Monsanto is looking for control and with the introduction of Bt brinjal the control enters the bio-diversity of India. Once the gene is released, it would for sure destroy the 2,400 different varieties of natural brinjal that the Indian farmers grow.”

Introducing Bt brinjal will be disastrous: Rediff.com Business.

New scientific explanation of biodiversity

Australian scientists have announced a major new finding that helps explain how natural systems like coral reefs and forests maintain the richness of their mix of species.

Their findings have important implications for understanding how humans can better protect biodiversity during one of the worst episodes of species extinction in the Earth’s history.

Maths explains biodiversity Science Alert.

Agricultural Apocalypse 2010

Today we have the simultaneous events of income deflation and food inflation; two high-speed express trains coming down that tracks at each other, a financial crisis colliding with staggering crop losses, which are cutting deeply into available planetary food reserves. Prices of food are again beginning to soar again just as millions are losing the ability to afford a reasonable diet, though little of this is being observed or reported. But soon even the blind will see. (read on….)

International Medical Veritas Association » Blog Archive » Agricultural Apocalypse 2010.

What The Haitian Crisis Tells Us About Human Nature

In recent years, whenever natural disasters have struck, in what is increasingly becoming a globally interconnected and interdependent world, human beings have come together as an extended family in an outpouring of compassion and concern. For these brief moments of time, we leave behind the many differences that divide us to act as a species. We become Homo empathicus.

Yet, when faced with similar tragedies that are a result of human-induced behavior, rather than precipitated by natural disasters, we are often unable to muster the same collective empathic response. (read on)

Jeremy Rifkin: The Earthquake That Triggered A Global Empathic Response: What The Haitian Crisis Tells Us About Human Nature.

Was 2009 the year the world turned against GM? – The Ecologist

Despite promising the world in 2009, biotech corporations have increasingly raised the hackles of scientists and citizens worldwide

2009 was a year in which the biotech industry, Gates and their US Administration allies did everything in their power to drive the world down the GM road, but it was also a year marked by remarkable global resistance.

It was a year too in which the truth emerged more clearly than ever about not just the severe limitations and risks of GM crops, but the viability of the many positive alternatives to GMOs alternatives from which the profit-driven GM-fixation diverts much needed attention and resources. (more…)
Was 2009 the year the world turned against GM? – The Ecologist.

Your Food, Your Health, Our Planet Under Siege

MONSANTO CLOSE TO TAKING OVER GLOBAL FOOD SUPPLY

Tactics being employed by Monsanto are slowly destroying the integrity of the global food supply – could be irreversible!

According to Neil Harl, an agricultural economist from Iowa State University, Monsanto now has patented control over 90 percent of seeds and seed genetics, a chilling notion that has far-reaching consequences. Since the company regularly buys up independent seed companies, its competition is dwindling and the prices for its patented seeds continue to rise.

Monsanto’s genetic modification program has reached 95 percent of domestic soybean crops and 80 percent of domestic corn crops. It has plans in the works to insert its patented genes into wheat crops as well, given U.S. farmers agree to use them this time around. These percentages are likely even higher when considering the natural and unintended spread of pollen and seeds from these genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) into conventional or organic fields.

According to a recent Associated Press investigation, agri-giant Monsanto regularly employs business practices that not only aim to eliminate all competition, but essentially position the company as the sole proprietor of all things related to food. While old news to many in the natural health community, the mainstream press is beginning to recognize the world domination tactics being employed by Monsanto that are slowly destroying the integrity of the global food supply. (more) …“Natural News”
Monsanto is trying to take over the world food suppl

SEE ALSO: Monsanto GMO Ignites Big Seed War : NPR. Listen (1.13.10)

SEE ALSO: Better than Nature? GMO Foods, Your Health « The Natural Eye Project http://ow.ly/VSqZ

AND: MONSANTO AND THEIR PALS AGAIN, PRESIDENT OBAMA « The Natural Eye Project http://ow.ly/VSuP

AND: President Obama. Please Stop Monsanto « The Natural Eye Project http://ow.ly/VSvB

AND: Is Monsanto Finally Meeting its’ Maker? An Anti-Trust Issue « The Natural Eye Project http://ow.ly/VSwn

AND: Report: Monsanto Corn Causes Organ Damage in Mammals http://ow.ly/VTmp

The Psychology of Technology – Enslaved or Being Served

SEE ALSO MY BLOG: URGENT MEMO TO THE WORLD

“THE age of melancholy” is how psychologist Daniel Goleman describes our era. People today experience more depression than previous generations, despite the technological wonders that help us every day. It might be because of them.

Our lifestyles are increasingly driven by technology. Phones, computers and the internet pervade our days. There is a constant, nagging need to check for texts and email, to update Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn profiles, to acquire the latest notebook or 3G cellphone.

Free yourself from oppression by technology – opinion – 27 December 2009 – New Scientist.

The Land Owns Us

THE MYTH OF OWNERSHIP

When did we forget that we are the land? That our physical bodies, our intelligence, our hungers, and our imagination are inextricably part of a vast and infinitely layered living system that creates us, sustains us, transforms us, and ultimately reclaims us? And that just as we are part of this living system, so is the earth. We are part of the same system.

The Earth is our home, our food, our shelter, and our intimacy. It feeds our dreams as much as our bodies, and it has been known as a source of love and divine awareness since the beginning of time.

More poisonous than toxic waste and more destructive than deforestation, it’s our forgetting of Nature’s true value and the denial of our relationship with Nature that has corrupted life on this planet. And it will be our change of perspective and attitude about the Earth that will provide the only lasting foundation for ecological and community renewal.

via The Land Owns Us | Global Oneness Project.

More With Less

‘Reduce, reuse and recycle’ is not enough

To support outer efforts towards sustainability we need to radically adjust our inner attitudes toward the material world. Relationships based on greed, over-identification with ownership, and the use of material goods to establish status and power over others, can be traded for new values and ways of living that empower a healthy and dignified relationship to all the earth’s resources.

More With Less | Global Oneness Project.

Mindblowing Images: Whale song art: dolphin calls turned into kaleidoscopic patterns using wavelets – Telegraph

Whale song art: dolphin calls turned into kaleidoscopic patterns using wavelets – Telegraph.

Is Monsanto Finally Meeting its’ Maker? An Anti-Trust Issue

Even as it bombards the airwaves and magazine ad pages to tout its commitment to “sustainable agriculture,” GMO seed giant Monsanto has been having a rough go on the PR front of late.

Seed behemoth Monsanto stumbles into antitrust trouble | Grist.

Copenhagen a chance to pull world back from the brink

We Are Now In Uncharted Waters

Our planet is now at the crossroads. Scientists have learned that even a little atmospheric temperature rise can initiate feedback loops that speed global warming, some of which are already taking effect. If global temperatures continue to rise at the present rate, some of these feedbacks could spiral beyond our ability to reverse them, and others may be unlocked.

Copenhagen a chance to pull world back from climate change ledge | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times.

The New Office – in the middle of the forest | Pictures

Office in the middle of the forest | Pictures.

Talk about environment friendly place for firms and offices. On the other hand imagine all the fresh air and peace you can get while working, no traffic, no air pollution, etc. You can surely expand your mind, creativity and motivation while working in these circumstances.

Better than Nature? GMO Foods, Your Health

Genetically modified foods are being approved before we understand their long-term health effects.

In gearing up for the 2010 release of its super-genetically modified corn called “SmartStax,” agricultural-biotechnology giant Monsanto is using an advertising slogan that asks, “Wouldn’t it be better?” But can we do better than nature, which has taken millennia to develop the plants we use for food?

via Better than Nature? – David Suzuki — THE MARK.

A special report on climate change and the carbon economy

THE ECONOMIST:

It is all about politics. Climate change is the hardest political problem the world has ever had to deal with

The problem is not a technological one. The human race has almost all the tools it needs to continue leading much the sort of life it has been enjoying without causing a net increase in greenhouse-gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Industrial and agricultural processes can be changed. Electricity can be produced by wind, sunlight, biomass or nuclear reactors, and cars can be powered by biofuels and electricity. Biofuel engines for aircraft still need some work before they are suitable for long-haul flights, but should be available soon.

Nor is it a question of economics. Economists argue over the sums (see article), but broadly agree that greenhouse-gas emissions can be curbed without flattening the world economy.

A special report on climate change and the carbon economy: : Getting warmer | The Economist.

How do we Convince our Inner Caveman to be Greener?

How do we convince our inner caveman to be greener? By the time we wake up to the threat posed by climate change, it could well be too late. And if we’re not going to make rational decisions about the future, others may have to help us to do so. London Times, United Kingdom

Climate change may be real, but its still not easy being green – Times Online.

“WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE?” 25 min video

A Global Oneness Project

What if the world embodied our highest potential? What would it look like? As the structures of modern society crumble, is it enough to respond with the same tired solutions? Or are we being called to question a set of unexamined assumptions that form the very basis of our civilization?

This 25-minute retrospective from the Global Oneness Project asks us to reflect on the state of the world and ourselves, and to listen more closely to what is being asked of us at this time of unprecedented global transformation.

The Global Oneness Project | Undergrowth.

Time to confront the invisible enemy that threatens us all

TIME TO CONFRONT THE INVISIBLE ENEMY – CLIMATE CHANGE, THE ENVIRONMENT

Even the world’s politicians believe in global warming. But they can do little without popular support, says Michael McCarthy, The Independent.

Time to confront the invisible enemy that threatens us all – Climate Change, Environment – The Independent.

You could be forgiven for thinking it’s not happening – and there, in fact, is the heart of the problem. Climate change, according to one view the greatest threat that human civilisation has ever faced, may seem a particularly nebulous danger to many people who look around them and see no evidence whatsoever of it taking place.

Watch: The Land Owns Us – a short film

The Land Owns U

Bob Randall, an Australian Aboriginal, a Yankunytjatjara elder and traditional owner of Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), explains how the connectedness of every living thing to every other living thing is not just an idea but a way of living. This way includes all beings as part of a vast family and calls us to be responsible for this family and care for the land with unconditional love and responsibility.

The Land Owns Us | Global Oneness Project.

Watch: We Are Caretakers | a short film

Bob Randall

Bob Randall, an Australian Aborigine, a Yankunytjatjara elder and traditional owner of Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), explains the real law of survival is caring for the land and each other-for our children’s children’s children.

via We Are Caretakers | Global Oneness Project.

Watch: The Commodification of Food | A short film

How Industrialization has changed our relationship to Food and Agriculture

The Commodification of Food | Global Oneness Project.

Watch Here: “A Thousand Suns | A Short Film

Food, Ecology and Religion in the 21st Century

A Thousand Suns | Global Oneness Project.

A Thousand Suns tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region. This isolated area has remained remarkably intact both biologically and culturally. It is one of the most densely populated rural regions of Africa yet its people have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years. Shot in Ethiopia, New York and Kenya, the film explores the modern world’s untenable sense of separation from and superiority over nature and how the interconnected worldview of the Gamo people is fundamental in achieving long-term sustainability, both in the region and beyond.

Invest in nature now, save trillions later

Switching from Short-Term Profits through Exploitation

to Long-Term Stewardship of Natural Resources

PARIS (AFP) – Investing billions today to protect threatened ecosystems and dwindling biodiversity would reap trillions in savings over the long haul, according to a UN-backed report issued Friday.

More than a billion of Earth’s poorest denizens depend directly on coral reefs, forests, mangroves, aquifers and other forms of “natural capital” to eke out a living. Invest in nature now, save trillions later: study – Yahoo! News.

Dreaming the Future Can Create the Future

“Dreaming the future can create the future. We stand at the threshold of a singular opportunity in the human experiment: To re-imagine how to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other and future generations. It’s a revolution from the heart of nature — and the human heart.

“We also stand at the brink of worldwide ecological and civilizational collapse. We face a reckoning from the treacherous breach in our relationship with nature. We’ve been acting like a rock star trashing a hotel room, and it’s the morning after. But this hotel is planet Earth. The guest rules are non-negotiable. If we don’t change our ways fast, management may vote us off the island. (More.,..)

Kenny Ausubel: Dreaming the Future Can Create the Future.

Women Need Water Rights, Not Just Technologies

Water is Now seen as a Commodity rather than a Basic Right

While some may assume that technologies often make women’s lives easier, it is rare they there are panacea for poverty, especially since water is increasingly scarce and expensive..

6.7 billion people along with wildlife, ecosystems, agriculture and industries share the less than 1% of the world’s freshwater that is potable and accessible for use. And this small amount is rapidly depleting due to climate change; increased contamination; and escalating need by people, farms and industries for daily use.

The increasing scarcity and privatization of water means a number of things for women. First, as private companies gain ownership rights to freshwater sources, women who could previously walk to them to obtain water are now being restricted from or even charged money for doing so. [3] Second, companies who purchase sources bottle the water to be sold rather than allowing local access to it, as it’s more profitable to do so. Even when companies build and make available taps to local municipalities, they sell it at costs that are prohibitively expensive, especially for poor women. [4] And since there is no substitute for water and water is absolutely necessary, without regulations, corporations can charge what they want for it, and people have no choice but to pay, if they can. (more)

via Women Need Water Rights, Not Just Technologies / Library / Issues and Analysis / Home – AWID.

The Big African farmland grab | The Modern Colonialism

Rich Foreign Countries are Buying up Big   Ahead of Anticipated Coming Food Crisis

In the last few years richer countries like China, India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia have been buying up huge tracts of productive farmland and oil rich acres in poor countries like Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia. These deals are usually in the millions of acres and often come with 99 year lease terms.It’s modern colonialism.

Stop African farmland grab | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

We’re Killing the Oceans That Feed Us

Is it too late to save the seas that sustain us?

It’s not just ruthless whaling and foolhardy fishing practices that are plaguing the world’s oceans. Underwater, things are bad all over — from the acidifying Atlantic to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A perfect storm of climate change, pollution, and rapacious global fishing practices has the potential to gravely imperil Earth’s oceans.

via Were killing the oceans – News Features – Boston Phoenix.

Economists fail to account for ‘natural capital’

Many economists are failing to assess the value of their countries’ natural resources, putting billion’s of people’s well-being at risk and contributing to catastrophic species loss, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme report. http://ow.ly/Cz38

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward.

via Home of TEEB.