Toward a New Consciousness: Values to Sustain Human and Natural Communities.
One of the most important questions of today is - how can we effctively avoid a global catastrophe caused by climate change, by growing inequality, by food shortages, and many other related global problems? For quick effective measures, to ensure that we will not reach irreversible tipping points, it seems to me that political action is more essential than anything else we might be doing. However, to ensure long-term sustainability, rethinking of our status on our planet will be essential. Such a rethinking is being discussed in the report presented below (Maiken).“We are pleased to announce a new and important report, Toward a New Consciousness: Values to Sustain Human and Natural Communities.
Many of our deepest thinkers and many of those most familiar with the scale of the challenges we face have concluded that the changes needed to sustain human and natural communities can only be achieved in the context of the rise of a new consciousness. For some, it is a spiritual awakening–a transformation of the human heart. For others it is a more intellectual process of coming to see the world anew and deeply embracing the emerging ethic of the environment and the old ethic of what it means to love thy neighbor as thyself. But for all it involves major cultural change and a reorientation of what society values and prizes most highly.
The report synthesizes the insights and recommendations from the conference we co-chaired on this theme last October in Aspen, Colorado. It can be obtained as a free downloadable PDF from http://environment.yale.edu/newconsciousness, where directions for ordering print copies are also available.
Here at Yale we are following up in two directions.We are beginning to forge an agenda for action based on the prescriptions it contains.Our goal is to move forward with implementing the items that fit our role as educators and researchers and to work with our non-academic partners to move forward with other proposed actions. Secondly, we are pulling together an edited volume addressing the themes of the conference.
We invite you to engage with us now in these ongoing efforts.Further information, including especially links to further resources and organizations for pursuing this transformative agenda, can be obtained from the conference website, again: http://environment.yale.edu/newconsciousness. Finally, feel free to write us at our dedicated email address: newconciousness@yale.edu.We welcome your thoughts on the themes of the conference and hope you will share your ideas with us.
Very best regards,”
James Gustave Speth, Carl. W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean and Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor
Stephen R. Kellert, Tweedy/Ordway Professor of Social Ecology
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Tags: community, consciousness, human, natural, value
