 |
  |
"THIS MOVEMENT FLIES under the radar," said author and global activist Paul Hawken at the 2004 Bioneers Conference, which beamed into Utah State's Eccles Conference Center in October 2004. "It is grassroots, nonviolent. It has no armies, no soldiers. No one is in charge. It is classless, citizen-based, volunteer. A shared understanding is arising from every culture worldwide." The agenda? Nothing less than restoring our planet and its communities. The 15th annual Bioneers Conference was beamed by satellite to 7,000 "biological pioneers" in communities across North America, including Bloomington, Indiana; Anchorage, Alaska; Telluride, Colorado; Prescott, Arizona; Washington, D.C.; Eugene, Oregon; Bozeman, Montana; Boulder, Colorado; and Vancouver, British Columbia. More than 100 universities and communities have already applied to receive next year's Bioneers videocast, with requests coming from China, Brazil, Mexico, Europe and New Zealand. "If we just look at the data on climate change," said Hawken, "the future looks bleak. But this movement, this tent - millions strong - is our blessing. This is about possibilities and solutions." At times, the dialogue possessed a religious fervor normally reserved for pitched-tent revival meetings, but speaker after speaker also alluded to the importance of a clear-eyed vision and feet planted firmly on the ground. Sustainable agriculture, for example, demands a science-based approach, said anthropologist Jason Clay, noting that some natural chemicals are more toxic than synthetics. Speakers included a "barefoot forester" whose mother inspired the planting of 30 million trees in Africa; the founder of an affordable, organic food coop in inner city Chicago; an inventor who mimics nature to design efficient transportation technology; a doctor who sees the connection between environmental toxins and human health, and strives to reduce societal exposure to pollutants; an activist attorney who helps communities in Pennsylvania determine their own destiny, writing legally binding charters that lock out polluting businesses. The take-home message was this: All life is interconnected. We can't take care of our offspring after we're gone, but we can take care of place. more |
