find new books to read, put your reading list online

• Current

Type: educational

Status: I recommend

Author: Enrico Wensing

Tags: psychology humanity environment growth sustainability transformation Green

Description: E.J. Wensing is the founder of Ecosphere Net (www.ecosphere.net). Based out of St. John inE.J. Wensing is the founder of Ecosphere Net (www.ecosphere.net). Based out of St. John in the US Virgin Islands, we are a global network providing powerful cross-cultural education for personal and global sustainability. This book introduces a new approach to global sustainability, one that links conversation, action and research in a continuous cycle of exploration and discovery. The first part of this approach is called I Am Sustainability. It is a curriculum for personal and global sustainability that we continually create and recreate together across all cultures of the world. This book starts the I Am Sustainability conversation, action and research with an opening argument that describes how all of the human impediments to global sustainability begin in a single human problem, that is, the psychology of the currently disproportionate human need to belong to competitive social groups.

While competition can bring out the best in us, it also brings out the worst in us. For instance, it results in our overconsumption and exploitative behaviors toward the environment and other humans. Who we are, our "self", is almost entirely defined, maintained and lost in the competitive social groups we chose to belong to. As described in this book, the best way to sustain the self is to ground our individuality in the body. An individual in a healthy balance between their "self" in their body and their group is also less likely to be exploitative of others and the environment. So you get your self and save the planet too! ...

2008-08-31

• Current

Type: educational

Status: liked

Author: Melinda Gelder

Tags: diplomacy, activism, two citizen grass iwakuni, Japan, roots, track

Description: What would you do if you suddenly you found yourself part of a community you had always thoughtWhat would you do if you suddenly you found yourself part of a community you had always thought you would never be associated with? What if this happened in a foreign country, where everyone automatically thought you were part of that group? In Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend Dr. Gelder talks about her personal transformation from outspoken critic of the U.S. military to a global citizen that worked with military personnel and Japanese citizens in cultural exchanges. A strong social and environmental activist, Dr. Gelder recounts how she had to come to terms with military actions in a foreign country and how those actions were reflected back on her for her association with the military. Overcoming her initial bias against the military, Dr. Gelder took it upon herself to become a global citizen and enhance the relations between military personnel stationed in Japan, and the Japanese people located around the military base. Through a variety of actions, Dr. Gelder worked to build a positive relationship between the U.S. military and the local Japanese citizens and their communities. In Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend, Dr. Gelder shows how it is possible to be a citizen in a global world and to respond with positive actions towards the people and places encountered, while also positively representing the places and people you come from. ...

2007-11-25