Exploring Facets of True Wealth

Last week, in preparation for CEJ’s upcoming annual Future Generations Conference, True Wealth in a Green World, I viewed three films that address interrelated aspects of why a new jurisprudence is needed for the sake of true green wealth and the survival and flourishing of nature and the human spirit. I thought I would share these resources with you, even if you can’t personally attend our conference, and I encourage you to look for the highlights of each of the keynote presentations, Bill Belleville, Janelle Orsi, and Janie Barrera, on our website and on YouTube, as we plan on posting them shortly thereafter.

Animate Earth: Science, Intuition & Gaia by Stephan Harding, Coordinator of the Master of Science in Holistic Science at Schumacher College, invites consideration of the critical roles that intuition and holistic science play in healing our relationships with Earth. It argues for an expanded science that moves beyond mechanistic portrayals of nature so as to reveal nature as a sentient, living being rather than as dead, inert objects that are here for commodification. Its core premise that nature can be known by both science and intuition (yet acknowledging that Earth’s complex and intricate relationships are never fully known) supports CEJ’s position that humanity has a moral and legal responsibility to protect the entire Earth community which provides the basis of life for us and future generations.  I invite you to check it out at www.animateearth.com.

A second recommended film is Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time. This is a documentary of the life and legacy of famed conservationist Aldo Leopold. Although Leopold’s Sand County Almanac was published posthumously in 1949, his land ethic philosophy continues to live in the work of people and organizations across the Earth. Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about both people and land is at the heart of creating laws and policies that transform the commodification of nature into a way of mutually enhancing relationships. One can purchase a copy at www.GreenFireMovie.com.

The Economics of Happiness is the story of the disturbing consequences of market globalization and how localization movements can reverse these trends.  As Joanna Macy states, “(T)his film connects the dots between climate chaos, economic meltdown, and our own personal suffering. It presents the localization movement as a systemic alternative to corporate globalization, as well as a strategy that brings community and meaning to our lives.” This film is an in-depth analysis of the concepts that CEJ will be exploring in our upcoming True Wealth in a Green World conference.  I invite you to visit  www.theeconomics ofhappiness.org for more information.