The Earth's Ecology is at a Crossroads
photosynthesis is the foundation of every economy, and human life flourishes in a narrow window that may well be in jeopardy...
“ We are at the terminal phase of the Cenozoic – the last 65 million years. We are not just passing into another historical period or another cultural modification. We are changing the chemistry of the planet. We are changing the bio-systems. We are changing the geo-systems of the planet on a scale of millions of years. But more specifically we are terminating the last 65 million years of life development.
Now a person would say – Well where do we go from here? To my mind we go from the terminal phase – if we survive it – into a really sustainable world. We will be passing from the terminal Cenozoic into what I call the Ecozoic. And the primary principle of the Ecozoic is that the Universe - and in particular planet Earth – is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects If we don’t learn that – nothing is going to work. Whereas all this beauty of the universe that we see about us came into being without human consultation, from here on, the universe will never function that way again.” Edited Interview clip with Thomas Berry from video recording by writer and teacher Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) in 1991 |
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The prevailing ethos that has driven western civilization for the past 300 years, and that came to dominate the globe in the second half of the 20th century has run its course. We face serious challenges in the economy, the environment, education, and health care, not to mention the decline of civility and the rise of political and religious extremism. Increased population and the global proliferation of industrial capitalism are seriously testing the carrying capacity of the planet. The well being of our children and our grandchildren demand that we create a more organic culture and a more conscious brand of capitalism.