David C. Korten
writes: Leadership for Earth Community emerges through processes of
mutual
empowerment that encourage every person to recognize and express their
capacities for leadership on behalf of the whole. Almost inevitably,
this leadership comes from outside the institutions of Empire—from the
growing millions of people with the mature consciousness that enables
them to envision the possibilities of this human moment and to accept
responsibility for bringing those possibilities into being. In Earth
Community, leadership roles evolve and rotate in response to the needs
of the situation and the skills and circumstances of the participants.
Although the leadership styles of Earth Community may seem chaotic and
diffuse to those accustomed to the dominator styles of Empire, they fit
the pattern by which all healthy living systems self-organize. This
pattern of self-organizing, distributed power gives contemporary social
movements their distinctive vitality and makes them nearly impossible
to suppress. … Economic Turning: One of the most visible manifestations of global civil society is the
popular resistance against corporate globalization and the
institutional instruments by which globalization’s supporters are
imposing their neoliberal policy agenda on the world. Less visible, but
ultimately even more important are the many initiatives aimed at
growing corporate-free economies that mimic healthy ecosystems. These
initiatives range from “buy local” campaigns and efforts to rebuild
local food systems based on independent family farms, to efforts to
eliminate corporate subsidies, stop the intrusion of big-box stores,
hold corporations accountable for harms committed, and reform corporate
chartering. There are groups that encourage humane animal husbandry and
sustainable agriculture, seek to abolish factory farms and ban
genetically modified seeds, promote green business, introduce
sustainable community-based forestry-management practices, and work to
roll back the use of toxic chemicals. Other groups are working to
strengthen the protection of worker rights, raise the minimum wage,
advance worker ownership, increase socially responsible investing, and
promote other fiscal and regulatory measures that improve economic
justice and encourage environmental responsibility. … Political Turning: Other citizen initiatives are democratizing the structures of
government, promoting more active citizen participation in political
life, opening the political process to a greater diversity of voices
and parties, and shifting public priorities in favor of people,
families, communities, and the planet. They are lobbying governments on
a host of economic, social, and environmental issues ranging from
international trade rules to local building codes that need revising to
encourage green construction. Many follow a strategy of building
momentum from the bottom up, working with local governments on
initiatives in support of living wage rules, corporate accountability,
and preferential treatment for local independent enterprises. Even
advances on global issues like peace and global warming are beginning
with local initiatives, including those begun by local governments and
politicians. … Cultural Turning: There
is evidence of an emergent global cultural turning associated
with the widespread awakening of the Cultural and Spiritual orders of
consciousness. … the awakening is a consequence
of increasing cross-cultural experience, the influence of progressive
social movements, and exposure to the realities of global
interdependence and the fragility of a finite global ecosystem. It is
this awakening that makes the Great Turning possible. It finds
popular expression in the many economic and political initiatives
mentioned above. It also finds expression in more distinctively
cultural initiatives aimed at rebuilding families and communities
through such activities as co-housing and eco-village projects, the
creation of safe, vibrant public spaces, the voluntary simplicity
movement, and programs in intercultural exchange, media awareness, and
educational enrichment. Most particularly, however, the cultural
turning is gaining momentum from a number of global turnings that bring
new leadership to the fore and accelerate cultural and spiritual
awakening. (12/28/06)
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David C. Korten writes:
Few contemporary nations seem more divided politically than the
United States. Beyond the partisan rancor, however, polling data point
to a broad consensus on core values and suggest that if the
institutions of governmental and corporate power were accountable to
the public will, the United States would be pursuing very different
policies both domestically and internationally. The residual
frustration runs high and represents a powerful latent political force.
There is near universal agreement among adult Americans (83 percent)
that as a society the United States focuses on the wrong priorities.
Specifically, polling data affirm that the substantial majority of
Americans share a desire for strong families and communities, a healthy
environment, and high-quality health care and education for all. They
are likewise concerned about the unaccountable power of corporations
and government, and they prefer to live in a world that puts people
ahead of profits, spiritual values ahead of financial values, and
international cooperation ahead of international domination. These are
the values of the true political center most everywhere in
the world. That center is composed of people who, irrespective of party
affiliation, want a politics based on principle, seek real solutions to
real problems, and believe government should be accountable and serve
the common good. In the United States, as in the world, the defining
concerns of the center reveal a deep longing to restore the sense of
human connection found in the life of healthy families and communities
and reflect a natural desire to support our children in their happy and
healthful development. It is on the foundation of this shared concern
for children, family, and community that a majoritarian constituency
for Earth Community will be built. It is here that the political
extremists of the New Right are most vulnerable, because their policies
constitute nothing less than a war against children, families, and
communities. Cultural politics define the core of the contemporary
political struggle in the United States. Progressives hold a natural
edge in this struggle, but have consistently come out on the losing end
because the fail to recognize the nature and implications of cultural
politics. While the New Right focused on a relatively unified effort to win the
allegiance of swing voters who play by the rules and values defined by
the prevailing cultural stories, progressives fragmented into countless
interest groups promoting particular policy agendas based on appeals to
logic and conscience. As control of the defining cultural stories gave
the New Right a growing political edge, progressives found themselves
increasingly on the defensive, limited to efforts to stall or moderate
the New Right’s agenda. If Earth Community is to prevail, progressives must learn to win in the
arena of cultural politics. Win that struggle, and electoral and
legislative victories will follow naturally. … It is within our human means to create a world in which families and
communities are strong, parents have the time to love and care for
their children, high-quality health care and education are available to
all, schools and homes are commercial free, the natural environment is
healthy and toxin free, and nations cooperate for the common good. It
is about renewing the democratic experiment, liberating the creative
potential of the species, and coming home to life. It is an idea whose
time has come and the foundation of a true political majority. (12/28/06)
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BBC Aquabusiness and Humanity — The
Japanese eat 80% of the world’s blue-fin tuna. The problem is that,
like many other species, stocks of the fish are declining. The
situation is going to get a lot worse as other populous countries such
as China are developing a taste for sushi and sashimi, which is what
most of the blue-fin are used for. The species is hard to cultivate
because it is difficult to recreate the conditions they are used to in
the wild. The result can be seen at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, where
the frozen tuna carcasses are laid out on the floor ready for the
auction’s fierce bidding. A single giant tuna can cost you more than a
new car. But in the city of Shizoka, in a small shed on a university
campus, a businessman is trying to recreate the oceans that the tuna
are used to. Blue-fin tuna have been farmed before, but not indoors,
the team behind the project says. … Inside, in the gloom, there are
four large circular tanks, each with a diameter of about five metres
(16 feet). The water pumped up from deep down under the surface is just
about as clean as you can get - no bacteria, no viruses and no
parasites. Akito Yamamoto, the man behind the project, calls it “magic
water” - not too hot and not too cold; a constant 21C (70F) which is
just right for vigorous tuna to swim around in. The water flows in
circles in each tank - creating an effect like a treadmill for the 15
fish in each tank. They need to keep moving to keep breathing. Normally
well-travelled fish, they are capable of crossing the Atlantic in less
than 50 days. Here, though, in the confines of the tank, every detail
has been designed to keep them happy and healthy. The tuna have to be
shown where to swim, so there are streams of bubbles flowing away from
the edges of the tanks which guide the tuna away from the sides. All
this equipment has cost thousands of dollars, and has been developed
specially, with no guarantee that it will actually work and produce
full-size healthy tuna. The blue-fin will not be big enough to breed or
be eaten for at least three years. “I know some people are puzzled
about why I am spending so much on this,” said Mr Yamamoto. “But I am
trying to make a facility that could be used for 10 or 20 years.
However much we spend it’s worth it if we can provide safe food for
consumers.” (12/28/06)
more…

BBC Environment & Humanity –
The US has proposed listing polar bears as a threatened species because
of declining Arctic ice levels. It is the first time the US has made a
direct link between global warming and the threat to a species.
President George W Bush has steadfastly refused to back mandatory
controls of emissions of carbon dioxide - believed the main gas behind
global warming. There are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears across the
globe, about 4,700 of them in the US state of Alaska. US Secretary of
the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said polar bears were “one of nature’s
ultimate survivors”. But he added: “We are concerned the polar bears’
habitat may literally be melting.” Being listed as “threatened” is a
rung down from being “endangered”. A department official told the AFP
news agency the US had not had a species that had been “listed with
such a close correlation to climate change as this one”. Mr Kempthorne
sidestepped questions about US reductions of gas emissions, saying it
was not a question for his department. But he stressed offshore oil and
gas developments in Alaska were not part of the risk. … The listing
would require all federal agencies not to take decisions that would
threaten polar bears’ survival. The Swiss-based Polar Bear Specialist
Group projects a 30% decline in numbers over the next 45 years. (12/28/06)
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