Olga Bonfiglio

Naomi Klein: “We are told that selfishness and short-sightedness is part of human nature, which prevents us acting. This is not true and it steers us away from an analysis of our [capitalist] system. In fact, the fight for survival is human nature.”

For over 500 years native peoples in the Americas have fought for their homes against people from far away lands. Now, in Alberta, Canada, they are fighting against a gooey, black substance that sits underground: the oil sands.

Photo:  http://pialberta.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Crystal%20Lameman%202_0.jpg

I decided to learn how to garden because I became concerned about a future of declining natural resources that will undoubtedly make life different, especially since we depend on oil for almost everything in our lives. Indeed, Sharon Astyk’s call for 100 million farmers and 200 million cooks (I already cook) is sound advice and essential preparation for survival in this new and uncertain world. Today, I would start this venture with a lesson on barn cleaning. (This is a sneak peek into an upcoming book about my experiences on the farm.)

Eco-spirituality is about helping people experience “the holy” in the natural world and to recognize their relationship as human beings to all creation, she said. However, eco-spirituality isn’t just a philosophy or a prayerful way of life. For Sister Ginny Jones, it has been a passionate call to action.

Philosopher, author and lifelong activist Grace Lee Boggs encouraged…women to re-imagine education, work and the things they do to care for each other and their families.

“All over the planet more and more people are thinking beyond making a living to making a life, a life that respects Earth and one another,” she said. “This is the next American revolution.”

Carol Browner, the former director of White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy for the Obama administration, has a simple and direct message: the United States should win the global race for clean energy.