Alder Stone : A Transition

I've decided to transition to a different name
both for this blog & for me: Alder Stone.

Why? Three reasons.

First, Stone is my given middle name, a family name on my father's side. Why not use it more, at least informally?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to legally change my name. Fuller will remain on the books as my "official" last name for the business as usual crowd, for book titles, etc.

No, this is a more informal change,
perhaps known more among my friends.

I think of this informal name transition as a ritual to recognize & honor the substantive personal & professional transition that I'm undergoing, that began in spring, 2009 & will continue through 2010. It's a phase transition into a new attractor state that is substantively & qualitatively different from the states I've manifested for the last decade.

Part of that transition - by design - involves travels next summer, beginning in June, mostly on the east coast, much of it in Maine, some of it - hopefully - in Massachusetts & the British Isles. It's not quite clear yet when I may return to Eugene, though I will return ... for at least a while - I still have work to do here. (More about all this in a future post.)

I switched from Ollar (old English for alder) to Alder in 2000 (when I learned the meaning of "Ollar") to signify substantive changes in my life : the transition from Albuquerque to the Pacific NW; my first Burning Man experience; entry into rave culture; my move to Eugene...

I recognized then that alders are great trees with an important niche: they're nitrogen fixers that colonize damaged areas like burns or blow downs. In addition, with their roots often near stream banks, they seek water - the symbol of soul, which I was seeking at the time; still do.

I already knew that the surname Fuller referred to craftspeople
who used a type of clay - Fuller's earth - in processing wool.

So, when I learned that my first name translated into modern English as "Alder", I came to understand that all of my names are "of the Earth". How fitting for a biologist who teaches Gaia theory, right? It helped me - an Earth kid who grew up walking in woods & fields beside rivers & creeks - understand that I was named after a life form.

So why not give stone it's due in 2010?

As a fringe benefit, Alder Stone rolls
off the tongue more easily than Alder Fuller.

Second, I have a great fondness for stones. Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon on the west bank of the Willamette near a rocky rapid with exposed dry stones. On them I stood, stretched, stepped, hopped - from stone to stone - & balanced. Doing so reminded me how much I love to walk on their uneven topography.

I've always - since early childhood - been attracted to stones. I was a "rock hound" early on; earned a ribbon in a middle school county science fair for a rock display.

I also like to climb stones. Sometimes as whole mountains, but often just large boulders. In recent months, I've come to understand that I'm not really attracted to mountains per se so much as much as the stones that they are made of.

That is, for me, it's not so much the height as the stones. A large rocky outcrop in a moderately jagged terrain is as attractive to me as a 10,000' peak, especially when the latter is made of basalt that is crumbly, like here in western Oregon. Basalt will be even harder to walk on as the glaciers on western mountains recede further & faster.

When I lived in Albuquerque, where there exists world-class granite walls, I spent a lot of time bouldering. I miss that in Oregon; there's basalt everywhere, but it's crumbly, not usually very good for bouldering. I'm seeking harder rocks now. Granite. (As it turns out, I have a lead about where I can find a large amount of that to climb on next summer, but that's a tale for another day.)

And third, as James Lovelock would say, stones are the bones of Gaia. I like that metaphor.

So, yeah. I think I'll just go informally by Alder Stone for a while & see how that feels. Read more ...

Brigid, Imbolc & Gaia

In pagan & neopagan calendars, Tuesday, February 2 is celebrated as Brigid or Imbolc honoring the Irish goddess (*) Brigit or Brighid. It is a celebration of the ending of winter, the approach of spring, of renewal & birth. Days are noticeably longer - especially to those of us in northern latitudes.

In Christian cultures, the day is called Candlemas & a different woman is celebrated, though even she shares roots with Brigid.

To each their own, I suppose. However, modern mainstream patriarchal religions - especially Christianity - have often usurped older Earth-centered, "pagan" holidays for their own agendas. Yule was upstaged by Christmas strategically placed a few days after winter solstice. Spring equinox, or Eostre, became "Easter"; Samhain was renamed Halloween.

I'm one who wishes now to reclaim those celebrations. Need a holiday to honor your gods? Cool. Have a nice day. But please roll your own, & leave the Earth-centered ones alone.

For purely secular cultures, Feb 2 - today - is called ground hog day. The degree of trivialization of the day - & the idea it encompasses, especially the human relationship to Gaia - by present day celebrations of "ground hog day" is ... well, absurd.

I mean, I like ground hogs. They're cool & all, especially when left alone in nature where they belong instead of caged in preparation for some secular ritual sponsored by corporations.

Oh, by the way, in my neighborhood, there are no groundhogs. However, the nutria are seeing their shadows today, so I guess there's more winter left. Se la vi.

So, given that Brigid is my favorite of all such Earth-centered - dare I say, "Gaian" - celebrations, I'm going to devote this post to it, its history, its significance to me & human cultures, & its relationship to life, Gaia, geophysiology & adaptability in the face of global ecological collapse.

This description excerpted from Wikipedia's article on Brigid captures the heart of her spirit for me, & touches on her relevance to contemporary human cultures, or - more to the point - what human cultures must become next if our species is to survive what's coming our way:

She is the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare.

This essay is a meditation, a writing ritual, for Brigid & Gaia.

It is emerging in conjunction with a substantive personal & professional transition - including the design of a new set of 4-week long short courses about systems, life & Gaia - & reach a stable state sometime before the end of today - Feb 2 - when I'll re-post it to reflect the true date of the day.

Until then, this post represents
a set of evolving drafts,
an evolution ...
_______________

* I am a student of mythology, particularly of the writings of the late Joseph Campbell. I am a non-religious person with a spiritual element: I acknowledge spirituality simply as an awareness that there are larger entities of which I am a part. Gaia is one of those.

However, I use the words "god" & "goddess" in a metaphorical or mythological way, not literal. I'm not a fundamentalist that literally interprets metaphors, especially spiritual ones. Like Campbell, I recognize them as poetic representations of guiding principles & values.

Based on her quote below from The End of the Long Summer, Diane Dumanoski would seem to agree.

“Through Gaia as metaphor, it is possible to glimpse the organic unity of the Earth & be awed by our own existence within this rich, complex, & wondrous whole. And in both its scientific & metaphoric aspects, this new view of the Earth provides the foundation for a new cultural map that can guide us in the planetary era.”

Read more ...

Evolution of pages & life

Two web sites that I'm associated with are evolving significantly now: the Euglena Academy site & this one.

First - and most importantly - last evening, we accomplished a major update to the Euglena Academy web site. We've added a full "About Us" section describing the academy's mission, history, what we offer, our Eugene studio, a course catalog, and more. These were added to existing pages about winter courses and the Adaptability Project.

The academy site will continue to grow in coming weeks and months. We're pretty excited about it, and, yeah, even a little proud. Please check it out. We've come a long way, baby.

Second, as a result of those academy site updates, I'm making some significant changes to this blog. Note that even though the URL remained unchanged, I've renamed it from "Euglena Blog" to "Alder Mind". (And even the new name is subject to change - like everything else on this blog.)

But the main point is,
I renamed this blog to be clear
about what it is & what it is not.
Towards that end, I've updated
the info in the right column --->,
including this description of
the purpose of this blog:

Alder's Mind is ... my - Alder Fuller - blog about life - personal & professional : essays, opinions, rants, poetry, personal links & other stuff. As I often say, if you don't tell your own story, someone else will, & you may not like their version.

Note: this blog is not a component of the Euglena Academy web site, but an independent page. The board & advisers of the academy do not necessarily agree with or support perspectives presented on this blog (that's not my call), nor do my posts necessarily fully reflect academy perspectives & values (even given a substantial overlap).

Posts here are not static,
but - like life & reality -
evolve over time ...
some disappear.

I'm making this clarification because, for a while, until we launched the new academy pages last fall, this blog temporarily became one of the main conduits through which information about the academy, including my courses, was disseminated. Some came to think of it as "the" academy site. It never was, nor was it intended to be.

With the new academy site launched, this one can return to that for which it was intended: a place for me to share my thoughts openly in multiple modes with any one who cares.
___________

So, with that said, I predict that 2010 is going to rock harder than any year since the turn of the century. I'm planning to do my share - maybe even more than my share - to facilitate that on this blog, on the academy site, my Facebook page, & from my tweet perch in that little electronic medium called Twitter - life in 140 character tweets.

Finally, one more note. Love has re-entered my life for the first time in a long time. This isn't just love, but a different kind of love & relationship, an opportunity to explore the very meanings of love, relationship & life.

I'm reminded once again how beautiful love is,
& how love & life are so closely related.

Maybe soon, I'll write about those here.
_____________

2010 has begun.
Buckle up, bebes.

- Read more ...

Adaptability : A Project

12.23.09 update : I finished reading The End of the Long Summer (EOLS) over a month ago; and promised an update to this essay shortly after. I've been smoked busy, and just haven't gotten to it yet. However, we have described Euglena's new Adaptability Project thoroughly on the Euglena Academy web pages. Please go check it out, along with our winter course offerings, one of which is a 4-week course about this book, which is the entry way for participants in the Adaptability Project.

During the next week, I'll update this essay. Suffice to say for now, as I continue to study & discuss EOLS, I continue to be impressed with it. It's an astonishingly informative, engaging & relevant book for our times. IMO, it's a must read.
_________________

We're launching a new project at Euglena:
The Adaptability Project.

The project is motivated by & based on Diane Dumanoski's book The End of the Long Summer (see below for an evolving review) - along with public understanding - about how climate change, peak oil, & other global issues are accelerating our planet & the human civilization clinging to it to a new, dangerous state, & that if we are not prepared collectively, there's going to be hell to pay.

It's motivated by the understanding among Euglena staff, students & associates that programs attempting to solve the problems solely by reducing emissions - like the well-meaning people at 350.org or (gods forbid) geo-engineering (what a stupid idea) - are folly wearing rose-colored glasses unless we simultaneously prepare for an inevitable large-scale, potentially catastrophic climate change event of on a scale that hasn't occurred on Earth in over 50 million years.

The Adaptability Project is not going to be merely an educational program or intellectual exercise, but a dynamic, action-oriented community project involving as many people as possible. It will have a strong element of self-organization around a set of common goals.

There will be a reading seminar component, based on that book & others, but there will also be much more:

• lectures, including public lectures by notable people
  
• films : one of the first will be Baraka
  
• workshops on adaptability, ranging from deep survival & psychology to water catchment & food security that will be ongoing with actual action components
  
• a web site with forum & distance learning components

The project will be ready for public prime time beginning Wednesday, January 6.

For now, during December, a few selected Euglenoids are discussing it, brainstorming possibilities, discussing logistics, funding, etc. We're meeting weekly (sometimes more often), & progressively inviting more & more people into the process.

If you are interested in receiving information about this project, please contact me or Euglena Academy's president, Daniel Cassidy.
Read more ...

Majority in denial about climate change

A story published in the London Telegraph asserts that.

Below are some excerpts from the story, the remainder of which is here. It speaks to the importance of Diane Dumanoski's assertions in her book The End of the Long Summer: Why We Must Remake Our Civilization to Survive on a Volatile Earth (which is discussed more fully in the next post, below):

"A sober look at the radical uncertainty of the human future ... gives reason for real fear, the kind of primal fear that drives to the bone. But fear can be, must be, faced down rather than repressed or denied. The times are too dangerous to do otherwise."

Now, here are those excerpts from the Telegraph story.
______________

Most people in denial over climate change, according to psychologists

The majority of people in Britain are in denial about the risk of global warming in our lifetimes, according to a new study into the psychology of climate change.

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent, London Telegraph

The Met Office has warned that if the world continues to burn fossil fuels at the current rate temperatures will rise above four degrees C in the next fifty years.

This will cause sea level rise, droughts, floods and mass collapse of eco-systems.

However Clive Hamilton, Professor of public ethics at the Australian National University, said the majority of the population is still in denial about the risks of climate change.

He compared the situation to the psychology of the British and German populations before the Second World War and said the only way to make people change their behaviour is to "ramp up the fear factor."

Prof Hamilton applied traditional psychological reactions to the threat of future risk.

In a paper presented to an Oxford University conference this week, he said people react in three different ways to a frightening situation: denial, apathy or action.

[snip]

However, Prof Hamilton said the majority of people use "maladaptive coping strategies" such as ignoring the situation, blaming someone else or simply having a good time.

[snip]

Prof Hamilton said scientists have played down the risks of global warming for fear of overloading people with information.

"There is a widespread belief in the scientific community that the public cannot handle the truth and so they have been pulling their punches. Global warming is unique amongst environmental problems - which are often exaggerated - in that it is now clear that the scientists have been understating the true implications."

[snip]

"There is a view we should not scare people because it makes them go down their burrows and close the door but I think the situation is so serious that although people are afraid they are not fearful enough given the science," he said. "Personally I cannot see any alternative to ramping up the fear factor."

[URL for story]

Read more ...

The End of the Long Summer

{Updated: Sunday, 10.04.09}

Every few years, I find a book that is life changing. Since the turn of the millennium, I've read several, including Symbiotic Planet by Lynn Margulis, The Way of the Cell by Franklin Harold, & The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock.

Recently, I've started reading another one: The End of the Long Summer: Why We Must Remake Our Civilization to Survive on a Volatile Earth by Diane Dumanoski.

I already think it's one of the most important books written so far in the 21st century, & I'm planning a project based on it that has already begun to self-organize; it will include a reading seminar based on the book; an online component (for distance learning); other community reading discussions; & an invitation to Ms. Dumanoski to participate. I'll post details of that ASAP both here & on the Euglena Academy web site. (Please contact me if you're interested in details.)

So far, I've read chapters 1, 2, 4, 8 & parts of 7. (Yes, I often read non-fiction in a nonlinear sequence.) I have been repeatedly impressed with Ms Dumanoski's lucid writing style; her depth of understanding of the climate issue via systems sciences & Gaia theory; her thorough reference notes; & - perhaps most - her understanding of the extreme challenges that humans face this century during the largest climate change event in over 50 million years.

I am struck by her analysis of the issues & her firm assertion that we need to immediately start dealing with them, & the degree to which her arguments overlap & reinforce what I've been writing & saying in lectures & courses for several years. I may go more deeply into the science of & evidence about climate change than she does, but she adds some very important - even crucial - elements to the argument, notably the "what do we do about this" part.

Here are two of the most profound statements that I've read in her book so far, which taken together represent the two most important points with which I agree with Ms. Dumanoski, that contain the kernel of my views.

"A sober look at the radical uncertainty of the human future ... gives reason for real fear, the kind of primal fear that drives to the bone. But fear can be, must be, faced down rather than repressed or denied. The times are too dangerous to do otherwise (168)."

"And in both its scientific and metaphoric aspects, this new view of Earth [Gaia theory] provides the foundation for a new cultural map that can guide us in the planetary era (238)."

As a person who speaks publicly & teaches courses about climate change & Gaia, who has attempted to alert communities to the true scale & severity of this issue for over three years, I can say with confidence based in repeated experiences that even discussing the climate change problem freaks out most people. Even more, an understanding grounded in systems sciences & geophysiology sooner or later (usually sooner) evokes fear, often mixed with grief, such that most simply don't want to hear about it, let alone study it or consider preparing for it.

Making that fear worse, there is a very high probability that we can no longer stop climate change even if we could muster the political & economic will to do so. (See the bottom of this post for a brief explanation of that assertion.) As Dumanoski correctly asserts, we are probably already past the point of irreversible climate change, & that what we are about to face is more rapid, extreme, chaotic & violent than the huge majority of people can even imagine. That view is well-grounded in evidence from researchers in the field which strongly supports a systems view of climate change - that it will be rapid, nonlinear & chaotic - some of the most important aspects of which Dumanoski explains.

Her book is the most effective tool I've found yet for helping convince people that the threat is real, serious & impending. She brilliantly suggests two important new wrinkles to the discussion.

First, that our preparations are not about "adaptation" to change, because we don't know that to which we must adapt. We can only predict large-scale change to a hotter, more violent climate, but we don't yet understand what conditions will exist where, nor do we comprehend the extreme variability inherent in such rapid changes - ranging from hot to cold, from wet to dry.

Therefore, she argues persuasively that what we must focus on is adaptability: an ability to roll with the punches, to plan for multiple contingencies, to deal with what ever comes. Her suggestion is persuasively backed by insights into the adaptability practiced by our paleolithic ancestors during the extremes of the ice ages, variation characterized by as much change in a single decade as human civilizations have experienced only over thousands of years.

Second, as reflected in her second quote above, she argues persuasively in chapter 8 that an important part of the human survival strategy is to get to know Gaia, both scientifically & metaphorically. That goal is, indeed, emerging this academic year as the central theme of Euglena Academy: we are a school of Gaia, to help our community understand it on both of those levels.

For example, in winter term, I will offer a new introductory course about Gaia theory. (We attempted to offer it this term, but found too little interest in it to make it fly ... yet.) You'll find a brief course description along with scheduling details on the academy site, & a longer essay about that course here.

With every chapter of Dumanoski, I become more convinced that this is not only a life changer, it's also one of the most important books written so far in the 21st century.

However, the kind of changes that she espouses threatens comfortable lifestyles & even world views, motivating collective denial about the scale & severity of the problem. Simply put, many are afraid of climate change because it threatens the stability of civilization, even "the good life" for many. Therefore, instead of acknowledging the crisis & beginning to plan for survival, they try to stop it.

Case in point 1: I recently received mail from a local climate activist group encouraging me to come to their meeting to write letters to "protect the climate". The implication is that if we write our "leaders" (or to media), politicians will be more likely to pass legislation that will stop climate change & allow us continue living as we have without preparations for adaptability. No mention of discussions about preparations for survival.

Case in point 2: Last Saturday, I participated in Eugene's (OR) Climate & Energy Action Plan Kickoff, an all day event intended to begin a community level process of dealing with those two linked issues. While the event was another noble effort, organized & guided by the city's capable Energy & Climate Coordinator, Matt McCrae, it was sadly under attended (less than 100 for the morning session, dwindling to less than 20 by 5 pm) & focused on ways to stop climate change. Some discussion ensued in small group discussions about preparedness, but from my perspective, the main focus was on stopping it. Further, it's not clear to me that most participants really understood the true nature of what we face in terms of scale, speed & severity.

Case in point 3: An international climate movement - 350.org - has emerged, & includes climate luminaries like Bill McBibben & James Hansen. Their intentions are noble, & even necessary - we must do everything we can to slow climate change.

However, their implicitly stated goal - "to rapidly return to 350 ppm this century" - is unrealistic & misleading, grounded in ignorance of the climate system. Explaining why it is unlikely that we can return to 350 ppm in this century, or even prevent a rise to 450 ppm or above even with 0 carbon emissions from humans, is an essay in itself, or better a 2 hour lecture/discussion. (I'm ready when you are. Again, for a brief explanation, see the bottom of this post.)

Most importantly, attempts like 350.org that focus entirely on stopping heating & climate change contribute to postponement of preparations at personal, community & regional levels. Their web site lacks any reference to preparing for large-scale climate change. Their logic: If we can stop it, we don't have to prepare for it. IMO, that's dangerous thinking. Dumanoski agrees. Her book is about preparedness.

Again, as always in the past, I reiterate that we should do all in our power to slow or mitigate changes. But we are fools if we don't simultaneously put as much time, effort & money into preparations for inevitable changes.

As I've said repeatedly over years, what concerns me most is not climate change per se. I'm a mountaineer & desert rat. I've faced extremes of heat, cold & storm in very wild & exposed places, from the floor of deserts during summer to high country above 11,000' when snow flies. I know food & water will be severe problems, but I know how to live on little of both.

No, it's not climate change itself that I fear. My concern is social anarchy resulting from community-level unpreparedness for large-scale, catastrophic climate change. That is, I fear unprepared people, panicked by large changes because they didn't see it coming, more than climate change itself.

If communities are really ready with preparations grounded in a clear understanding of what we face - that Dumanoski lays out so clearly in her chapter 4 (& Fred Pearce expands upon so well in his book With Speed & Violence) - then the changes will have a lesser impact.

But, again, we are not focusing on preparations. Those few who are paying attention at all are still focusing almost entirely on "stopping it", not preparing for it. And again, the large majority of people do not yet even fully understand the problem, & therefore cannot possibly solve it. (IMO, it is impossible to solve a problem that one doesn't understand.)

Worse, most people simply aren't paying attention at all.

This post is going to be an evolving review of Dumanoski's book, to be developed as I continue to read, study & explore this book. Eventually, I'll turn it into an essay for posting to the academy web site, or maybe even become part of a book chapter.

Life just keeps getting more interesting.
And we ain't seen nothin' yet.

Please stay tuned ...
________________

A nutshell summary of why we can no longer stop climate change, even if governments can muster the political & economic will to make sufficient efforts which will require cutting emissions much more than 50% immediately (which, IMO, is extremely unlikely).

• CO2 has a residence time in the atmosphere measured in centuries, such that even if we stop producing carbon emissions today, what's up there already will remain - it's not going to magically fall out on it's own, & we do not have the technology to scrub it out. It will continue to heat Earth for at least another century.
  
  
• Humans are not "in charge" of the climate system; it has a "life"of its own. Specifically, positive feedback processes (those that do not reverse trends but rapidly accelerate them) are already kicking in insuring that heat & carbon loads will increase: melting polar ice will no longer reflect sunlight; dark ocean underneath the ice will absorb heat; melting permafrost & methane clathrates are spewing methane at record levels; forests are beginning to transition from carbon sinks to carbon sources; & most importantly, the oceans are undergoing massive changes due to their heating, which is driving marine phytoplankton (algae) towards the poles, reducing their ability to cool the planet through their role in cloud production & carbon sequestration (far more important than terrestrial plants).

Read more ...

Animate Earth

{Updated 02.12.10}

Over the last few months, I've been reading Animate Earth: Science, Intuition & Gaia by Stephen Harding. Dr. Harding is one of James Lovelock's closest colleagues. He accomplished important extensions of Lovelock's computer model of Gaia, Daisyworld, that demonstrated the model's robustness even with multiple species on multiple trophic levels & that challenged traditional modeling strategies in theoretical ecology & helped resolve an important decades-long debate about the role of complexity in ecosystem stability. (More on that another time.)

Currently, Dr. Harding is "coordinator of the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College" in Dartington, Devon, England. Upon Lynn Margulis' recommendation, I intend to teach a short course there next year.

I'd started reading AE last year upon recommendation from Lynn Margulis during a meeting with her in spring, 2008. She said to me, paraphrasing only slightly, if you want to really understand Gaia, read Animate Earth.

Now, Lynn Margulis is, IMO, one of the greatest biologists of the last few hundred years. OK, OK, the greatest. There, I admitted it. I think she ranks with Charles Darwin. Her work has informed my own development as a biologist since the 1970's, but with accelerating intensity for the last decade. I currently teach courses using no fewer than 5 of her books, & have plans to add more. Her work on eukaryotic cell evolution should win her a Nobel (if only they awarded them for such things). Add her work on speciation in eukaryotes (non-bacterial organisms with DNA in a nucleus) & her contributions to Lovelock's Gaia theory, & she just rocks my science world.

So, when Lynn makes a strong reading suggestion, I listen. I pulled AE off my shelf & started reading it ... that night.

A friend & academy board member had given it to me nearly a year earlier as a gift. I had begun then to read it, but didn't get far for two reasons. First, I was exceptionally busy just then & had insufficient time to read it carefully.

But second, and more challenging, when I read the first two chapters, I sort of walked away with - choosing my words carefully - a slightly uncomfortable feeling like I was dancing dangerously close to something that was squishy & a bit more "new age" than I was interested in.

So, for both reasons, I set it aside until after I had my meeting with Lynn. I read several chapters - including chapter 3 on Gaia hypothesis v theory, & chapter 8, "Desparate Gaia", about ice ages, interglacials (between ice ages) & extreme heating events.

I was impressed. His descriptions offered a nearly intuitive feeling for both topics for an average lay reader, yet with enough technical details to satisfy a PhD in ecology like me.

Then, alas, I got busy again, & had to put it down a second time.

Finally, during June, I pulled it off the shelf once again, dove in, & couldn't put it down.

Within the context of the well-developed science of later chapters, I now understand chapters 1 & 2 & their great importance much more clearly.

Here's a brief (& evolving) synopsis of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Anima Mundi. The crucial role of reintegration of the senses, intuition & ethics with science (rational thinking) as a way of knowing nature. A history of animism, how it has evolved a perspective during human development from childhood, as a perspective in human cultures historically, & needs a resurgence now even if with a different understanding. The role of modern science in shaping western views of nature, including promotion of a "dominance over nature" perspective that has reduced our deeply felt connections to nature & contributed to our current ecological crises. The role of holistic sciences (system sciences) in both explaining nature & understanding it; how by its nature, it promotes a redevelopment of intuition in our understanding of nature while disabusing our wrong-headed notion that we can control it.

Chapter 2: Encountering Gaia. An exposition of how Gaia has been understood using intuition, sensing, feeling & thinking from the perspective of four great thinkers: Aldo Leopold (intuition), David Abram (sensing), Arne Naess (deep ecology) & James Lovelock (Gaia theory).

Chapter 3: From Gaia Hypothesis to Gaia Theory. Pre-Gaia theory views of nature that were precursors of the theory. An explanation of Lovelock's main ideas, including an important distinction between the hypothesis & the theory. Three major criticisms of the theory & how they helped shape it. Major evidence supporting the theory. The role of "tight coupling" (linkage between parts of the system) & feedback. Daisyworld as a brilliant mathematical/computer model of Gaia (explained conceptually).

Chapter 4: Life & the Elements. A description of how the atoms of matter in nature fall into natural categories called elements with distinct behavioral characteristics. An overview of a few main elements playing major roles in Gaia: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, silicon, calcium, sulfur ... Origins of elements & the birth of our solar system.

Chapter 5: Carbon Journeys. Major players in the carbon cycle of Earth: life forms, atmosphere, oceans & rocks. Major forms of carbon in Gaia: organic (carbon-based) molecules, carbon dioxide (CO2), calcium carbonate (CaCO3: chalk & limestone). The crucial role of marine algae like Ehux (Emiliania huxleyii) & the great ocean currents (thermohaline circulation) in regulation of carbon from the atmosphere ("pump down"), rock weathering & volcanoes. The role of CO2 in regulating Earth's long-term temperature. Current trends in atmospheric CO2.

Chapter 6: Life, Clouds & Gaia. Clouds as Gaia's sunshades, cooling our planet against a sun that is getting increasingly brighter. Clouds as a product of sulfur waste products (dimethyl sulfide, or DMS) produced by marine algae, corals & microbes in rain forests. The role of terrestrial ecosystems (biomes) in planetary temperature regulation.

Chapter 7: From Microbes to Cell Giants. A brief history of life on Earth, focusing on how bacteria played a major role in climate regulation for billions of years (& continue to do so today), drastically changing the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere, including original pump down of CO2, production of oxygen & the important role of phosphorus in that process. Evolution of nucleated cells & their role in climate regulation.

Chapter 8: Desperate Gaia. Ice ages, interglacials & global heating events as attractors, with the former two dominating the last 2 million years, & last big heating event during the PETM, 55 million years ago. The astronomical factors that have regularly triggered (but do not "cause") rapid phase transitions between ice ages & interglacials. Why Earth's climate is very unstable & highly sensitive, esp during interglacials. How human activities are triggering the largest heating event since the PETM (although this one could be worse & far faster to develop). Hurricanes as a potential negative feedback to counter the numerous positive feedback processes now kicking in. Sobering conclusions about potential Earth temperature ranges & a thermostat that stuck on high for 200,000 years.
___________________

Even though I might pick a few points in a section or three, overall, I'm very favorably impressed with this book, & largely in agreement with the author's conclusions.

But what really grabbed me, & convinced me to begin a course on this book was Lynn's forward to the book. The following quote, in particular, is what stimulated my decision. In her quote, "It" refers to Animate Earth:

"It should serve as required reading [my emphasis] for at least the following kinds of classes in rough order of importance to their required subject matter): evolution, Earth sciences, biology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, economics, comparative religion, ethics, sociology, physiology, meteorology, and especially philosophy."

Read more ...

Systems, Synthesis & Symbiogenesis

{05.25.09}

I've decided to write a book.

Well parts of it are already drafted
as notes for classes that I teach.

The book will be co-authored w/ a colleague.

We haven't decided a title yet.

But I have begun to consider this:

• concept & purpose : this will form the main text for my course How Nature Works (HNW), an 8-week introduction of basic system principles, one of a triad of introductory courses on systems, life & Gaia; this book will also integrate the triad & serve as a gateway to advanced courses;
• media : online, printed, DVD;
  
• organization : integrated topics organized into linked chapters & sections;
  
• topics : thorough introductory-level treatments all components addressed in HNW - including science, models, chaos, fractals, power laws, cellular automata, energy flow & gradients (NET), emergence, autopoiesis, symbiogenesis & Gaia - w/ segue overviews into principles addressed in all other courses.
  

More to come ... Read more ...

Life as Work & Work as Life

Recently, my experiences at
a local public "party" (or was that a rave?)
convinced me that it's time for ...
some significant changes in my life
with regard to music, dancing & "parties";
in particular, I seem to be looking for
a type of party that doesn't really exist ... yet.

I want to explore those here ...
as I get time over the summer. (I'm super-busy now.)

Some points to be addressed:

• life, biology & the work to know
  what life is ... at multiple levels
• cells, organisms, ecosystems & Gaia
• evolution, what it is,
  & who cares
  
• rhythm, music & dancing
• parties & other social gatherings:
  why we produce & go to them
• passion, wildness & eros
  
• wild climates, past & future
• why I am not a member of the (at least that) cool kids crowd
  
• other stuff i haven't listed yet
  but is on my mind ...
  

Oh yeah: I may have some stuff for sale soon
because I feel a bout of nomadism coming on.
Feels like time to lighten the load.

Not that I'm "planning" to leave Eugene, at least permanently, but to maybe do some traveling, a speaker/workshop tour, camping in wild places ... in July & August, a slow time for classes at the academy anyway.

But I'd like to keep a campus open here if possible, active even in my absence, if this community will support it at increasing levels over the next few months (where "levels" encompasses both financial & other kinds of participation).

One thing's for sure: the future hasn't been written yet. We're making this up as we go.

We'll just have to see what happens next.
Read more ...

Spring equinox, 2009

It began "officially" this morning at 7:44 am,
interestingly, just as I was waking up.

(Interesting because I'm a night owl,
so I'm usually asleep at that time.)

Yet this morning, I needed to arise early.

How appropriate that occurred on spring equinox,
just as the sun reached the equator on its annual march
back into the northern hemisphere towards summer.

Once upon a time, when we were paying attention to nature
& not just watching nature specials on PBS,
human cultures celebrated this day,
marking it as special.

Now, nearly totally disconnected from knowledge of our planet, we barely take a break from discussions about economic collapse and corporate bonuses
long enough to notice it.

But then, we also fail to notice climate change for the same reason: we're disconnected from knowledge of our planet.

Such a disconnection will have a cost
far greater than economic collapse.

Perhaps we will be forced
to reconnect someday soon. Read more ...