Communication is the tool we use to navigate change in this perishable, impermanent world. We talk about what’s happening and what’s coming. We use words to rally and activate citizens; to inform and educate people; to alleviate or aggravate fears, depending on our intentions. Humans use language to make sense of things — even those things that are happening at a scale beyond … [Read more...]
More immediate steps needed for effective climate action
World governments finalized a global agreement today in Paris that lays a foundation for long-term efforts to fight climate change. More effort is needed to secure a path that would limit warming to 1.5C. This new agreement should be continuously strengthened and governments will need to go back home and deliver actions at all levels to close the emissions gap, resource the … [Read more...]
COP19 a “missed opportunity” for governments
As has become the tradition in the UN climate talks, the last day of the annual Conference of Parties (this year, COP19) stretched into the weekend. And as has become a tradition after the gavel’s sound marked the end of formal negotiations, our feelings couldn’t be more at odds with the relieved cheers and congratulatory remarks of exhausted government negotiators. Our … [Read more...]
Home-based transitions: a space of grace
Next up in our Green Afterlife series, we have a story by a transition facilitator who works with the dying to ease their journey. A few years ago I had the enormous privilege of assisting my mother through her transition. She was critically ill, and had expressed a strong desire to die in her familiar environment. We made a decision as a family to respect this wish, and … [Read more...]
The march of democracy
In 1989, Francis Fukuyama declared that democracy would eventually emerge as the universal form of human government. The intervening years have given ample ammunition to those who disagree. Indeed, the inexorable rise of China has led some to dismiss democracy’s messy compromises in favour of authoritarian efficiency. People are prepared to sacrifice their freedoms, the … [Read more...]
