Join the Largest Movement in the World

I'm trying desperately to find the time to explore more of what's going on at one of my favourite sites, WiserEarth because every time I visit, I find myself so stimulated by the broad range of discussions and information on offer that I end up bookmarking more things to revisit than I can ever hope to catch up with in a lifetime.

WiserEarth - according to the site itself - is "an online community space for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and those that support their work: businesses, government agencies, funders, social entrepreneurs, students, organizers, academics, activists, scientists, and other concerned citizens of the world. (i.e. everybody - ed). WiserEarth provides the tools to help these 'communities of action' find each other, make connections, share resources, and build alliances."

The vision for a WiserEarth originally came from environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and best-selling author, Paul Hawken who is the author and co-author of dozens of articles and papers, as well as six books including Growing a Business, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being, and Why No One Saw It Coming and The Ecology of Commerce. In The Ecology of Commerce he introduced the 'comprehensive outcome principle' - taking account of the entire result of an event or process to all parties, not just the immediate participants - which was to be extremely influential in the eventual emergence of the concept of the ecological footprint and triple bottom line standards for sustainability.

Since then he has dedicated his life to changing the relationship between business and the environment, and between human and living systems in order to create a more just and sustainable world. His work includes starting and running ecological businesses, writing and teaching about the impact of commerce upon the environment, and consulting with governments and corporations on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy.

One of the things that makes WiserEarth so unique is that it functions both like Wikipedia, where any registered user can create and edit content, as well as like FaceBook where you can use social networking tools to connect with others. Because of this interesting mix of approaches, there is a lot of really fascinating content to be read and discussions to take part in for anyone interested in environmental and social change.


It was WiserEarth that first led me to define WhatWeGrow as an 'Ecopsychology' site, as I had never heard the term before, and one of the areas that fascinates me most is the stimulating discussions going on about the relationship that exists between our minds and bodies and the environment and societies within which we live and the connections that exist between these and cultural and educational practices. If this sounds like your cup of tea, integralecoawareness.org are offering a three day course in Berlin in December which promises to 'open pathways to empower the individual to creatively engage in change' through a very broad range of methodologies ranging from somatics/bodywork, to permaculture and nature awareness. Unfortunately I won't be able to make this one but I'm looking forward to feedback on how it goes :-)

Paul Hawken credits a Native-American for teaching him that the division between ecology and human rights is an artificial one, that the environmental and social justice movements addressed two sides of a larger dilemma; that the way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we treat each other is how we treat the earth. If you want to find out more about Paul Hawken, about ecopsychology or about the largest movement in the world, why not join me over at WiserEarth?

Sources: WiserEarth, Wikipedia and Integral Eco Awareness.org