Given the inherently un-sustainable nature of nuclear power generation – to say nothing of its profound lack of resilience – I have no doubt that the future of Japan, and indeed the world, will ultimately be nuclear free, perhaps within mere decades (albeit with residual nuclear contamination persisting for tens of thousands of years, well [...]
Posts Tagged ‘new paradigm’
14 Jun
Coexisting with Nature: Reflections after the Devastating 2011 Earthquake in Japan
In the three months since Japan’s major earthquake in March, many evocative articles and inspiring anecdotes have been published that, taken together, could well represent the early contours of a new, emerging paradigm of remembrance of our fundamental and inextricable oneness with nature and each other. When I began musing about the revitalization of satoyama culture it [...]
2 May
Japan should look to satoyama and satoumi for inspiration – A new article on Our World 2.0
This morning Our World 2.0 posted an outstanding new article entitled, “Japan should look to satoyama and satoumi for inspiration“. It is exciting and gratifying to see the concepts of satoyama and satoumi being highlighted for their potential to provide a sustainable, resilient, long-term basis for a rich and dynamic culture and thriving relationship with [...]
25 Feb
To Serve the Ecosystems that Serve Us
The following article appears in Our World 2.0. It is a modified (improved!) version of a an earlier post on this blog. Thank you, OW2.0, for picking this up and helping spread these ideas! What if we changed our relationship with the natural world from one of taking what we can to one of reciprocity [...]
11 Nov
Further signs of change in Japan: Portent or promise?
Inspired by the quickening pace of change occurring in Japan and around the world, a few weeks ago I began drafting a blog post tentatively titled, “Japan as Number One, Again?” in which I argue (as I have in previous posts – for example, here) why I believe that Japan is poised to once again [...]
30 Oct
From Ecosystem Services to Gift Culture: An Overdue Change in Perspective
What if we changed our relationship with the natural world from one of taking what we can to one of reciprocity and mutual giving? The International Satoyama Initiative formally launched at this week’s COP10 Biodiversity Conference in Nagoya, Japan, provides an important boost to preserving traditional forest and farmland (“satoyama”), and seaside (“satoumi”) ecological production [...]
9 May
For the “ama” free divers of Japan, the sacred feminine remains central
The outstanding webzine Our World 2.0 recently posted a remarkable article and video about the “ama” free divers of Hegura Island off the Noto Peninsula in the Japan Sea. For centuries these divers, all women, have been collecting abalone and other sea life using nothing but loin clothes, only adopting wet suits in 1964.
3 May
A subtle but profound shift appears to be taking place in the Japanese psyche
This weekend I was very pleased to read Japan For Sustainability’s April newsletter article, Good-Bye ‘Ownership,’ ‘Materialism,’ and ‘Monetization” in Lifestyles: A New Era Dawning in Japan, as it is a timely reflection of what I feel to be a very important, and hopeful, trend occurring in Japan, and later, the world.
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