Paul Hawken was the speaker today at my daughter's graduation. (The above excerpt came from another speech he did.) It was an honor to have him address this class faced with so many problems. There is no doubt our society may very well be in decline, just as so many before us throughout history. But even more daunting is that every single ecosystem in the world is also in decline. The young people who are entering a workforce that has been reduced to the lowest level in many years, will also be faced with trying to save a dying planet. So they will be militant, and we need to not only respect them, we need to get on board. I look forward to having my new graduate teach me about sustainability, conservation, urban planning. This may be a new beginning not just for her, but for us as well.
15 comments:
Yes, you are SO right. (as usual!) :D
Congratulations to Comet girl on her graduation, I am sure you were very proud.xx♥
Congrats to your daughter! I am glad that I am not facing the things she will. That's probably the best part of being older! I have faith in this generation.
Congrats to your daughter! It IS a new world out there now.. it's going to have to be if we are going to keep us and this planet alive. I have a new baby grandson too and I so hope that by the time he graduates from college the world will be a different and better place. Please keep posting I love reading everything you have to say.. you seem like a person with a head on her shoulders and a heart to boot.. Bless you and yours...
congrats to your daughter! Read Blessed Unrest. intriguing book. it is a shame the state we leave out planet in for the next generation. maybe they will have new ideas to replace the same old ones that don't seem to work. i look forward to it.
I was blown away by his commencement address at the University of Portland in May and posted about it too. His talk and his work at WiserEarth give me hope.
I always enjoy this time of year, and seeing and hearing the graduation classes and stories. They bring such hope and promise to us, a great energy that really is unmatched.
What a beautiful and encouraging speech. Wow!
It breaks my heart. A part of me wants to major some sort of botany or farming course because I feel so helpless now.
Your daughter is a very ambitious woman. :) She gets it from her mama.
It's reached the point where those of us in the west will have no choice about living with less so the world can have more. The surprise to many will be how much more the world will give to us in return. There is no loss, only change.
A very inspiring speech for all of us..not only for the graduates. Congrats to your daughter and to you, Mom, for a job well done!
Wow. I've not heard of him or his book before. I believe this encompasses the optimism I have been feeling for months. Change is happening, not only with the young minds but with us oldies, too. It is long over due, and is exciting. Energy is in motion.
Congratulations to your daughter.
Thank you so much for sharing Paul's video and commencement address.
To support the type of collaboration you and your commenters are discussing, Paul founded the online global community space WiserEarth to connect individuals and organizations working for a just and sustainable world.
The site provides free group spaces with collaboration tools such as wikis, discussion boards, event postings, and maps of members.
With thanks for the important work you do.
The corrected URL for WiserEarth is:
http://www.wiserearth.org
I love Paul Hawken. I read his Blessed Unrest book recently and it really opened my eyes!
love,
Erika
I am so very grateful to have watched this video. I have always believed that the earth has an immune system. I figured it was in the water, trees or the air. I never considered that we, as humans, would be a part of it. I always considered us the virus. I am so pleased to have had my faith in human kind brought back to earth, of which we are such a large part.
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