Love Is Green Compassion As Responsibility In The Ecological Emergency

This book links three themes, non-dualistic agency, ‘the good’ of systems, and compassionate attunement, and relates them to the ecological emergency. The author begins by examining how we currently understand our ability to choose what we do, our agency and conclude that this is dualistic: we think of an action to do, and then we physically act. Yet an understanding that we are enmeshed in context means our capacity to act freely dissolves in the mesh. We evolved capacities for consciousness and awareness, capacities that allow us to realise that we are here, now but that do not inevitably imply choice. Our capacity for ‘realisation’ gives us the ability to elicit an emotional response. When we understand our enmeshment, we can attune to a deep compassion for ourselves and indeed for all systems unfolding through time. Compassionate attunement allows a different set of options for action to become available to us. This then shifts how we respond to ourselves, our human relationships and to the ecological emergency we are currently embroiled in. This work is inspired by the great Kamakura Zen Master Eihei Dōgen. The book’s contribution is to extend and link the notion of practice-realisation with the literature on evolutionary biology and entropy maximisation which allows us to speak of ‘the good’ of systems. Systems unfold as ‘good’ for us when biodiversity maximisation occurs. By considering the ecological emergency in light of compassionate attunement, we open ourselves to a new array of possibilities for action. Some of these the author outlines in the conclusion, relating them to existing literature on compassionate achievement and compassionate communication, to show how our this practice shifts our relationship to ourselves, to one another, and to the ecological emergency, thus changing the course of human history.

This book links three themes, non-dualistic agency, `the good¿ of systems, and compassionate attunement, and relates them to the ecological emergency. The author begins by examining how we currently understand our ability to choose what we do, our agency and conclude that this is dualistic: we think of an action to do, and then we physically act. Yet an understanding that we are enmeshed in context means our capacity to act freely dissolves in the mesh. We evolved capacities for consciousness and awareness, capacities that allow us to realise that we are here, now but that do not inevitably imply choice. Our capacity for `realisation¿ gives us the ability to elicit an emotional response. When we understand our enmeshment, we can attune to a deep compassion for ourselves and indeed for all systems unfolding through time. Compassionate attunement allows a different set of options for action to become available to us. This then shifts how we respond to ourselves, our human relationships and to the ecological emergency, we are currently embroiled in. This work is inspired by the great Kamakura Zen Master Eihei D¿gen. The book¿s contribution is to extend and link the notion of practice-realisation with the literature on evolutionary biology and entropy maximisation which allows us to speak of `the good¿ of systems. Systems unfold as `good¿ for us when biodiversity maximisation occurs.By considering the ecological emergency in light of compassionate attunement, we open ourselves to a new array of possibilities for action. Some of these the author outlines in the conclusion, relating them to existing literature on compassionate achievement and compassionate communication, to show how our this practice shifts our relationship to ourselves, to one another, and to the ecological emergency, thus changing the course of human history.

This book argues that philosophy is as practical as plumbing and what we need right now is what philosophers can offer as philosophers to help us all, our species, and beyond, through this ecological emergency, this climate change, this anthropocene. This book is about the meaning and purpose of philosophy as a way of, a practice of, responding to the ecological emergency, which includes climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, habitat destruction, and all the associated impacts that fragment, and threaten to create collapse, among the systems that created and sustain us. There are the related economic and social impacts, the fragmentation of communities and political ideologies through attitude polarisation, and the increasing threats to systems by those who seek to promote further exploitation at the expense of attempts to regain some system of cooperation and an attitude of compassion which is at the heart of our survival strategies as a species. Philosophy has always sought to address questions related both to our place in the universe, and to how to live, given our understanding of our place. Those of us committed to a philosophical life have used a range of metaphors and narratives to enlighten, and to exhort to action, those who would seek to understand what to do, how, and why. Philosophy has played a key role in helping us as a species to respond to the ecological emergency. What, then, is the practice of philosophy, given that we’re in an ecological emergency? This question is the thread, and it forms the framework for the dialogue that runs through the book.

This book critically explores philosophy as a practice. Philosophy is both a process of re-examining the grounds on which our beliefs and attitudes about the world are based, and in its older role, is the deliberation on how to live. The context for this exploration is the ecological emergency: climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and all the other impacts of the Anthropocene, and also our social and political reactions to these. The book examines, from a multiplicity of perspectives, how we see ourselves, and the more-than-human world, and how these views influence our capacity to respond to the urgent and critical issues that we now face. The central argument of the book is that philosophy is both a way of seeing what is going on, and a practical engagement with that understanding. Dr Lucy Weir, the editor of this collection, was mentored by the late Emeritus Professor Barbara Harrell-Bond (founder of The Refugee Studies Programme, Oxford University). Harrell-Bond emphasised the value and importance of a multidisciplinary approach, combining scholarship, policy and practice. This work echoes those aims. Weir's publications include "Fleeing Vesuvius" (New Society, 2011, contributing author) and "Love is Green: compassion as responsibility in the ecological emergency" (Vernon Press, 2019). The biographies of the distinguished list of contributors is included in the text.

How does Buddhism respond to the climate emergency? The Burning House asks how we can wake up and respond to the climate crisis from a Buddhist perspective. It will be of interest to Buddhists concerned about the climate and to eco-activisms wishing to ground their work in a spiritual context.

In the context of climate change, world population growth and crashing ecological systems, wildfire is often a catastrophic and traumatic event. Its impact can include loss of life, life-changing injuries, long-term psychological stress; increases in domestic violence; destruction of properties, business and livestock; long-term housing insecurity; increased insurance premiums, fire-fighting, legal and health costs; as well as significant changes and species losses in the natural environment. In Australia, an average of 4,500 wildfires occur weekly. Yet how to prevent these wildfires, 85% of which are caused by human activities, has received extraordinarily little attention. The current approach to the prevention of arson can be summarised as small in scale, uncoordinated and rarely evaluated. ‘Feeling the heat: International perspectives on the prevention of wildfire ignition’ is the culmination of over a decade of research into wildfires and arson; taking an interdisciplinary approach to comprehensively understand the topic. This book reviews current international knowledge and presents new findings on political, spatial, psychological, socio-ecological and socio-economic risk factors. It argues that if we are to reverse the increasing occurrence and severity of wildfires, all prevention approaches must be utilised, broadening from heavy reliance on environmental modification. Such prevention measures range from the critical importance of reducing greenhouse gases to addressing the psychological and socio-economic drivers of arson. In particular, it calls for a coordinated and collaborative approach across sectors, including place-based, state and country coordination, as well as an international body. It will hold appeal for researchers and students from a range of disciplines and interests, government planners and policymakers, emergency services, counsellors and NGOs, and those in agriculture and forestry.

A provocative and urgent essay collection that asks how we can live with hope in “an age of ecocide” Paul Kingsnorth was once an activist—an ardent environmentalist. He fought against rampant development and the depredations of a corporate world that seemed hell-bent on ignoring a looming climate crisis in its relentless pursuit of profit. But as the environmental movement began to focus on “sustainability” rather than the defense of wild places for their own sake and as global conditions worsened, he grew disenchanted with the movement that he once embraced. He gave up what he saw as the false hope that residents of the First World would ever make the kind of sacrifices that might avert the severe consequences of climate change. Full of grief and fury as well as passionate, lyrical evocations of nature and the wild, Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist gathers the wave-making essays that have charted the change in Kingsnorth’s thinking. In them he articulates a new vision that he calls “dark ecology,” which stands firmly in opposition to the belief that technology can save us, and he argues for a renewed balance between the human and nonhuman worlds. This iconoclastic, fearless, and ultimately hopeful book, which includes the much-discussed “Uncivilization” manifesto, asks hard questions about how we’ve lived and how we should live.