I just got off a conference call workshop in which the facilitator repeatedly maintained that “it all starts with the individual”, in the sense that an individual has to do their own developmental and “get your life together” work in order to be i…
Social power is the ability of people and groups with wealth, position, notoriety, etc., to influence others. Social power enables those who hold it to gain more social power. There are ample examples of this magnifying (or “positive feedback”) dy…
When you are standing on the edge of a cliff, a step forward is not progress. — Anonymous Juliet Eilperin’s 9/25/09 Washington Post article “New Analysis Brings Dire Forecast of 6.3-Degree Temperature Increase” http://bit.ly/6degreesWarmer descri…
In my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, the City has chosen to explore the issues of climate change and energy challenges through the lens of six topics – * Buildings and Energy * Food and Agriculture * Land Use and Transportation * Consumption and Wast…
Howard Silverman of Ecotrust referred me to an article “Can Science be ‘Humanized’?” from Columbia Journalism Review http://bit.ly/KH8kf which is concerned with the struggle between science and the humanities in education and political life. The c…
A sociology student in France wrote to me, saying I’m interested in the concept of “collective intelligence”. When I referred to Wikipedia, it was explained like this: “the anti-globalization movement relies heavily on e-mail, cell phones, pagers,…
I believe there is an emerging movement increasingly focused on the conscious evolution of social systems. It hasn’t landed on a broadly agreeable name or identity, but I see a number of trends converging toward a common ground from fields as dive…
A friend wrote me “What is the distinction for a general reader between a Citizen Jury and Deliberative Poll?” Here’s my answer: A Citizens Jury is very analogous to a regular jury, but it is considering a public issue instead of the responsibilit…
Interesting conference entitled “We Demand Transparency” http://wedemandtransparency.com is being held in NYC on the anniversary of 9/11 to try bringing together the peace movement and the “truth” movement — the movement originally formed to chal…
US media are abuzz with the controversy over health care reform and disruptions of so-called “town hall meetings”. News media could contribute to the health of democracy far more by giving at least equal time to * the many instances in which high …