Behind the Scenes in Babylon

the Gulhilde Maersk container ship arriving at Yantian Port in ChinaThe inter-connected systems of global civilisation are now so vast and complex that we, as in we of the developed and growing western world, have no real idea what goes into making our consumption-based lifestyles possible.

Tim Maughan and Unknown Fields took a journey into the ‘invisible network that keeps the world running’ and then kept going until they reached the place where the dream of technological liberation has brought a dystopian nightmare.

Click on the links above to read the articles and view slideshows, and watch the film here  >>

 

Posted in Babylon, Journeys
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From: Stream

How the West Has Won

candian-oil-sands-615Deep ecologist, writer and radical activist Derrick Jensen reflects on the relationships between human beings and the natural world, weaving through diverse topics whilst exploring how and why western civilisation has come to decimate the earth’s eco-systems.

Part 1 of the interview explores ‘How the West Has Won’
while part 2 asks What Do You Think Is Worth Fighting For?

Click here to read Jensen’s classic essay on transcending hope for change and moving into action, Beyond Hope >>

[Photograph by Peter Essick]

 

Posted in Babylon
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From: Stream

Tigers in your Garden

jadav-payengMartin Luther famously once said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would fall to pieces, I would still plant an apple tree.”

Since 1979 Jadav Payeng has been planting trees to make sure that his world would not fall to pieces – on Majuli, a constantly-eroding island in the Brahmaputra river in Assam, India. To date he has single-handedly planted, and nurtured, a forest larger than New York’s Central Park – a forest that now hosts elephants, rhinos, vultures and even tigers.
Forest Man tells his story >>

[Dispatch posted by the Bureau for Agent Stephen in the field.]
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Posted in Liberation
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From: Stream

Legal Rights for Mother Earth

bolivia-rightsDepending on who’s asking, the idea of giving legal rights to nature may seem completely outlandish or entirely sensible. Bolivia, which currently has a government with an indigenous majority is in a process of enshrining legal rights for the natural world.

It’s not without paradox, for the economy of the country is reliant on extractive industries such as mining and natural gas production, but it’s nevertheless a milestone in the diverse global movement expressed by some as eradicating ecocide.

Read the article >>

Posted in Liberation
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From: Stream

How Wolves Change Rivers

A project to re-introduce wolves into Yellowstone Park demonstrates the extraordinary interconnectedness of eco-systems.

The narrative to this film is an extract from George Monbiot’s Ted talk about rewilding
watch the full-length talk here >>
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Posted in Movement
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From: Stream

Facing Up To Reality – and Activating The Great Turning

joannamacy27“It needs to be done in groups so we can hear it from each other. Then you realize that it gives a lie to the isolation we have been conditioned to experience in recent centuries, and especially by this hyper-individualist consumer society. People can graduate from their sense of isolation, into a realization of their inter-existence with all.” Interview with deep ecologist, elder and activist inspiration, Joanna Macy

Posted in Movement
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From: Stream

The Five Biggest Threats to Human Existence

mushroom-cloudThe threat of extinction is not new to humanity. But our era is the first time in which those threats are anthropogenic – they are dangers we have created. Anders Sandberg from the Future of Humanity Institute considers five potential doom scenarios that can enhance appreciation of the present moment… Read the article >>

[Photographer unknown]
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Posted in Babylon
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From: Stream

Ecosystems of the Global City

Depth writing by Brett Scott on the nature of urban reality and our relationship to it

Read ->>
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Posted in Babylon, Movement
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From: Stream