Podcast appearances and mentions of gus speth

Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17, 21-22   1. What stands in the way of having a deeper faith? On August 5, 1949 a crew of fifteen elite US Forest Service smokejumpers, or airborne firefighters, stepped out of their plane above a remote wildfire in Montana. Within an hour all but three of them were dead or mortally burned. They were caught by flames as they ran uphill through dried grass on a steep slope trying to reach a higher ridge. [1]   The University of Chicago English Literature professor Norman Maclean (1902-1990), who himself had experience as a fire fighter, happened to be in town and took the time to visit the fire even as it still burned. The men who perished were mostly in their early twenties and their stories haunted Maclean until he retired from teaching decades later and began writing about them.   He begins his book Young Men and Fire saying, “The problem of self-identity is not just a problem for the young. It is a problem for all the time. Perhaps the problem. It should haunt old age, and when it no longer does it should tell you that you are dead.” [2]   Maclean found his self-identity wrapped up in the tragedy. And so he studied what happened intently: the physics of fire (how a blowup happens and burns uphill), the geology, weather, terrain and botany of that particular river valley and hillside, safety changes that the tragedy inspired at the Forest Service.   Maclean notes that from the arrangement of the bodies rescue crews observed that most men had fallen and gotten up again. He writes, “at the very end beyond thought and beyond fear and beyond even self-compassion and divine bewilderment there remains some firm intention to continue doing forever... what we last hoped to do on earth.”   His last paragraph says, “I, an old man, have written this fire report… it was important to me, as an exercise for old age, to enlarge my knowledge and spirit so I could accompany young men, whose lives I might have lived, on their way to death. I have climbed where they have climbed, and in my time I have fought fire and inquired into its nature… I have lived to get a better understanding of myself and those close to me, many of them now dead… I have often found myself thinking of my wife on her brave and lonely way to death.”   2. What stands in the way of having a deeper faith? This week in a group my friend Chris directed this question to me. At first I didn't say anything and let the conversation flow. I had in mind the writer Mary Karr's observation that, “Talking about spiritual activity to a secular audience is like doing card tricks on the radio.” [3] But then another friend asked me the same question. So let me try to answer here.   I do not think that the major obstacle to deeper faith has much to do with belief. This is made more complicated because in our time of relative spiritual naiveté many people do not seem aware that we have to learn an adult faith. Paul writes, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways” (1 Cor. 13:11).   Another factor is that many modern people feel that they don't have enough time to come to church or pray. Their work life and other obligations squeeze everything else out. Twenty years ago Robert Putnam pointed out that instead of joining bowling leagues as they once did many people are bowling alone. In other words, people are more isolated and not joining groups and civic organizations in the way they once did. Some people may have an idea of who they might find in a church and simply do not want to be around that kind of person. I can imagine someone with integrity being afraid that faith creates an obligation to take care of other people. And it does.   Despair is also a barrier. Some look at pain in the world and think God is at fault or that this proves there is no God. They have never been introduced to a more subtle form of faith in a God who suffers along with us in the person of Jesus.   I did not say any of this in our conversation. Instead I offered a short response and said: A profound barrier to having faith in our time is rapidly accelerating capitalism. This worldview has become so pervasive today that we are living examples of David Foster Wallace's joke. You remember the old fish swims past two younger ones and says, “How's the water?” The younger fishes swims on for a bit. Then one turns to the other and says, “What the heck is water?” [4]   What I mean by capitalism is an expanding set of values that colonizes our inner life and every domain of our daily experience. This includes a sense that the world is inert or dead, that everything can be measured objectively and valued. It makes our interactions into transactions. It turns gifts into investments and makes non-work activities seem somehow wasteful.   This kind of consciousness leads us to see ourselves as insatiable consumers who can never get enough and others as means to our own ends. It erodes a sense of gratitude and implies that good things have all been earned. It makes radically accelerating inequality seem inevitable even when this destabilizes democracy (and all other forms of community). Above all in our case capitalism is leading us to an extreme individualism that does radical damage to human dignity.   In response, my friends talked about how great life is in the twenty-first century and how it was not that long ago when half of Americans did not have access to warm showers. And I told them about how a society's income inequality is directly correlated with mental illness, and about the misery I encountered that day going twice through the Tenderloin among people suffering so gravely from mental illness and addiction.   I have a friend who lives in a small city apartment. Yes, she has a hot shower. But she wants me to call her every week because she is so alone that no one will even notice when she dies.   Climate scientist Gus Speth writes, “I used to think the top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought with 30 years of good science we could address those problems, but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy – and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation and we scientists don't know how to do that.” [5]   3. My friends should have asked a more interesting question, “what can remove these obstacles to faith?” The English translation of today's gospel states that those going out to see John the Baptist were “filled with expectation.” A better translation of this (prosdokōntos) would be foreboding or dread. That was not the world of what some would prematurely call late stage capitalism, but the shocking violence of those times would not be entirely unfamiliar to us.   Did you wonder about the verses that were omitted in our reading (Luke 3:18-20)? They interject a short reference to King Herod who later killed John in prison. And yet Luke writes, “John proclaimed the good news to the people” (Lk. 3). What is this good news? First, even though our inner lives seem thoroughly colonized by a world picture that seems to be leading to the death of our humanity and our planet, we can be changed. The word Luke uses is metanoia and means a change of mind or heart which we call repentance.   Second, don't be confused and think that there are some people who are wheat and others who are chaff. Just as a single grain has both parts, each of us do too. And through prayer we have Jesus' help as we try to separate what is good in our life so that it will thrive and minimize the prejudices and destructive thoughts that distort us.   Finally, let me assure you that deeper than all our thoughts there is a place within us where we can meet God. That voice that speaks quietly to Jesus says the same thing to us too. If you listen this morning you will hear in your own way God saying, “You are my child, my beloved, with you I am well pleased” (Lk. 3).   My friends what stands in the way of having a deeper faith – not just in general, but for you? The world around us is burning. 153,000 LA County residents are under mandatory evacuation orders and an area greater than the size of San Francisco has been reduced to ash. Our governor and next president are publicly feuding. [6] Many of us feel a sense of foreboding as if we were trapped halfway up a hill only just above the rising flames.   Through a lifetime of studying their story Norman Maclean saw similarities between those young men each one knowing he was alone at his death and Jesus. In Young Men and Fire Maclean writes about the group's foreman Wagner Dodge who lit a safety fire and tried to convince his men to follow him into the protection of the already charred land. Strangely enough going toward and more deeply into the fire was ultimately what saved his life. Perhaps this is true for us also. In our time we have fought fire and inquired into its nature. Each of us is trying to reach a higher ridge. After we have lived for a better understanding of ourselves and those close to us we each arrive at the same place. And at the very end beyond thought and beyond fear and beyond even self-compassion that is where we meet the one who has climbed everywhere we have climbed, the one who is closer to us than we are to ourselves. And we shall hear the voice of the One who loves us. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Gulch_fire [2] Norman Maclean, Young Men and Fire (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992) xiii, 300-1. [3] Matthew Boulton, “Theologian's Almanac,” SALT, 12 January 2025. https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2025/1/7/theologians-almanac-for-week-of-january-12-2025 [4] David Foster Wallace, “This Is Water,” Commencement Speech, Kenyon College, 2005. https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/ [5] Cited in a letter from Rev'd Dr. Vincent Pizzuto sent on Friday 10 January 2025. [6] https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/11/us/los-angeles-fires-california

Wildfires like those hitting southern California take an enormous social and psychological toll on victims and observers alike. We hear how people and communities can heal from the “climate trauma” brought by wildfires and other disasters linked to the climate crisis. Also, President-elect Trump's stated plans to again remove the U.S. from the Paris Accord would be just the latest whiplash in a decades-long trend of U.S. inconsistency on the climate. What's ahead for global and domestic climate policy over the next four years. And the Carter Presidency left a legacy of environmental action, ranging from major habitat protection to trying to address the then largely unrecognized threat of fossil fuels to climate stability. Gus Speth chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter and joins us to recall pivotal moments and ponder what might have been if the solar-panel-loving President had won a second term. This episode of Living on Earth is sponsored in part by AirDoctor – the air purifier that is designed to filter out 99.99 percent of dangerous contaminants so your lungs don't have to – including allergens, pollen, pet dander, dust mites, mold spores – even bacteria and viruses – To get your AirDoctor, go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code EARTH  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US government is frequently defined generally as an army with an insurance company.  Regarding the latter, podcast listeners are well aware federal healthcare policymakers have essentially done nothing to address the healthcare industry's annual 500 million ton carbon footprint, 9% of total annual US GHG emissions, despite the fact that at $1.5 trillion the federal government is far and away the largest purchaser of healthcare services.  What about the army?  The army, or the Department of Defense (DOD), is the single largest institutional fossil fuel user and consequently the single largest GHG emitter in the world.  The DOD along with the military-industrial complex annually emit over 110 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions that represents 80% of the federal governments total annual GHG emissions.  This reality is particularly disturbing and paradoxical because the DOD's contribution to the climate crisis compromises its mission to ensure our nation's security.  Despite the fact climate crisis-caused geopolitical instability is increasing, absent proactively working toward building climate security, or climate crisis-related conflict prevention the Pentagon is, Prof. Crawford concludes, inadvertently or deliberately militarizing climate change, that is preparing to fight climate-related battles.  (Listeners are also encouraged to read MIT Press's related 2021 work by Gus Speth titled, They Knew, The US Fed Govt's 50 Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis.)       This 35-minute interview begins by Prof. Crawford describing what largely accounts for the DOD GHG emissions and problems associated with calculating total DOD emissions.  She explains the 1997 Kyoto agreement that permitted countries to exempt military emissions from nations' reduction goals.  She explains the DOD's use of fossil fuels since Vietnam to present and reductions in DOD emissions over the past few years, discusses US continuing the emission costs of continuing to defend the Persian Gulf, the debate between DOD building resilience versus mitigating GHG emissions and the interview concludes with Prof. Crawford's comments concerning whether increasing climate disruption will necessarily lead to conflict or war.         Neta Crawford is Montague Burton Chair in International Relations and also holds a Professorial Fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.  She previously taught Boston University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.   Prof. Crawford is a co-founder and co-director of the Costs of War Project, based at Brown University and since 2017 has served on the board of the nuclear non-proliferation advocacy organization, Council for a Livable World.   She also serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Political Philosophy and Global Perspectives.  Prof. Crawford received the Distinguished Scholar award from the International Ethics section of the International Studies Association in 2018.   She was a co-winner of the 2003 American Political Science Association Jervis and Schroeder Award for best book in International History and Politics for her work, Argument and Change in World Politics: Ethics, Decolonization, Humanitarian Intervention.  Professor Crawford's most recent publication is The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War (MIT Press, 2022). She is also working on To Make Heaven Weep: Civilians and the American Way of War.  She has authored several other books including, Accountability for Killing: Moral Responsibility for Collateral Damage in America's Post‑9/11 Wars (2013).  Her opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post.  Prof. Crawford earned her undergraduate degree at Brown and her doctorate in political science at MIT.  Information on Prof. Crawford's book is at: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047487/the-pentagon-climate-change-and-war/. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com

The World Resources Institute is now 40 years old, but how have the world's climate challenges changed in that time? And how has WRI evolved to meet them? In this podcast, Ani Dasgupta talks about 4 decades of climate action, about technology, growing global awareness of climate change, and the need to make sure climate action is about equity as well as carbon reduction. Former WRI presidents Gus Speth and Jonathan Lash also feature. WRI Big Ideas Into Action podcasts are produced and presented by Nicholas Walton.

Listen in as Gus Speth speaks about insights from his book, _They Knew_. As early as the Carter Administration, in which Speth served, experts in and out of government argued for climate action, urgings well-covered in the media at the time. Six administrations followed, with next to nothing being done to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and much being done to sustain them. There are lessons to be learned for the future, especially one big lesson. Gus Speth: In 2009, he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the U.N. Development Group.  Prior to his service at the U.N., he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration); and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation's Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America's Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, the Blue Planet Prize, the Thomas Berry Great Work Award of the Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities, and the Thomas Berry Award of the Forum on Religion and Ecology. Speth spoke with UVM on January 28th, 2022. Read more about Gus: https://www.uvm.edu/gund/profiles/gus-speth Learn more about the Gund Institute: www.uvm.edu/gund Explore Gund events: www.uvm.edu/gund/events

CLIMATE ACTION RADIO SHOWAPRIL 4TH 2022 LISMORE FLOODS and  SCHOOL STRIKE 4 CLIMATE AT KIRRIBILLI Speaking from SS4CPhil Bradley - NSW Teachers 'FederationThomas Mayor - Maritime Union of AustraliaStudent from  Lismore - EllaStudent from Sydney - James Speaking from Lismore to The Juice Media's Giordano NanniSue Higginson - Former head of the Environmental Defenders Office and Lismore Local farmer.Like our forests we burnLIke our storms we rageLike our oceans we riseLike our planetWE FIGHT BACK With views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge thousands of school students gathered outside the Prime Minister's house. Ella, an 11 year old girl spoke about the Lismore floods which have made her a refugee for the moment. James spoke of his frustration with government  and  called on us to overthrow it to get change. Thomas Mayor from MUA spoke about the Uluru statement from the heart being ignored and how now the future adults of this country are being ignored. As a Zenadeth Kes man from the Torres Strait he knows the  real effects of our continued inaction.It was an energetic and ardent meeting strongly connecting  the profits made from fossil fuels with the devastation caused to people. #People before profits.In Sydney's Daily Telegraph for 25th March The IPA's Dr Bella D'Abrera called the strike "Outrageous"....." The National curriculum not only tells children that it's wrong to question climate change but it  also wants to turn them into left wing activists"....... "It's a damning indictment of our education system that children genuinely believe that Australian Government policy will make a difference to the world's climate".We also briefly hear from the court case Juliana v United States featured in the film "Youth V Gov. Renknowned Environmental lawyer Gus Speth says " This huge failure to rise to the moment, I think it's the greatest dereliction of civic duty in the history of the republic". Take note Sussan Ley. As I send this programme to community radio 3cr and Skid Row, a second huge emergency has been declared in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Lismore region. Instead of our show on the latest IPCC report, we are broadcasting, with permission, a brilliant interview which really takes you there.Sue Higginson, former head of the EDO is also a Lismore local and farmer. She is deeply aware of the connections between this devastation and the ongoing permits for coal oil and gas which turbo charge it. She tells about the heroism of this community which has a strong tradition of looking after each other. Sue comments on the DUTY ofCARE court case brought by young people against the minister for the environment.  Now Sue is going to the NSW Parliament to transform the laws. It is one of the rawest and best informed interviews you will hear and we thank Giordano and the Juice Media team. You can see their satirical Honest Government ad on the floods.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFy2TuPDawand support them onwww.patreon.com/thejuicemedia Thomas Mayor's books https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/author/Thomas-Mayor?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_4-SBhCgARIsAAlegrUVqwqSH2E6T58ywK2Fsq3vp8k1jUy0lBO-B823z91cZg91k89757IaAtSoEALw_wcB     

Continuing with the series “My Life's Compass” we explore a little deeper into the proposal by that yoga system that it is through restraint and control of the mind, senses, and desires, that one gains true freedom and is able to overcome selfishness, greed, and apathy, which the environmental scientist Gus Speth says is the root cause of all the environmental problems. Some of the Vedic verses I quoted: But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Supreme. - Bhagavad-gita 2.64 A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad-gita 2.70 Fearlessness; purification of one's existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor -- these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature. - Bhagavad-gita 16.1-3 And the following verses on Yama & Niyam from the Yoga-sutra 2.29 Control of the senses (yama), observance of rules (niyama), bodily postures (asana), regulation of the breath (pranayama), the withdrawal of the mind from sense objects (pratyahara), focusing the mind on a chosen object (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and complete absorption in trance (samadhi) are the eight limbs of yoga. 2.30 Non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy and freedom from possessiveness make up the yamas. 2.31 These laws are universal and must be practiced without consideration of time, place, birth or circumstances. Together they constitute the "great vow" of life. 2.32 The niyamas (observances) are internal and external purity, contentment, acceptance of austerity, the recitation of sacred mantras and study of Vedic texts, and complete devotion and surrender to the Supreme. Kirtan is to the cover "What a Beautiful Name It Is" SHOW LESS

This is the 1st part of a series called “My Life's Compass” that deals with the need to have clear guiding principles in life. It begins with a profound statement by a leading environmental scientist: “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.” – Gus Speth, American environmental lawyer and advocate former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. Most of us are unaware that this greed, envy, apathy, and underlying selfishness have actually been intentionally cultivated in the wider society. In the early 1920's a quiet revolution was started to bring about a drastic social change. Banker Paul Mazur of Lehman Brothers famously wrote: "We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs." A new kind of advertising was key to make this possible, and the pioneer in this field was Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud, who showed corporations how to make people want things they didn't need by linking mass-produced goods to unconscious desires. But by the 1970s the adverse effects were obvious. British Economist E.F. Schumacher wrote: “Economic progress, [the economist] Keynes counseled, is obtainable only if we employ those powerful human drives of selfishness, which religion and traditional wisdom universally call upon us to resist. The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.” This shift in consciousness towards consumerism required a convergence of 1) the messaging that consumption is all-desirable and the new “God”, and 2) the gradual abandonment of traditional values and morality through the undermining of the value of religion. So the big question is – what will replace traditional ethics and morality as the compass for our journey of life? How do we address selfishness, greed, and apathy? What are the guiding principles for my life? The ending kirtan is sung to the Kodaline cover "All I Want"

One of the glaring observations around the world about lockdown was how dramatically the pollution levels fell and the environment began “healing”. The abuse of the environment by humanity at large is unquestionable, but the ‘solution' is less obvious. Rather than just pushing for the use of alternative energy sources – that doesn't address the underlying problem which is over-consumption – there is a need to dig a bit deeper. Gus Speth, the American environmental lawyer, and advocate, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme has stated: “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.” This view is reinforced by the British Economist, E.F. Schumacher, when in the early 1970's he stated: “The modern economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.” The current environmental crisis is nothing less than a ‘spiritual' crisis. And the solution must, therefore, be spiritual. Mahatma Gandhi wisely stated; “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.”

Gus Speth, the ultimate "insider" in the halls of government, international NGOs and U.S. nonprofits when it came to environmental issues, discusses his new book, "They Knew: The U.S. Federal Government's Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis"

To learn more: thenextsystem.org and ourchildrenstrust.org GUSTAVE SPETH served as Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality in the Carter Administration, was Administrator of the UN Development Programme for 6 years, Dean of the Yale School of the Environment for 10, and is a co-founder of the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Speth believes that a meaningful response to the climate crisis is impossible if we simply focus on climate or energy or emissions. It calls for a new system of political economy to replace the current system which is not up to the challenge. Speth has released two books this year: THE NEW SYSTEMS READER: Alternatives for a Failed Economy and THEY KNEW: The US Federal Governments Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis

This week, world leaders are gathered at the United Nations' COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, to discuss what to do about the climate crisis. Gus Speth knows what brought us to the edge of this climate emergency. President Carter and all the presidents who followed knew, too.The United States government knew that climate change was an impending disaster. They knew that burning fossil fuels could drive the world into crisis. And yet for the last half century, American leaders put their feet on the accelerator of fossil fuel consumption and pushed down hard.The actions of American leaders “on the national energy system over the past several decades are, in my view, the greatest dereliction of civic responsibility in the history of the Republic,” writes Speth.Gus Speth is now telling the story of how and why this happened. Speth, who lives in Strafford, Vermont, is a luminary in the environmental movement. He served as chair of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality during the Carter Administration. He went on to lead the U.N. Development Program, served as Dean of the Yale School of Environment and co-founded the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was a professor at the Vermont Law School and is now part of The Next System Project, which addresses systemic challenges confronting the U.S. Speth's latest book is They Knew: The Us Federal Government's Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis. On this week's Vermont Conversation, Speth talks about what radicalized him, leading him to go from government insider to getting arrested in front of the White House protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.

From LBJ to the present, the federal government has knowingly continued to expand the US fossil economy, not passively but as a major active player, endangering the future of young people.

Kate Parker is well known for her ocean activism with Sea Shepherd and other organisations.  In this episode, we talk about the real problems that the planet is facing and it is not what you would expect.  Kate took to a life of activism after watching the Cowspiracy documentary which highlighted the devastating effects that agriculture and commercial fishing have on the environment. She decided to protect the oceans because various processes that take place are responsible for the majority of the oxygen we breathe: meaning no fish = no humans.   We delve deep into the psychology that leads to the destruction of a planet based upon the famous quote by Gus Speth, who is an American environmental lawyer, and advocate, he's the former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, he stated:  “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.” We discuss some of the mind-blowing statistics from a variety of documentaries including Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy, and Sea of Shadows.   Here are some of the statistics:  -Whales fertilize plankton which is responsible for 85% of the world's oxygen.  -Sharks kill 12 people a year/humans kill 11K sharks per hour.  -Livestock and their byproducts contribute to 51% of greenhouse gases.  -All transportation exhaust emissions are only 13% of greenhouse house gases.   -Producing one hamburger uses the same amount of water as 2 months of showers.  -There isn't enough land on the planet for people to eat meat in the same way that countries such as the UK and the USA do.  -Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.  -At the current trajectory it is estimated that there will be no fish in the oceans by 2048.    -A person who follows a vegan diet produces the equivalent of 50% less carbon dioxide, uses 1/11th oil, 1/13th water, and 1/18th land compared to a meat-lover for their food. -Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 5000 litres of water, 20 kilos of grain, 9 metres of forested land, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal's life. Check out what Kate does by visiting Daughters of the Deep https://linktr.ee/daughtersofthedeep   Sea Shepherd https://seashepherd.org/

Industry and the US federal government have long worked in tandem to sideline climate concerns and continue to promote Earth-warming fossil fuels. Now the US House Oversight and Reform Committee has summoned top executives from Exxon, Shell, BP and Chevron and two affiliated lobbying groups to testify in front of a committee hearing in October, as part of an ongoing investigation into the fossil fuel industry's promotion of climate disinformation.   Also, for the past 50 years, the US government has known about the problem of climate change but has continued to promote fossil fuel development and done little to avert a crisis. Longtime environmental leader Gus Speth joins us to discuss his new book “They Knew.”   And a recent study found that three-quarters of young people surveyed believe the future is frightening because of climate change. What young people are expressing about their eco-anxiety and how parents can safely talk to their kids about climate.   Join us on October 5 for our next Living on Earth Book Club event! “Guardians of the Trees” author Dr. Kinari Webb will join Steve Curwood and Bobby Bascomb to talk about healing the world's rainforests and the communities who depend on them. Register at https://loe.org/events/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late Dr Gus Speth (pictured) sees the real causes of the climate crisis as selfishness, greed and apathy. The environmental lawyer and activist was quoted in a story published on the Ernest Becker Foundation website. The story was headed: "Death becomes us, how our emotions can help avoid climate disaster". In keeping with the theme, author Sarah Jaquette Ray and a Professor of Environmental Studies from, the University of Victoria, James Rowe,  appeared on an Ernest Becker Foundation webinar discussing how existential insights to our understanding of the climate crisis and how race is integral to climate justice. Listen to "Music for a Warming World".  

1. Stewardship - What is the mandate God gave us?  “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may **rule** over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.     God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”” Gen 1:26–28  “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to **work** it and **take care** of it.” Gen 2:15 - How is this meant to be carried out?  - The word ‘work' or ‘leodah', can also be translated ‘tend'… or ‘serve'… And the word ‘care' or ‘lesomrah' as ‘guard'.  - Similar words are used of the Priesthood in the book of Leviticus. The priesthood were not called to take advantage of the Israelites they were leading.  - The example of the ‘rule' of Jesus: “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Lk 22:26 - Caretakers - does not belong to you; on loan  “The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” Ps 24:1 - Plastic in breast milk?  ““if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.”” (Job 31:38–40) - For benefit of all.... --- 2. Compassion for humans and animals - Sabbath     - For the land, the animals, your workers, yourselves  ““For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” Ex 23:10–12 - Caring for animals: Treading out the grain,  “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Deut 25:4 - Faith: The average Israelite village experienced a shortfall of 15,000,000 cal per year… 60 days of food per family… Although this sort of hungry season is not a surprise to the anthropologist, it certainly helps the modern reader to humanise the experience of our biblical ancestors....I hope you are beginning to realise that when God commands the Israelites not to muzzle his 800 pound working bovine, he is talking to a man who is hungry. And the 5 to 7 pound of grain that an ox would consume over a single day of threshing made a difference. P34-35 - Vulnerable  “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Is 58:7  “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:24  “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” Is 10:1–2 "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.” Lev 23:22 --- Conclusion - To say we love God but trash what he made is hypocritical  “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that 30 years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.“ Quote from Gus Speth. P106  “If I were to summarise the message of the old Testament regarding creation care into a single proverb it would be this: the Earth is the Lord's and all it contains; you may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.” 108  “Short-term, desperation management that exhaust current resources in answer to the cry of the urgent was not acceptable in Israel, and it cannot be acceptable to us either.” 109 - Your response? - How we spend our money has an impact on the environment in general, animals and vulnerable humans. - Educate yourself on the environment, animal welfare and the human impact of how we use our resources Please add your comments on this week's topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  God bless, Malcolm

1. Stewardship- What is the mandate God gave us? “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may **rule** over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.    God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”” Gen 1:26–28 “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to **work** it and **take care** of it.” Gen 2:15- How is this meant to be carried out? - The word ‘work’ or ‘leodah’, can also be translated ‘tend’… or ‘serve’… And the word ‘care’ or ‘lesomrah’ as ‘guard’. - Similar words are used of the Priesthood in the book of Leviticus. The priesthood were not called to take advantage of the Israelites they were leading. - The example of the ‘rule’ of Jesus: “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Lk 22:26- Caretakers - does not belong to you; on loan “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” Ps 24:1- Plastic in breast milk? ““if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.”” (Job 31:38–40)- For benefit of all....---2. Compassion for humans and animals- Sabbath    - For the land, the animals, your workers, yourselves ““For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” Ex 23:10–12- Caring for animals: Treading out the grain,  “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Deut 25:4- Faith:The average Israelite village experienced a shortfall of 15,000,000 cal per year… 60 days of food per family… Although this sort of hungry season is not a surprise to the anthropologist, it certainly helps the modern reader to humanise the experience of our biblical ancestors....I hope you are beginning to realise that when God commands the Israelites not to muzzle his 800 pound working bovine, he is talking to a man who is hungry. And the 5 to 7 pound of grain that an ox would consume over a single day of threshing made a difference. P34-35- Vulnerable “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Is 58:7 “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:24 “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” Is 10:1–2"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.” Lev 23:22---Conclusion- To say we love God but trash what he made is hypocritical “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that 30 years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.“ Quote from Gus Speth. P106 “If I were to summarise the message of the old Testament regarding creation care into a single proverb it would be this: the Earth is the Lord's and all it contains; you may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.” 108 “Short-term, desperation management that exhaust current resources in answer to the cry of the urgent was not acceptable in Israel, and it cannot be acceptable to us either.” 109- Your response?- How we spend our money has an impact on the environment in general, animals and vulnerable humans.- Educate yourself on the environment, animal welfare and the human impact of how we use our resourcesPlease add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. God bless, Malcolm

1. Stewardship - What is the mandate God gave us?  “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may **rule** over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.     God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”” Gen 1:26–28  “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to **work** it and **take care** of it.” Gen 2:15 - How is this meant to be carried out?  - The word ‘work’ or ‘leodah’, can also be translated ‘tend’… or ‘serve’… And the word ‘care’ or ‘lesomrah’ as ‘guard’.  - Similar words are used of the Priesthood in the book of Leviticus. The priesthood were not called to take advantage of the Israelites they were leading.  - The example of the ‘rule’ of Jesus: “But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Lk 22:26 - Caretakers - does not belong to you; on loan  “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” Ps 24:1 - Plastic in breast milk?  ““if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.”” (Job 31:38–40) - For benefit of all.... --- 2. Compassion for humans and animals - Sabbath     - For the land, the animals, your workers, yourselves  ““For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” Ex 23:10–12 - Caring for animals: Treading out the grain,  “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Deut 25:4 - Faith: The average Israelite village experienced a shortfall of 15,000,000 cal per year… 60 days of food per family… Although this sort of hungry season is not a surprise to the anthropologist, it certainly helps the modern reader to humanise the experience of our biblical ancestors....I hope you are beginning to realise that when God commands the Israelites not to muzzle his 800 pound working bovine, he is talking to a man who is hungry. And the 5 to 7 pound of grain that an ox would consume over a single day of threshing made a difference. P34-35 - Vulnerable  “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Is 58:7  “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:24  “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.” Is 10:1–2 "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.” Lev 23:22 --- Conclusion - To say we love God but trash what he made is hypocritical  “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that 30 years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that.“ Quote from Gus Speth. P106  “If I were to summarise the message of the old Testament regarding creation care into a single proverb it would be this: the Earth is the Lord's and all it contains; you may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed.” 108  “Short-term, desperation management that exhaust current resources in answer to the cry of the urgent was not acceptable in Israel, and it cannot be acceptable to us either.” 109 - Your response? - How we spend our money has an impact on the environment in general, animals and vulnerable humans. - Educate yourself on the environment, animal welfare and the human impact of how we use our resources Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  God bless, Malcolm

Quick Overview Mr. Speth explains how the bad habits of thought including individualism, materialism, consumerism, and tribalism do not make sense today, and a new consciousness is required. Mr. Speth emphasized that for a sustainable future, we need a stable or smaller world population, the eradication of mass poverty, environmentally benign technologies, environmentally honest prices, sustainable consumption, knowledge and learning, good governance, and the transition of culture and consciousness. Mr. Speth also gives thought to the role of education, religion, social movement, and role models. While recognizing the limitations of lawyers and scientists, he believes that what we need is not more analysis, but a spiritual awakening to a new consciousness, and so we should bring on the preachers, poets, psychologists, writers, artists, and so forth to strike the chords of our shared humanity.

In this episode: a quote by American environmental lawyer and advocate Gus Speth Quote. Age of Union is a compelling guide for igniting today's changemaker. Grounded in four pillars—leadership, culture, spirituality, and nature—the book advocates that the time for change is now and that our choices are the catalyst. Enjoy this free audiobook version. ageofunion.com/

What scripture says about the environment and why it matters Introduction  Reasons for the church avoiding the topic so far. 1. Politics. 2. The western church is largely sheltered from the impact of environmental degradation on the global community. 3. The theological posture taught by many in the church that the created order is bound only for destruction. 1. Creation as God’s blueprint We all long for Eden:, and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, it's gentlest and most human, is still soaked with the sense of exile. – Tolkein In the opening chapter of Genesis, God reveals his blueprint for creation. A close reading of his chance to demonstrate that the questions to biblical author is attempting to answer are, who is God? What is humanity? And where do we all fit within this cosmic plan? Both the biblical text and its ancient near Eastern counterparts make it clear that for humanity to be named seem (image) Is for humanity to be identified as the animate representation of God on this planet. In essence, woman and men are the embodiment of gods sovereignty in the created order. In the language of covenant, Yahweh has identified himself as the suzerain and Adam as his vassal. Moreover, Yahweh has identified Eden as the land grant he is offering to Adam. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” (Genesis 1:27–28 NAS95) … Humanity has been created as his representative to serve as custodian and steward, enacting the creators will by living our lives as a reflection of gods image. We have received our authority from the creator. We rule as he would rule. We are stewards not kings. 11 This was the ideal plan-a world in which humanity (Adam) would succeed in building human civilisation in the midst of gods kingdom by directing and harnessing the amazing resources of this planet under the wise direction of their creator. 11 The curse in acted by humanities rebellion is not simply a list of random penalties – it is a reversal of God originally intended blessings. 12 2. The people of the old covenant and the landlord Interesting insights about the significance of offering the first born, pages 18 to 21 On the moral mandate of the old Testament… Allow the land to rest. Don't take everything you can. Take only what you need. Leave enough so that the land might be able to restore itself for future harvest and future generations-even though such methods will cut into short term profits. 28 3. The domestic creatures entrusted to Adam Deuteronomy 5:14-15 - Sabbath for the animals You know all too well what it is to labour without relief, to live out your entire life captive to the whim of another, to be disallowed control over a single corner of your own existence. You know what it feels like not to be allowed to rest. The average Israelite village experienced a shortfall of 15,000,000 cal per year… 60 days of food per family… Although this sort of hungry season is not a surprise to the anthropologist, it certainly helps the modern reader to humanise the experience of our biblical ancestors.34 I hope you are beginning to realise that when God commands the Israelites not to muzzle his 800 pound working bovine, he is talking to a man who is hungry. And the 5 to 7 pound of grain that an ox would consume over a single day of threshing made a difference. 35 On taking animals to be slaughtered before the priest first… As regards the slaughterer himself, the Talmud requires that "by virtue of his training and piety, his soul shall never be torpified by his incessant butchery but kept ever sensitive to the magnitude of the divine concession in allowing him to bring death to living things." 41 4. The wild creatures and trusted to Adam … We can assume that when the societal regulations of Deuteronomy were conceived, the habitat of the wild creatures of the promised land was not yet under undue stress from human settlement. But Deuteronomy 22:6-7 offers us a very curious little law making it clear that even in this stage of human development, the preservation of the indigenous species of the region was a priority. 52 At the earliest stages of its urbanisation, Israel is commanded to live in a sustainable fashion in its engagement with the wild creature. 53 Regarding a mother bird with eggs, see page 56 contrast between Bible and Neo Assyria. 56 5. Environmental terrorism See long-term thinking, Deuteronomy 20:19. 61 6. The widow and the orphan The relationship that Israel had with their land serves as a model of gods intentions for our relationship with the land. 68  Even the terminology for "family" in ancient Israel reflects the centrality of the patriarch, as the basic household unit was called the "fathers house". This household included the patriarch, his wife (or Wiles), his married sons with their wives, his onward children, and his grandchildren. 69 See illustration of Israelite tribal society, 70 Example of Job 31:16-22-the evidence of his integrity is his quantifiable act of charity to those outside his household. 72 See Deuteronomy 24:21-22 – the law code of Deuteronomy lists the three crops essential to Israel's agricultural cycle (and therefore survival), and demands that the small holder farmer not fully harvest his crops. Recognising the subsistence struggles with the typical family farm, this is a big ask. 77 What most of us do not realise is that environmental degradation strikes those on the margins first. 78 7. The people of the new covenant and our landlord See my podcast for detail on “The day of the Lord”, Romans 8  - resurrection not destruction, and Revelation 21/22 - new heaven and new earth The Theology of Ecology, by Malcolm Cox (https://www.douglasjacoby.com/the-theology-of-ecology-by-malcolm-cox/) Conclusion I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that 30 years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don't know how to do that. Quote from Gus Speth. 106 If I were to summarise the message of the old Testament regarding creation care into a single proverb it would be this: the Earth is the Lord's and all it contains; you may make use of it in your need, but you shall not abuse it in your greed. 108 Short-term, desperation management that exhaust current resources in answer to the cry of the urgent was not acceptable in Israel, and it cannot be acceptable to us either. 109 In this fallen world, the role of the redeemed community is to live our lives as an expression of another kingdom, to reorient our values to those of our heavenly father, to live our lives as Adam and Eve should have, as Jesus Christ has. 109 Creation care is not merely a message of social justice, a wise approach to live on this planet, or a political action item it is instead a life posture that reflects the character of God and embodies the telos of his plan. 111-112 Appendix: resources for the responsive Christian See the list of ways to take action and various websites.  Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org (mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org) . If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org (http://www.malcolmcox.org/) . Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review. “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11) God bless, Malcolm PS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool" (https://dqzrr9k4bjpzk.cloudfront.net/images/9167082/379662794.jpg) , a devotional look at the Gospel of John

Episode: Environmental lawyer Gus Speth said, “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science […] The post Sandra Richter – Stewards of Eden first appeared on OnScript.

Episode: Environmental lawyer Gus Speth said, “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science […]

For a new generation of climate activists, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day is not a day of celebration but a day of mobilization combined with a sober critique of why the ideals of the first Earth Day are still so far from being realized. Gus Speth, co-chair of The Next System Project, was beginning a long career as an environmental activist and leader on the first Earth Day. Dulce Arias is an 18-year-old leader in Youth vs. Apocalypse looking to play a pivotal role in the next 50 years of environmental activism. Together, they discuss what they have learned from the past 50 years and how to apply that knowledge to today's climate crisis. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here.

James Gustave (Gus) Speth served on the faculty of the Vermont Law School as Professor of Law from 2010 to 2015. He now serves as a Fellow at the Tellus Institute, The Democracy Collaborative, and the Vermont Law School. He is Co-Chair of the Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative.He delivered this speech at the 30th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures on November 20th, 2010.If you would like a physical copy of this lecture or others like it, visit centerforneweconomics.org/order-pamphlets to purchase pamphlets of published works and transcripts.The Schumacher Center's applied work seeks to implement the principles described by these speakers within the context of the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts. Our work, both educational and applied, is supported by listeners like you. You can strengthen our mission by making a donation at centerforneweconomics.org/donate, or call us at (413) 528-1737 to make an appointment to visit our research library and office at 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

The Next System Project stimulated over two dozen articles spelling out possible "next systems" - alternative political economies looking beyond both state socialism and today's varieties of capitalism. When we step back and look at them together, what do we see?

In the early days at World Resources Institute, founder Gus Speth charged Rafe Pomerance with outreach on climate change. Pomerance went on to organize high-profile hearings in the U.S. Senate that put climate on the policy radar and introduced Jim Hansen to the world. These hearings are the subject of a new issue-length article in the New York Times Magazine, "Losing Earth." (Link below) In a conversation with WRI Vice President for Communications Lawrence MacDonald, Pomerance returns to WRI to talk about what went into the hearings, what has hindered progress since then and why he thinks Florida is the key to decisive climate action in the United States. Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/climate-change-losing-earth.html

While world leaders wring their hands over forecasts of timid GDP growth, a growing list of visionaries around the world are collaborating to redefine economic objectives in a more meaningful and sustainable way. Former White House advisor Gus Speth has been at the forefront of new economic thought for decades. His prescription for change is not a bunch of economic mumbo-jumbo for boards and bankers. His ideas reach deep into the way we conduct our personal lives.   “We need to get beyond this consumerism, to get beyond our hyperventilating lifestyles...and start focusing on the things that really matter to us, to our future, to our children.” In this 2010 interview, Gus Speth shares new thinking about the purpose of an economy, how climate change was discussed in the Jimmy Carter White House, the successes of environmentalism, and where and how the environmental movement has failed us. NOTE: We are between Season 2 and Season 3. We’re bringing you encore episodes from the first season of Conversation Earth during this break. Visit http://www.tinyurl.com/ceseason3 to make sure Season 3 happens. Thank you!

Next System Project Co-Chair Gus Speth joins the Next System Podcast to discuss his experience with the environmental movement and how that led him to the work on systemic change that he pursues today. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

In the debut episode of the Next System Podcast, host Adam Simpson sits down with the co-chairs of the Next System Project, Gar Alperovitz and Gus Speth. The co-chairs discuss what NSP means to them in the context of the unique historical moment that the United States and indeed the world currently finds itself. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio.

This week on Love (and revolution) radio, we speak with Gus Speth of the next system project about a paper he wrote called “The Joyful Economy: A Next System Possibility.” Sign up for our weekly email: http://www.riverasun.com/love-and-revolution-radio/ You can check out Gus’ paper here: http://thenextsystem.org/the-joyful-economy/ James Gustave Speth, who goes by “Gus” and speaks with a soft South Carolina drawl, is nobody’s picture of a radical. His resume is as mainstream and establishment as it gets: environmental advisor to Presidents Carter and Clinton, founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council and World Resources Institute, administrator of the U.N. Development Program, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, now a professor at Vermont Law School, and distinguished senior fellow at Demos. Time magazine has called him the “ultimate insider.”  Gus Speth: ‘Ultimate insider’ goes radical   Gus Speth calls for a “New Environmentalism” Gus Speth Wikipedia World Resources Institute   Music by: "Love and Revolution" by Diane Patterson and Spirit Radio www.dianepatterson.org   About Your Co-hosts: Sherri Mitchell (Penobscot) is an Indigenous rights attorney, writer and activist who melds traditional life-way teachings into spirit-based movements. Follow her at Sherri Mitchell – Wena’gamu’gwasit: https://www.facebook.com/sacredinstructions/timeline   Rivera Sun is a novelist and nonviolent mischief-maker. She is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, Billionaire Buddha, and Steam Drills, Treadmills, and Shooting Stars. Her essays on social justice movements are syndicated on by PeaceVoice, and appear in Truthout and Popular Resistance. http://www.riverasun.com/

While world leaders wring their hands over forecasts of timid GDP growth, a growing list of visionaries around the world are collaborating to redefine economic objectives in a more meaningful and sustainable way. Former White House advisor Gus Speth has been at the forefront of new economic thought for decades. His prescription for change is not a bunch of economic mumbo-jumbo for boards and bankers. His ideas reach deep into the way we conduct our personal lives.

Recorded Wednesday, 3/9/2015Topics included: SC Rivers Foreverwww.SCRiversForever.org Resource Page:  www.SCRiversForever.org/resourcesVideos:  www.SCRiversForever.org/videosJames Smith Legislationwww.scstatehouse.gov/sess121_2015-2016/bills/3564.htm Video including Senator Campsen's words:  SC RIvers Flow to the SeaIncredibly long commercial for Tyler Brothers Amanda Brennan InterviewCICA - Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessmentswww.cisa.sc.eduCoCoRaHS - Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Networkwww.cocorahs.org/ Gus Speth Interview Angels by the River - Gus Speth

Perhaps part of what plagues us when we think about most issues today, is that we tend to see them in very myopic ways.  The world is a more and more complex place, and yet we do the opposite of what we should do.  We too often silo information or categories, or problems.  We don’t always see the connections and therefore we get frustrated, because we can’t seem to solve the problems.  Environmental issues are no different.  My guest, one of the fathers of the environmental movement,  James "Gus" Speth, believes that when we talk about environmentalism, it’s more than the air, or the water, or the earth.  That there is a holistic approach we need to take that is  essential if we want to solve anything.He writes about this in the context of his own history in his memoir Angels by the River.My conversation with Gus Speth: 

James Gustave Speth joined the faculty of the Vermont Law School as Professor of Law in 2010. He serves also as Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and Associate Fellow at the Tellus Institute. In 2009 he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the UN, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration); and senior attorney and cofounder, Natural Resources Defense Council. Throughout his career, Speth has provided leadership and entrepreneurial initiatives to many task forces and committees whose roles have been to combat environmental degradation and promote sustainable development, including the President’s Task Force on Global Resources and Environment; the Western Hemisphere Dialogue on Environment and Development; and the National Commission on the Environment. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation’s Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America’s Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, and the Blue Planet Prize. He holds honorary degrees from Clark University, the College of the Atlantic, the Vermont Law School, Middlebury College, the University of South Carolina, Green Mountain College, the University of Massachusetts, and Unity College. He is the author, co-author or editor of seven books including the award-winning The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability and Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. His latest book is America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy, published by Yale Press in September 2012. Speth currently serves on the boards of the New Economy Coalition, Center for a New American Dream, Climate Reality Project, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities. He is an honorary director of the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council and is an advisory board member or associate for the Democracy Collaborative, United Republic, 350.org, EcoAmerica, Labor Network for Sustainability, New Economy Working Group, SC Coastal Conservation League, Environmental Law Institute, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Southern Environmental Law Center, Heinz Center, Free Speech for People, and Vermont Institute for Natural Science. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 1964 with a BA in Political Science, and subsequently earned an M.Litt. in Economics from Oxford University in 1966 as a Rhodes Scholar and his JD from the Yale Law School in 1969. After law school, he served as law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black.

Gus Speth visits with Joanna Dafoe, Yale F&ES '14, about his latest book America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy. Speth describes the need for a new economy to generate lasting and expansive political reform and reflects on his personal theory of change as it has evolved throughout his career. Time Magazine has called … Continue reading America the Possible: a Conversation with Gus Speth →

Guest: James Gustave Speth, UMass Boston commencement speaker, co-founder, Natural Resource Defense Council and World Resources Institute; Program hosted by Ira Jackson.

James Gustave Speth joined the faculty of the Vermont Law School as Professor of Law in 2010. He also serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow at both Demos and the United Nations Foundation. In 2009 he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the UN, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration); and senior attorney and cofounder, Natural Resources Defense Council. Throughout his career, Speth has provided leadership and entrepreneurial initiatives to many task forces and committees whose roles have been to combat environmental degradation and promote sustainable development, including the President's Task Force on Global Resources and Environment; the Western Hemisphere Dialogue on Environment and Development; and the National Commission on the Environment. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation's Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America's Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, and the Blue Planet Prize. He holds honorary degrees from Clark University, the College of the Atlantic, the Vermont Law School, Middlebury College, the University of South Carolina, and Green Mountain College. He is the author, co-author or editor of seven books including the award-winning The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability and Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. His latest book is America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy, published by Yale Press in September 2012.

The past few years have shown that America is facing hard times with complex challenges still ahead. The unemployment rate hovers around 8%, the income inequality gap continues to widen and American students are not receiving the best education possible. To add to this, the country is in the midst of political gridlock. To surmount these difficulties, Gus Speth asserts that transformative change is essential in the American political economy.Speth will discuss his ideas for the specific adjustments that would be needed to move toward a new system, such as the “theory of change” that explains how system change can occur in America. In presenting his vision for American political, social and economic life, Speth envisions a future that will be worth fighting for and argues that Americans are capable of using their freedom and democracy in powerful ways to create a renewed America.

On September 19, 2012, the New Economy Working Group hosted a discussion and question-and-answer period regarding the possibilities of introducing system change in the context of the United States. Featuring Gar Alperovitz and James “Gus” Speth, formerly a presidential advisor, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program and dean of Yale Forestry School, the discussion was moderated by John Cavanagh, […]

James Gustave Speth, founder of the World Resources Institute, discusses his new book and the political reform America so dearly needs.

Round Table 2: Leopold's Legacy in Natural Resource Management. Moderated by Oswald Schmitz, Professor of Population and Community Ecology, Yale FES. Discussants: Harry Bader, Michael Bean, Pat Leavenworth, Zygmunt Plater, and Courtney White. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies hosted a Symposium on April 3rd, 2009 honoring Aldo Leopold’s Graduation Centennial from the school and his acclaimed contributions to environmental conservation. Leopold became a leading and radical voice in American conservation, launching his land ethic in his celebrated book, A Sand County Almanac. The day-long symposium appraised Leopold’s legacy and examined how his land ethic might be reformulated for the global environmental and social challenges of the 21st century. This is Round Table II of the gathering, on Leopold’s legacy-actual and potential-in natural resource management. Gus Speth, retiring Dean, introduced the moderator, Os Schmitz, a Professor of Population and Community Ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The discussants were: Harry Bader, a private consultant and former federal lands manager; Michael Bean, a senior attorney with Environmental Defense; Pat Leavenworth, the State Conservationist for Wisconsin; Zygmunt Plater, Professor of Law at Boston College School of Law; and Courtney White, Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition in New Mexico.

Round Table 1: Leopold's Place in American Environmental History. Moderated by Paul Sabin, Assistant Professor of Environmental History, Yale University. Discussants: Susan Flader, Bill McKibben, Curt Meine, Jed Purdy and Julianne Warren. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies hosted a Symposium on April 3rd, 2009 honoring Aldo Leopold’s Graduation Centennial from the school and his acclaimed contributions to environmental conservation. Leopold became a leading and radical voice in American conservation, launching his land ethic in his celebrated A Sand County Almanac. The day-long symposium appraised Leopold’s legacy and examined how his land ethic might be reformulated for the global environmental and social challenges of the 21st century. This is Round Table I of the gathering, on Leopold’s place in American Environmental History. Gus Speth, retiring Dean, welcomed the participants. Paul Sabin, an Environmental Historian at Yale, moderated. The discussants were: University of Missouri Emerita History Professor Susan Flader; environmental writer and activist Bill McKibben; Leopold biographer and Center for Humans and Nature Director Curt Meine; Duke Law faculty Jed Purdy; and Leopold biographer and NYU faculty Julianne Warren.

Leopoldian Philosophy and Ethics. A Round Table discussion with Q and A moderated by Stephen Kellert, Professor of Social Ecology at Yale FES. Discussants: Peter Brown, Baird Callicott, John Grim, Dale Jamieson and Sylvia Hood Washington. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies hosted a Symposium on April 3rd, 2009 honoring the centennial of the graduation of Aldo Leopold from the school and his acclaimed contributions to environmental conservation. Leopold became a leading and radical voice in American conservation, launching his land ethic in his celebrated book, “A Sand County Almanac.” The day-long symposium appraised the Leopold legacy, examined his relevance today, and explored how his land ethic might be reformulated for the global environmental and social challenges of the 21st century. This is a recording of Round Table 3: Leopoldian Philosophy and Ethics: In and Beyond the Academy. Gus Speth, retiring Dean of the school, introduced the moderator, Stephen Kellert, Tweedy/Ordway Professor of Social Ecology at Yale FES. The Round Table then proceeded to brief presentations by: Peter Brown, a Professor of Environmental Studies at McGill University; Baird Callicott, Regents Professor of Philosophy and Religion Studies, Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas; John Grim, Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale University in the area of religion and ecology; Dale Jamieson, a philosopher and Director of Environmental Studies at New York University; Gene Likens, an ecologist and founding director of the Institute for Ecosystem Studies; and Sylvia Hood Washington, Research Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago. The formal remarks were followed by a Q and A session.

In Episode 13, Chris Gondek speaks with (1) Richard Sennett, winner of the 2006 Hegel Prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and social sciences, about the art of craftsmanship; and (2) Gus Speth, Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale, about how the free market system will need to adjust … Continue reading A Conversation with Chris Gondek, Richard Sennett and Gus Speth →

In Episode 13, Chris Gondek speaks with (1) Richard Sennett, winner of the 2006 Hegel Prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and social sciences, about the art of craftsmanship; and (2) Gus Speth, Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale, about how the free market system will need to adjust in the face of serious environmental changes.