Some COVID-inspired introspection on the work of the Suzuki Elders

by suzukiwebmaster | Jan 24, 2021 | Our Changing World, Seeking Clarity

by Marilyn Daniels I see the “work” taken on by the Suzuki Elders as having two components: the “work” of being and becoming an Elder (in the sense that First Nations hold the term); and the “work” one takes on as an elder (in the sense of life...

A tale of a trillion trees

by suzukiwebmaster | Aug 12, 2020 | Developing Resilience, Green Perspective, Seeking Clarity, Species & Ecosystems

by Stan Hirst A fine alliterative title, but it presents a problem in visioning. Just what does a trillion trees actually look like? What size area would, or could they cover? The story starts with Kenyan Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) who, while serving in the National...

If we want to solve complex social and environmental problems we need to think in terms of systems

by suzukiwebmaster | Jul 12, 2020 | Seeking Clarity, Species & Ecosystems

by Leyla Acaroglu  — Condensed with permission from “Problem Solving Desperately Needs Systems Thinking,” originally published at Medium June 26, 2018. Most of us are taught, from a young age, that in order to solve a problem, we simply need to break it down to its...

Given how little effect you can have, is it rational to vote?

by suzukiwebmaster | Jan 29, 2020 | Advocacy, Opinions, Seeking Clarity

by Julia Maskivker For far too long, the accepted wisdom among scholars of politics has been that the interests of the individual and the interests of society are not in harmony when it comes to voting. The American economist Anthony Downs, in his foundational book An...

Why the idea that the world is in terminal decline is so dangerous

by suzukiwebmaster | Dec 19, 2019 | Developing Resilience, Our Changing World, Seeking Clarity

by Jeremy Adelman From all sides, the message is coming in: the world as we know it is on the verge of something really bad. From the Right, we hear that ‘West’ and ‘Judeo-Christian Civilisation’ are in the pincers of foreign infidels and native, hooded extremists....

The tree of knowledge is not an apple or an oak but a banyan

by suzukiwebmaster | Nov 13, 2019 | Seeking Clarity

by Jonardon Ganeri In European societies, knowledge is often pictured as a tree: a single trunk – the core – with branches splaying outwards towards distant peripheries. The imagery of this tree is so deeply embedded in European thought-patterns that every form of...