Skip to main content

"Blessed Unrest" by Paul Hawken- Book Review

What a refreshing reminder of the good in the world! The back cover of the book advises if you've lost faith in the good in people and the world, to read this piece- and I totally agree.

Hawken and I have a same kind of realistic optimism. We don't know that we will heal this planet, but we know we can.

I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Hawken speak as a keynote at the Living Future conference in May 2013, Seattle. His outlook translates into his every word of his speeches and his book.

In Blessed Unrest, Hawken compares the environmental and social justice movement as an earth-scale immune system. It gets underrepresented, but is constantly working and succeeding despite our actions allowing new 'viruses' in.

I have a LOT of brain food from this book, but you'll have to buy your own copy to get all of it! However, I will share a couple of nuggets here-

"The way we harm the earth effects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in we treat the earth"

"...we are nature; literally, in every molecule and neuron. We contain clay, minerals, and water; are powered by sunshine through plant life; and are intricately bound to all other species from fungi to marsupials to bacteria. In our lungs are oxygen molecules breathed by every type of creature ever to have lived on earth, along with the very hydrogen atoms that Jesus, Confucius, and Rachel Carson breathed"

Hawken retells the legend of Skeleton woman, and ventures to re tell what she values:
"She believes that the right to self sufficiency is a human right; she imagines a world where the means to kill people are not a business but a crime, where all crimes against women are crimes against the earth, and all crimes against nature are crimes against humanity, where families do not starve, fathers can work, children are never sold, and women cannot be impoverished because they choose to be mothers. Skeleton Woman does not see a time when a man holds a patent to any living thing, or where animals are factories, or where rivers belong to stockholders. Hers are deep and fearless dreams from slow time. She will not be quiet or be thrown back to sea anytime soon"

 OK just one more of my many, many favorites:

"If you don't believe in the Future, unreservedly and dreamingly, if you aren't willing to bet that somebody will be there to cry when the Clock finally runs down ten thousand years from now, then I don't see how you can have children. If you have children, I don't see how you can fail to do everything in your power to ensure that you win your bet, and that they, and their grandchildren, and their grandchildren's grandchildren, will inherit a world who's perfection can never be accomplished by creatures whose imagination for perfecting it  is limitless and free"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's Christmas Eve and you still haven't finished gift shopping?

Let me guess, it's Christmas Eve and you still have gifts to give? Boy oh boy do I have good news for you! What do you get for that special someone who has everything? The gift of giving! And here are some of my favorite charities I think you should consider this holiday season (or for Valentine's Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries!) 1) Oxfam- Oxfam  working to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and injustice. As one of 17 members of the international Oxfam confederation, we work with people in more than 90 countries to create lasting solutions. Oxfam saves lives, develops long-term solutions to poverty, and campaigns for social change. Whether it's providing a packet of seeds for a farmer in a poor area ($12) or a meal for a school aged child ($35), or supporting a women entrepreneur so she can get her business off the ground ($100). It's a one stop shop to provide meaningful gifts that will matter to each person you gift them to! On top of which, a donation g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Covid, baby

Working in the sustainability field has been turned on its head during the Coronavirus pandemic. I went on a short hiatus to become a Mom (Elliott was born in March of 2020 only a few days before lockdown in NJ), and when I resurfaced, our approach needed to be different, here are some examples: Typically, the balance between ample fresh air within a building and energy use would result in driving the building toward lower energy use. Now, the ability to increase the outdoor air is desirable and is carrying more importance as a design consideration. We almost always pursued green cleaning operations and maintenance plans with our projects, however the Green Seal certified (or other healthy for people) cleaning products do not disinfect to the level desired for Covid- forcing teams to decide between abandoning their healthy cleaning policies and safety. Everything is packaged and sealed, and wrapped again. Cafes stopped allowing refillable coffee cups, towns that had plastic ba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Download of my Plastic Free July 2018

Hello peers! Yes, I realize this is super late- but better than never! This year, I participated in Plastic Free July  with about a dozen people from my former office. I made a pledge to do my best to reduce the amount of single-use plastics I used throughout the entire month. July snuck up on me, but I made a few immediate changes : Get a bigger purse- It may feel like you're saving space to have a compact bag where nothing else fits, but having a larger purse allowed me to refuse a plastic bag and place things directly in my handbag like: fruit, convenience store groceries, etc. Carry a reusable tote-You'd be surprised how many times people use a plastic bag because they forgot their bags at home. Best way to avoid that? Carry one in your now larger purse, leave a couple in the car, an one in your work desk- voila! You've always remembered now! Carry a reusable straw- I am very excited about my Final Straw (image below) that I ordered- but they won't be f...
Post a Comment
Read more