Describing his research into the existential threats we face, science writer Julian Cribb said: "I was meeting more and more people who were starting to wonder whether we were entering the 'end game' of human history."? The uncertainty we face can be expressed in just four words: Will we make it? (p.261) The issues noted above are obviously not a complete list-it doesn't even include war, political polarization, racism, and economic disparity. In combination, their potential impact is even more devastating. In his study of factors threatening our civilization, Jared Diamond identifies a dozen issues that are "like time bombs." Any of these, including climate change, water scarcity, overconsumption, overpopulation, habitat destruction, loss of topsoil, and rising toxin levels, could trigger the collapse of our society. I thought the following excerpt quoting other sources gave a quick and succinct reminder. Throughout the discussions in this book there are repeated reminders of the world's problems for which active hope is needed as a response. It’s the sort of book that could fit well with a group meeting regularly to discuss one chapter at a time. This book is filled with stories, questions, and group exercises which are obviously taken from their workshops. The authors have drawn on decades of teaching workshops with an approach known as Work That Reconnects. Those are the terms used by the authors for deciding whether to ignore the world’s problems or to recognize them and then do something about it. It is a hope that goes beyond a personal feeling to include a sense of motivation and productive participation with others to contribute toward making the hoped for future a reality.Ī key idea which the book repeatedly returns to are three “stories of our time,” and the book suggests that it is empowering to name them and choose the one to live by (1) Business as Usual, (2) The Great Unravelling, and (3) The Great Turning. The book is not only encouraging hope, but is aiming for what its title describes as “active” hope. This is a motivational guide on how to enhance personal resilience while living in a world filled with many reasons to give up on any hope for the future. The author makes some good points about taking action, but as one who's never shied away from getting involved, I felt like this was aimed at a different audience. What we do know is that there is plutonium in the sediment of the lake that is a drinking water supply for a nearby suburb, that some of the landfills at the plant were left after the "clean-up" (and given all the other sloppiness with regard to radioactive chemicals, they are probably leaking into the ground upstream from the water supply), and that developers are intent on digging up that area around it and could care less about dispensing plutonium particles on the wind to the communities to the east. Feeling in tune with Gaia doesn't help with what I was concerned about: living near the former Rocky Flats plutonium plant and knowing that the soul of the entire northern metro Denver area has some degree of plutonium contamination from spills, leaks and fires while the plant was operating. This wasn't quite what I was looking for.
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