bioneers conference 2004

We are on the very brink of a non-toxic, complete cure for aids. We have mapped out a ten year plan to get off oil completely in the US. We have made boat propellers in the shape of calla lilies; they move water so elegantly that the boats turning them move in quiet determination at a speed and efficiency that is not possible with traditional propeller technology. We have more and more people seeking out and listening to alternative media. Democracy Now! radio went from broadcasting on 5 stations 2 years ago, to 275 stations today. Websites like Alternet and networks like MoveOn PAC are growing rapidly. We have a group of Kellog Foundation donors that focus on food and farming, who have invested in the total revitalization of disadvantaged urban communities, and the vital concept that children's nutrition centers on what they eat at school. "Rethinking School Lunch" connects so many important elements of life: farmers, schools, kids, nutrition, parents, food service workers, policy makers, waste managers, and teachers.
I am blessed to be a part of this community, and moved to reengage myself in the learning and doing that we are all so excited and compelled to carry forth on this spinning planet we call home.
I cannot recommend this gathering enough to anyone who is interested in any one small part of the interconnected elements we call, for lack of a better word, the environment.
As Jay Harman (a biomimicry inventor) said yesterday, not only is optimism in the face of destruction and horror okay, it is absolutely essential. Only with joy and optimism in the restorative power of nature (which includes us and our imaginations as well as flowers and oceans and insects and trees and galaxies and bears) can we transcend the incredible challenges we face. Deep joy in the face of war. What a transcendant act.