Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature | Bioneers Radio Series

Perhaps we should call it Watershed Earth. We're made of water, totally dependent on it, yet water in turn depends on us to play our part in a good way. Mother Ocean is the primary regulator of Watershed Earth. But the marine news is heartbreaking. Ocean defenders Michael Stocker, Anne Rowley and David Helvarg illuminate both the peril of noise and plastics pollution and the promise they see In the Seaweed Rebelli on to save Mother Ocean, and ourselves.

The Original Instructions represent the ancient empincal wisdom of traditional ecological knowledge earned over generations and millennia by people living closely with the land and each other. They also comprise disarmingly simple counsel: be thankful, enjoy life and attend to the inner pollution that results in outer pollution. Indigenous leaders Winona LaDuke, John Trudell and Evon Peter voice these ancient instructions. Which hold the keys to our survival as a species in the historic transition to a truly sustainable world.

Could Western civilization's oldest ethical instructions of the Golden Rule hold acute relevance to our planetary environmental crisis? Could restoring respect for human beings be the key to restoring the health of the planet? Author Paul Hawken has been tracking the rapid proliferation of nonprofit, non-governmental organltations around the world. It boils down to this: Taking care of nature means taking care of people, and taking care of people means taking care of nature.

Do you think of the wilderness as something far away? Not in the age of climate change and human population growth. The real wilderness is always underfoot- the complex systems underlying life on Earth that we barely understand. It's our inheritance, our guardianship to understand traditional and indigenous knowledge of Earth as a vast, cultivated landscape. Land managers such as Miguel Santistevan, Lani Malmberg and Peter Warshall cele­ brate the fact that we are all gard eners. They reveal brilliant innova­ tions and ancient wis­ dom for how to get good at it.

Labor leader Cesar Chavez helped ban DDT. Truckers are helping address appalling asthma rates at the filthy port of Los Angeles. And inner-city clergy, not suburbanites, led the latest victory against the big-box Wal-Mart stores sprawling over community open space. Unlikely allies? Environmental justice and labor leaders Manuel Pastor, Maria Elena Durazo and Rev. Alexia Salvatierra show us that in a truly sustainable economy, everybody is an environmentalist-and a healthy environment depends on economic justice.

Because industrial agriculture is the single most destructive human activity against the environment, what we put on our collective plate and how we grow our food are going to be among the most decisive factors impacting the fate of the Earth and public health. Few journalists have done more than Michael Pollan to serve up food for thought about our diet and food systems. He reports on the burgeoning worldwide growth of local food economies and a true Green Revolution.

"We know what's wrong... says the iconic Jungian psychotherapist and author James Hillman, "but do we know that knowing what's wrong is some of what's wrong?" Has "analysis paralysis" sapped our energy and determination to transform a failing world? Can we cut through the tangle to actually act to make a positive difference? Can we turn our vices into virtues? Though Hillman's approach may sound paradoxical, his destination is the deeper understanding that leads to real transformation - and to transformative action.

Garbage in, garbage out, as the early computer innovators remarked about information. A vital free press is the single most important feedback loop in a democracy. New media including especially the Internet have challenged the supremacy of corporate media concentration and junk news. A brave new wave of activists such as Brad Friedman, John Stauber and Joan Blades are using d1gital media to restore the democratic lifeblood of a people's media. They're giving voice to the voiceless, checking and balancing corruption, and providing liberty and access for all.

The current industrial system generates 94 percent waste. It all lands somewhere, often ultimately in our bodies. A society that wastes its resources also wastes its people. Why are low-income communities and communities of color the perennial human sacrifice zones? Courageous environmental justice advocates Clayton Thomas-Muller, Shawna larson and Maryanne Hitt are successfully rejecting this new form of toxic colonization from Alaska to Appalachia. They tell us we all have a right to clean air, water and land- the right to a healthy environment.

“For the first time in history, a civilization - its people, companies and governments - is trying to arrest the downspin and understand how to live on Earth, a watershed in human existence.” Globally renowned social entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken eloquently portrays how we will win a sustainable future by losing the delusion we’re here on Earth for only ourselves.

“For the first time in history, a civilization - its people, companies and governments - is trying to arrest the downspin and understand how to live on Earth, a watershed in human existence.” Globally renowned social entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken eloquently portrays how we will win a sustainable future by losing the delusion we’re here on Earth for only ourselves.

Being an Indian in modern times has given rise to Indian casinos. Chairman Greg Sarris of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria found himself staring down the barrel of massive community resistance. Was it possible to create a casino that would uphold traditional values and benefit Native land and local communitie.

Being an Indian in modern times has given rise to Indian casinos. Chairman Greg Sarris of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria found himself staring down the barrel of massive community resistance. Was it possible to create a casino that would uphold traditional values and benefit Native land and local communitie.

Being an Indian in modern times has given rise to Indian casinos. Chairman Greg Sarris of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria found himself staring down the barrel of massive community resistance. Was it possible to create a casino that would uphold traditional values and benefit Native land and local communitie.

Our physical health is intimately tied to environmental health, and to our emotional and spiritual ecology. Visionary physician Dr. Gabor Maté explores the deepest psychological, emotional and social forces leading to our society’s poor health and unhappiness. He says we have the capacity to heal the planet and ourselves by reconnecting with our true nature as empathic, nurturing social beings.