Sustainability and how to cope with a changing global environment is being collaboratively researched, collectively contemplated with a view to practical responses. The work of building a viable future is being tackled on many fronts, including China, United Arab Emirates, Africa, the Meditteranean, Latin American and the Caribbean. Breakthroughs in technology and communications could make it possible to bypass the dirty legacy of industrialised economies, but this will be contingent upon passion and commitment if we are to meet the challenges of the coming marathon. more »
Sulfur Hexaflouride 6 has been assessed as having a global warming potential 22,000 that of CO2 over a 100 year period. Yet this potent greenhouse could be a thing of the past in as little as four years. more »
Farming need not be iminical to the environment. Biodiversity is still possible where responsible farming practices are in place, and there is a need for farmers to be aware that their practices in water usage and pollution impact beyond the boundaries of their farm. more »
Leading figures from Indonesia's six institutionalised religions have agreed to make Pancasila (five principles) the cornerstone for a common ethics for society and their nation. The five tenets are: belief in one Supreme God, a just and civilized humanity, unity of Indonesia, democracy led by the wisdom of deliberations among representatives, and social justice for all people. more »
The United Nations has approved a draft Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New Zealand's Ambassador Don Mackay hopes that the convention will encourage states to "...develop different ways of thinking about disability issues. Once you get a paradigm shift... and people adopt a 'can do' approach, a whole lot of other things flow from there." more »
Humanity's long-term wellbeing is dependent on the incorporation of diverse and co-operative strategies: incorporating the sciences and religion as standard fare alongside the traditional political and economic methods. It is becoming clearer that integrated long term solutions are required and that many "quick fixes" actually create more problems than they solve. Such comments are coming being reflected from a range of fronts, including those battling against AIDS, to looking for solutions to overcome poverty, to finding peace. more »
The Iraqi people are again demonstrating wisdom and resiliency as they attempt to form a framework that encourages peace, in spite of the provocations from various violence mongerers. Over 800 tribal chiefs have unaminously signed a pact of honour pledging to support the Iraqi prime minister's national reconciliation plan to wipe out sectarian violence and terrorism that has been tearing the country apart. more »
The theme of the eigth Peace World Assembly is "confronting violence and advancing shared security." During the four day conference participants are discussing wasy to eliminate violence and work on developing shared security through conflict transformation, peace building and sustainable development. The four day conference is being attended by 2000 people from over 100 countries; including 500 religious leaders from 70 countries. more »
Religious Diversity. What is it? How do we do it? Should we be doing it? Would our God approve? What does that mean? How do we cohabitate with "the other" without losing or compromising what makes us unique? These are the sort of questions that are starting to be discussed. The mystics tell us that before something can be made manifest within this world, it must first be understood and envisaged. These are important discussions and questions that will shape our world and civilizations not just for the next few days or months, but for decades and generations to come. more »
The science pages are humming that there might have been a breakthrough in embryonic stem cell research, where cells can be harvested without damaging the embryo. If true, this is excellent news. However this potentially lucrative market has already proven it can elevate fraudulent science with the recent Korean scandal. Therefore the cynical would call for evidence of "safely harvested" embryos then being allowed to grow to maturity to demonstrate that the embryo is both viable and suffers no congenital defects as a result of the stem cell harvesting. more »
There are clear patterns emerging in the AIDS pandemic that throw light on human sexuality and promiscuity. Because AIDS is such an honest mirror into human activity (you can only catch it through the exchange of bodily fluids and not from sneezing) it is as effective as pregnancy for proving something happened. more »
Subscribing to news bulletins can bring up the quirkiest of articles. For example an excellent article from Engineer Live where Dr Robin Batterham considers how chemical engineering has developed as a discipline, and postulates how it will need to operate to meet the major challenges on the path to sustainability. more »
The most profound healings often rise up from the ashes of our failures. Well known author Charles Handy often comments that success can blind us to the need to change, and that can often be the thing that leads to our failing. Confronted with an uncomfortable future, both nations and individuals can try to restore their past glory using outdated strategies based on superceded paradigms. Yet sometimes the solution is not to restore the past but to contemplate the future and the implications of choices. more »
The size of one's economy or population or natural resources is no handicap to being able to add-value to the global community. Cultural, intellectual and spiritual resources are going to be our best weapons in the struggle to come to grips with AIDS pandemic, overdependence on violent solutions, the end of the oil age, the need to adequate provide and care for the enviroment and world's citizens. more »
"We must stop helping people to die and start helping them to live" commented Rev. J.P. Heath at this week's International AIDS conference. The long-term nature of the AIDS crisis makes religion a key player comments UN's Dr Peter Piot. He explains that because mosques, churches and temples endure for generations and address the needs of their communities over generations, this makes them the ideal institutions to take on the fight against AIDS. Some authors, such as James Pinkerton are seeing the signs of a coming Reformation that will give a second wind to the existing activists in their fight against AIDS. And the possibilties of genuine multi-disciplinary collaboration across the sciences, social sciences and politics is giving some observers hope. more »
