Issue 255 • July/August 2009

Welcome

Pilgrims or Tourists? • Satish Kumar

The sacred Earth is a gracious host, but are we prepared to be pilgrim guests rather than tourists?

Frontline

350.org • Bill McKibben

Why 350 is the most important number in the world.

Language Nests • Nick Hunt

Indigenous languages are a vital storehouse of knowledge.

The Plight of the Bumblebee • Ruth Rosselson

Life as we know it could be wiped out if one species of insect vanishes from our countryside.

Keynotes

Living Within Our Means • Jonathon Porritt

The solution to the ultimate recession lies in sustainable capitalism.

The Mother of Beauty • John Daniel

We grow from the compost of those who have died.

Quotes

As Death Approaches • Susan Deborah King

I can't believe I'm laughing.

Biocultural Diversity

Potent Places • Liz Hosken

Sacred sites are like a network of acupunture points across the Earth.

Guardians of the Ocean • Sam Bleakley

A passion for riding waves is the perfect way to nurture an ecological conscience.

Creation Story • Colin Campbell

Human beings can return to the place where the spirit keepers live.

Laws of Origin • Silvia Gomez & Nelson Ortiz

An interview with Macuna Indians from the Colombian Amazon.

The Kiss of Death • Christopher McLeod

Cultivating respect for local traditions amongst tourists to North American sacred sites.

The Eye of Reverence • Josep-Maria Mallarach

The sacred landscapes and seascapes of ancient Europe can still be seen by those prepared to look beyond the usual tourist experience.

Undercurrents

Farm Freedom • Peter Melchett

Genetically modified plants and animals have fallen far short of scientists' predictions.

Zero Waste • Robin Murray

Our waste is the shadow side of our economy, not the mark of a civilised society.

Resilience • Brian Goodwin

The bottom-up participatory process that is the Transition Movement.

The Green Response • Nick Robins & Tony Juniper

A green perspective on the current state of our economy.

The Arts

Music and Place • Mark Kidel

Has the dislocation of 'world music' from its context led to multicultural mediocrity?

Angels, Birds and Journeys • Andy Christian

John Maltby's original and imaginative forms and symbols.

Regulars

Poetry - New Voices • Peter Abbs

An Anthology of new poetry.

A Sense of Place - Journey into Silence • Gail Simmons

Finding solace in the Sinai desert.

Slow Travel - Sahara's Eternal Mirror • Stephanie Strong

Real travel is about being present, feeling alive and relishing every moment.

Short Story - The Lake Fisherman • Caspar Walsh

A stunning lakescape covered in ever-shifting light, wind and rain which lured me back time after time.

Nature Writers - Hymn to Biodiversity • Richard Mabey

The hypnotic rhythms and luminous incantations of the 18th-century poet Christopher Smart.

Pioneers - Awakening the World • Leo Hickman

Tackling climate change takes more than just purchasing an electric car.

The Occasional Didymus - Intensive Care • John Moat

Reflections on over population and heatlhcare.

Letters to the Editors - Architectural Aesthetics

Reviews

Armchair Travel • Philip Carr-Gomm

Sacred Places: Sites of Spiritual Pilgrimage.

The Phoenix Economy • John Elkington

The Phoenix Economy: 50 Pioneers in the Business of Social Innovation.

Greening the Economic Recovery • Miguel Mendonça

The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.

Adapt and Survive • Stephan Harding

The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning.

A Celebration of Place • Adam Thorpe

Connermara: The Last Pool of Darkness.

A Poetics of the Spirit • Peter Abbs

Hiddenness, Uncertainty, Surprise: Three Generative Energies of Poetry.

Web Exclusives

Article - Elephant Ecosystems • John Seed

Elephants once ranged throughout most of Asia, but now their habitat is reduced to isolated fragments.

Article - Living Legacies • Karl Hansen

In Ethiopia people are embracing local and ecological knowledge to protect and enhance the integrity of their land.

Article - Closer to the Sky • Lara Lutzenberger

Integrating human beings with their non-human parents.

Article - Cultural Crossroads • Chagat Almashev

Sacred sites are the acupunture points of the planet.

Article - Borderline Beings • Samuel Bendeck Sotillos

Plant Lives: Borderline Beings in Indian Traditions.

Article - Declaration of Transition • David Kelf

Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Tranforming our Consumer Culture.

Article - A Message from Mars • Giovanna Dunmall

Hope and the Magic Martian.

Article - Nature and Nonviolence • Thích Nhất Hạnh

The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology.

Article - Numbers, Not Adjectives • Miguel Mendonça

Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air.

Article - Soil Not Oil • Vandana Shiva

Soil Not Oil: Climate Change, Peak Oil and Food Insecurity.

Article - The Deep Woods • Leo Mellor

Zoro’s Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods.

Article - The Efficiency Trap • Dan Grace

Slow-tech: Manifesto for an Over-wound World.

Article - The Language of Art • Victor de Waal

Jill Paine: A Life Inspired by Nature, Art and Spirituality.

Article - To Be A Pilgrim • Leila Dregger

Grace: Pilgrimage for a Future without War.

Article - Toppling the Oligarchs • Hugh Warwick

How the Rich are Destroying the Earth.