Earth’s finite nature and limited resources coupled with humankind’s ability to extract, transport and utilize these resources at will, have led us to a precarious moment. Our waters are being corrupted; our forests are being destroyed. We are facing an environmental crisis on a global scale that is causing the largest movement of human beings in known history as people seek sustainable lives for themselves and their children. In the midst of the destruction and chaos, we are becoming aware of our interconnectedness with one another and all life. And we are being challenged to change.
Debates rage over the need for conservation and protection of the environment versus the needs of energy, security and jobs. The hand on the till has been more vocal and more powerful than the hand on the tiller – until now. In the midst of the talk there are people who are taking action. There are people planting trees, and discovering better practices that will allow the earth to feed everyone. There are people doing the seemingly impossible, withstanding militarized police and governments bent on maintaining dying systems of energy, in nonviolent and peaceful ways. People are galvanizing a leaderless movement around the Earth and saying, “It is time for change” and pursuing paths as Gandhi once invited us to, “Live simply so that others may simply live”.