Oregon Humanities

Rethinking the Possibilities

My organization, Ecotrust, recently conducted a survey. We asked thousands of people, “Has the world entered a new era?” More than 80 percent of respondents said yes. When we asked people to describe the era, two related themes emerged: connectedness and interdependence.

The way people perceive the world is changing. Once, the world seemed to be divided into clear sectors: For-profit, nonprofit, local, national, global, sustainable, and so on. Now, all of those sectors seem to be conflating. Sustainability is present in all sectors. The slow-down, go-local mindset of the slow food movement is infusing everything from banking to finance to construction to culture writ large. Portland-based Sustainable Harvest, which promotes earth-friendly coffee systems, is an exemplar of the new world order. Sustainable Harvest seems like it would be a nonprofit. It’s actually a successful for-profit that’s part-local, part-national, and part-global.

Underpinning all of this change is one thing: story. When 80 percent of survey respondents say we’re in a new era, they are reconsidering the current mythos and story of America. Waves of people don’t just idly sign-up for the idea that a new era is upon us; that is a powerful belief, and there has to be a reason for it. The clues to this shifting perspective lie in the complex stew of a collapsed economy, climate change, political and cultural upheaval, waves of global innovation, and a less-powerful America. Faced with all of this, how can people not rethink the era and ask, “What have we created in America, and does it still work?”

Perhaps no one understands all of this better than Andrew Revkin of The New York Times. Each day, he posts the world’s latest status-quo-busting idea on his DotEarth blog, which explores innovations at the intersection of people, profit, and planet. On a daily basis, he challenges the way all of us look at the world. Do you think methane is just the world’s second most important heat-trapping gas behind carbon dioxide? Revkin wrote a story about turning it into a commodity. Want to know why the word “climate” is not present in the title of America’s pending climate legislation? Revkin can tell you.

Revkin’s become so good at what he does that he recently drew the ire of Mr. Status Quo himself, Rush Limbaugh. When Revkin suggested in a blog post that humans are hurting the planet, Limbaugh suggested that Revkin kill himself. That way, said Limbaugh, there would be one fewer person hurting the earth. All of this, of course, is a compliment to Revkin. If he weren’t so good at his job, Limbaugh wouldn’t care.

Nearly twenty organizations, including Ecotrust and Oregon Humanities, are bringing Revkin to Portland on November 10 to challenge Oregonians to rethink the way they view the state, and the world. Revkin is coming here to help us explore new possibilities for our collective future.

Revkin’s talk is free to the public, but tickets are required and available at the Portland State University box office. Revkin will explore the stories we Oregonians tell ourselves about the future. With three billion more inhabitants due on the planet within forty years, the stakes of such a talk couldn’t be higher, the challenges couldn’t be harder, and rewards couldn’t be greater.

About Seth Walker

Seth Walker is director of marketing and communications for Ecotrust.

05 November 2009 | Posted by Seth Walker in Events New Ideas Special Projects
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