The Earth: For us or for all

'If we change our attitude from thinking that the earth is there for us to an understanding that we're really cohabitants of the earth with many other species, that we're not privileged as a species more than any other, then I believe we could go on for quite a long time...' pg. 66, 'Presence'

At the moment, I haven't done a lot of research about mindfulness and environmental sustainability and welcome any comments about good books about this, or people working on this.

For sure, there are a number of links:

• Individual - at the individual level we can make a significant difference to the environment. We may not think we have much power on our own but the collection of individual choices and actions do have an impact and can lead to change. But we need to be aware of what we are buying in order to understand the impact that our choices have on the environment. We need to become more mindful of the link between what we buy, our actions, and how that affects the environment. And this can make a powerful difference:
• Look at consumer choices. Many more people are choosing organic products. Ecover. Products that are locally sourced. This is happening because individuals are making choices, demanding these options and the market is shifting to meet these needs. 
• Look at recycling. Just spend one week collecting things to recycle and it is clear just how much this amounts to
• Community - as communities we have the power to influence the way we live collectively. In Oxford, farmers markets, allotments, independent supermarkets and low carbon groups are highly present and active. And they started from a collective sense of awareness of how our choices impact on the environment, a collective sense of wanting to source locally, and invest in healthy, sustainable options,
• Industry - At  the level of industry, shifting practices to more sustainable, environmentally conscientious ones is a real challenge. Peter Senge has written two books which explore how this shift may come about and mindfulness clearly plays a role there. One is called 'Presence' written with others such as Otto Scharmer who developed the 'Theory U' process (I will write about this another time) and the other is called 'The Necessary Revolution'.   The Presencing Institute also has projects around shifting business paradigms using 'mindfulness' techniques - http://www.presencing.com/projects/spiritual-entrepreneurship-%E2%80%93-new-paradigm-business-creation

Something worth exploring is this idea that if you take care of today, then tomorrow will take care of itself. Meaning that change starts today and must start today.

I will spend some time researching this area in the future and if you have any good resources around this area, please write about them in the comments box.