Bioneers: Revolution From The Heart Of Nature | Bioneers Radio Series

For a decade, the award-winning play "The Vagina Monologues" has pro­ vided a startling window into the conflicted complexity of women's relationships to their bodies and pervasive worldwide violence against women. By revealing the deeply personal stories of women and their private parts, world-renowned playwright and women's rights activist Eve Ensler gave birth to a global movement to end violence against women and girls with the non-profit organization V Day. V Day has raised more than $60 million to support grassroots anti-violence groups around the world through performances of this ground breaking theater work.

Just how dumb do they think we are? Who would believe that destroying the ecosystems on which all life depends, while dis-employing more and more people, is somehow good for the economy? But exactly that fiction of jobs versus the environment has been successfully marketed to us. Community organizers Van Jones and Majora Carter propose a radically simple solution for both environmental destruction and social inequality: Bring the rising green revolution to low-income, urban America.

For thousands of years, First Peoples have successfully managed the complex reciprocal relationships between biological and human cultures using Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Yet no prior human civilization has ever faced the globalized ecological collapse occurring now. In the face of unprecedented pressures on their homelands and ways of life, indigenous leaders Enei Begaye, Dune Lankard and Hawk Rosales are organizing in new ways to protect the environment-and spread their knowledge for the sake of all life on Earth and future generations.

Most American schools are flunking out when it comes to how well they integrate ecological literacy across the curriculum. And many are doing no better than a C average with the idea that schools should be actively engaged in sustaining the natural and social communities in which they exist. Fritjof Capra, co-founder of the Center for Ecoliteracy, Cheryl Charles, from the Children and Nature Network, and leading environmental educator David Orr explore what's working for the A+ schools that are successfully integrating ecological awareness, understanding and practices throughout the curriculum and the community.

Some of the best minds on the planet are busy cataloguing possible solutions to the crisis of climate chaos. Scientists, entrepreneurs and educators on technology's cutting edge offer a broad array of bio-based solutions that are already working to transition us to a truly sustainable civilization. Biomimics Janine Benyus, Stephan Dewar, David Orr and Jay Hannan offer a smorgasbord of startling solutions based on nature's genius.

Bathing suits modeled on sharkskin that win the Olympics. Low-energy display screens based on peacock feathers. Nature has done everything human societies want to do technologically-without mining the past or mortgaging the future. Acclaimed author, naturalist and biomimicry leaders Janine Benyus, Jason McCiennan and Bob Hawkins uncork a mind-boggling bouquet of breakthrough innovations that, like nature, create conditions conducive to life. This genuine scientific revolution shows why preserving nature and biological diversity is our best survival strategy.

“For the first time in history, a civilization - its people, companies and governments - is trying to arrest the downspin and understand how to live on Earth, a watershed in human existence.” Globally renowned social entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken eloquently portrays how we will win a sustainable future by losing the delusion we’re here on Earth for only ourselves.

Being an Indian in modern times has given rise to Indian casinos. Chairman Greg Sarris of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria found himself staring down the barrel of massive community resistance. Was it possible to create a casino that would uphold traditional values and benefit Native land and local communitie.

Our physical health is intimately tied to environmental health, and to our emotional and spiritual ecology. Visionary physician Dr. Gabor Maté explores the deepest psychological, emotional and social forces leading to our society’s poor health and unhappiness. He says we have the capacity to heal the planet and ourselves by reconnecting with our true nature as empathic, nurturing social beings.

What might happen when the descendants of a white slave trader and of slaves meet? That is the brave and wrenching journey of Thomas DeWolf , whose white ancestors were once the nation’s biggest slave traders, and Belvie Rooks and Dedan Gills , descendants of enslaved African people.

World-renowned feminist, writer and change-maker Gloria Steinem connects the dots among disparate social movements to reveal the common patterns of oppression that underlie them all. From gender and race to democracy and universal spirituality, she weaves a unifying vision of a richly human and humane world where all people are valued for their uniqueness and full humanity.

Why does “corporate personhood” consistently override the legal rights of citizens? And what about the rights of nature? Join innovative environmental attorneys Thomas Linzey and Mari Margil for breakthroughs on the ground of democracy.

Wounded warriors have walked through fire. Facing the unimaginable traumas of war, abuse, and violence, what can we learn from looking respectfully at their wounds? Aqeela Sherrills , Ed Tick , and Eve Ensler share their inspiring stories to help us discover how we might keep the peace.

Master green chemists and educators John Warner and Amy Cannon say the radical growth of green chemistry is showing we can have good chemistry with the Earth by emulating nature’s green chemistry, and do good business at the same time.

The concept of national security is changing to encompass the nation’s internal resilience, health and environmental sustainability. What’s needed is the equivalent of a wartime mobilization to create a sustainable planet, say global energy strategist Amory Lovins and Oberlin College Professor David Orr . Sustainability is the strategic imperative and foundation for a new national security narrativ.

Facing climate disruption, it’s imperative to fast-forward the transition to clean energy. The global movement to abolish fossil fuels is challenging the industry and its political domination. Renowned author and activist Bill McKibben and award-winning biologist and author Sandra Steingraber illuminate the frontline fight of these New Abolitionists.

Our misbegotten food system is one of our greatest vulnerabilities. It's dangerously fossil fueled, toxic, monocultural and centralized. The real cost of cheap food is very high — to both people and planet. Urban food innovators are designing vibrant new local food economies built on environmental and ecological integrity, sustainability, diversity and equality. Join author Michael Pollan, Fair Food Foundation CEO Oran Hesterman, faith-based change-maker James Ella James and student leader Victoria Carter for a smorgasbord of nourishing morsels from the emerging locavore movement.

The visionary primatologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall revolutionized primatology by showing how close our kinship is with the animal kin-dom. “Dr. Jane” has inspired the world to save the rapidly dwindling chimpanzee populations and their habitats. Her compelling vision to restore people, animals and planet is delivering real hope.

Deep Ecology extends an inalienable right to life to all beings. Yet as the naturalist Aldo Leopold observed, “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” Either harden your shell, or be a doctor. Joanna Macy decided to be an Earth doctor. A systems theorist, author and lifelong activist, she describes how healing the world and healing your heart and soul go hand in hand.

Religion is the oldest, most compelling moral framework for social action. As director of World Wildlife Fund’s Sacred Earth Program, Buddhist Dekila Chungyalpa shows how religion and spiritual consciousness are emerging globally as powerful forces for restoring our relationship with nature and each other.