nature
GRITtv: Shannon Biggs & Maude Barlow: Recognizing the Rights of Nature
"The real issue here is that modern humanity looks at nature as a great big resource for our pleasure, profit and convenience, and we do whatever we want with it. We're in trouble," says Maude Barlow of our current relationship with the our natural world. She and Shannon Biggs have spearheaded the discussion over the legal rights of nature, a discussion that has gone all the way to United Nations, where arguments are now being heard. "I think that what we?re trying to do here is take a step forward and realize that we?re not just damaging the earth, but we?re damaging people," says Shannon. A year after the Deepwater Horizon explosion claimed the lives of 11 and destroyed the livelihoods of many others, the link between respecting the earth and protecting the rights of humans should be clear. However, since the Deepwater disaster, the U.S. government has failed to pass a single law regulating oil and gas drilling. Shannon and Maude join us to talk about what's at stake for both the natural world and the people who benefit from it--and which American cities have taken the lead in officially recognizing the rights of nature.
Email this pageGRITtv: Got Docs: Queen of the Sun
In a time of global crisis we don't want to be messing with our food supply. So how has it that the very technology designed for big crops threaten the bees required by the ecosystem? Some are taking action: Queen of the Sun introduces a few of the lesser-known heroes of the 21st century--the beekeepers. Want to keep bees of your own? Spring is the best time to start! And good news for our New York City viewers: the city lifted its ban on beekeeping last year. Got a Got Doc? We'd love to hear from you. Pitch it to us on our Facebook page.
GRITtv: February 18, 2011
"The paradox of education is precisely this -- that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." James Baldwin wrote that in 1963, but as we watch teachers and their students leading pro-labor protests in Wisconsin and around the country, it remains truer than ever. Baldwin died in 1987, but his novels and essays--and his activism--live on. This week at NYU, a conference examining Baldwin's work and influence in today's globalized world is meeting, and Laura sat down with two of the speakers, Hortense Spillers and Darryl Pinckney, to discuss why Baldwin's work still feels so vital, so important. In a time of global crisis we don't want to be messing with our food supply. So how has it that the very technology designed for big crops threaten the bees required by the ecosystem? Some are taking action: Queen of the Sun introduces a few of the lesser-known heroes of the 21st century--the beekeepers. Want to keep bees of your own? Spring is the best time to start! And good news for our New York City viewers: the city lifted its ban on beekeeping last year. Got a Got Doc? We'd love to hear from you. Pitch it to us on our Facebook page. Next up, to Queens, New York, to visit artist Alice Mizrachi. A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Mizrachi's shown her work around the world, and yet her favorite canvas is New York's walls. Mizrachi's built a global network of women artists as co-director of the Younity Arts Collective, and now she's working with young people. This piece was produced by Rebecca McDonald, and special thanks to Noisemaker Media for the music. If you are in the New York area, please join Alice Mizrachi in a stencil making workshop in collaboration with Materials for the Arts on Thursday February 24, 2011 from 7-9pm. This event is free, and open to the public. More info here. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Keynote: Severn Cullis-Suzuki: Remember the Future
Daughter of David Suzuki, Severn Cullis-Suzuki just graduated from Yale with a B.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology and is on track to outpace her father as an activist. She founded a children’s environmental group at age 9, addressed the Rio Summit at age 12 and hasn’t stopped since, starting several groups and projects and becoming a dynamic, luminous light in a new generation of eco-leaders. Cullis-Suzuki discusses our responsibilities toward future generations; how to heal our disconnection from nature and each other; and how to draw from the best of ancient traditions and modern innovation to build a sustainable future.
