Intro: “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization”

“Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization” is an ambitious global conference to be held June 4–7, 2015 on the campus of Pomona College in Claremont, CA.

Approximately 1,000 leading experts and original thinkers across more than 80 areas of specialty and some 30 countries are coming together for the largest transdisciplinary event ever held on behalf of the planet.

Bill McKibben of 350.org is keynoting. Confirmed plenary speakers include the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, The Land Institute’s Wes Jackson, the Chinese environmentalist Sheri Liao, and others.

“Seizing an Alternative” is the inaugural event of Pando Populus, a new initiative for public scholarship and civic engagement on behalf of the Earth. The conference is organized by the Center for Process Studies and unites the 10th International Whitehead Conference with the 9th International Conference on Ecological Civilization.

Numerous events have been held in the past focusing on one aspect or another of ecological concern. “Seizing an Alternative” is unique in scale and scope.

Over the course of four days, economists will sit down with ecologists, educators with philosophers, biologists with social scientists, and Chinese officials with representatives of the world’s religions to consider the cultural conditions necessary for a thriving ecosphere.

The conference aims to challenge some of the most basic assumptions of the modern industrial world and propose an ecological paradigm as opposed to isolated fixes. Professor Cobb puts it this way, “To see the world with ecological relations at its core means never to see it in the same way again.”

John Cobb, who will be 90 years old at the time of the 2015 conference, has been called the most important living philosophical theologian. A pioneer at the intersection of the environment, philosophy, and ethics, he is intellectual architect of conference events.

This is one in a series of collections by Pando Populus about big ideas that matter for the Earth. We are exploring these issues online and at our inaugural conference, “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization,” June 4–7, 2015 in Claremont, CA.

For more information, visit: PandoPopulus.com.
To register for the conference, visit: Whitehead2015.com.

Artwork copyright © Tucker Nichols 2014