Timeline, the Foundation's bimonthly magazine, focused on cultural change. It included interviews with leading-edge thinkers, editorials, book reviews, and articles on systems thinking, sustainability, ecology, conflict resolution, social change, and community building.

Israeli-Palestinian Youth Camps. More than a dozen youth camps are held in North America designed for Israeli and Palestinian youth to meet together in a safe place. This year 24 camp facilitators met together to share what works and what doesn’t.

Book review: Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv.

Book review: Don’t Think of an Elephant, by George Lakoff. How conservative thinkers use language to control public discourse, and make their views on seemingly disparate issues such as gun control, taxation, the environment, and foreign policy fit together, and what progressives should learn from it.

Global MindShift. Brief statements from a variety of individuals on the four concepts the Foundation’s Global MindShift team has focused on to cope with the emergent moment we live in.

For the Next Seven Generations. In the fall of 2004, thirteen indigenous grandmothers from all over the world met at a retreat center in upstate New York to voice their concern “with the unprecedented destruction of Mother Earth and the destruction of indigenous ways of life,” to form an alliance, and to agree on four projects to further their vision.

“You’ve got to find what you love.” Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered at Stanford University, June, 2005

Motivation

How Green is Your Schoolyard. Describes the Green Revolution growing right outside our school classrooms, in the form of outdoor classrooms, vegetable gardens, and quiet natural oases replacing dreary, asphalt-covered schoolyards, and how children benefit from the change.

Getting “Getting Going Growing” Going. The Foundation’s Susan Stansbury recounts the history of one such green schoolyard program, and lists resources for further information.

The Optimism of Uncertainty. Reprint of a chapter from the book The Impossible Will Take a Little Longer, in which Howard Zinn urges a hopeful attitude even in tough times.

Toward Sanity in a time of Chaos. Excerpts of a talk by Margaret Wheately, head of the Berkana Institute.

Grasping for Solutions to Life’s Unsolvable Problems. One of our favorite columns by the late Donella Meadows.

Book Review: How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, by David Bornstein.

Everything Has a Deep Dream. A poem by Rachel Naomi Remen.

Nanotechnology. Brief review of this new high-tech field, from its potential for solving some of the most worrisome human and environmental problems, to a series of warnings by scientists about problems they believe should be considered.

A Not So Secret Children’s Garden. On a typical urban lot with a normal-sized home, Karen Harwell has created an amazing garden which has delighted neighborhood children who now plant, maintain, and enjoy eating the dozens of different vegetables and fruits the garden produces, and learn about agriculture in the process.

How Environmentalism Becomes a Passion. The late Donella Meadows wrote wise, inspirational columns that appeared regularly in Timeline. Reprinted here is one of our favorites.

Loving Earth, Loving Ourselves. Review of the book Developing Ecological Consciousness: Path to a Sustainable World by Chris Uhl who covers everything from the Big Bang to the practice of loving kindness, using clearly explained science, philosophy, and personal reflection.

I Demand You Read This! A commentary on how people and nations react to confrontation, the approach apparently favored by the U.S. in seeking to exercise world leadership, versus what history shows about approaches based on cooperation.

Thoughts on Nuclear Terror. Review of the book, Nuclear Terror: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe by Harvard professor Graham Allison, with personal comments by reviewer Winslow Myers.

The Koran Challenge in Yemen. Excerpts from an article in The Christian Science Monitor by James Brandon on how a young Yemeni judge challenges terrorists to show that their violent actions are based on the Koran, and what happens when they fail to do so.

Old Europe is Thinking New. Quote from an editorial by columnist T.R. Reid on the choice of Europeans to move beyond war and spend their tax money, not on the military, but on building “a cozy social network” with benefits such as free college education and free medical care.

In the #80 March/April 2005 Issue you'll find:

A Miracle Grows in Kenya. Through the Kilili Self-Help project, started by an American woman, thousands of rural farmers in Africa are using the scientific farming method known as Grow Biointensive to raise enough crops to feed their families and sell in the marketplace, without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, even under drought conditions.

Address by Wangari Maathai. The full text of the acceptance speech by this now-famous Kenyan woman on receipt of her Nobel Peace Prize.

Terra Madre. A report on this world meeting in Turin, Italy, which focuses on sustainable agriculture, and drew some 5,000 people who work the land in 130 countries.

Lessons from Laxminiah. Richard Rathbun, who served in the Peace Corps in a little village in Nepal, recalls his time there as an agricultural specialist, what he tried to do, and, in hindsight, what he should have done.

Building Green. Since buildings account for two fifths of total national energy use and are major contributors to acid rain and smog, efforts such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program are important in recognizing that green buildings can be built with existing technology and at no long-term additional cost.

A Challenge to Environmental Journalists. Guardian columnist George Monbiot lays out some widely accepted industrial worldviews that are plainly irrational and bear to relation to what is happening on earth, and challenges the journalists who attended the Enviromedia Conference in South Africa to tell it straight.

No Throwaway Society Here. By necessity, material objects in Cuba have a life even after death.

In the #79 January/February 2005 Issue you'll find:

Democracy at the Crossroads: Choosing the Civil Society. Historian Craig Barnes traces the development of democracy and law from bribing the gods, to law for the common people, to nonviolence as a way to solve conflict among even the most powerful interests of commerce. We are in danger, Barnes writes, of losing this civilian story and reverting to rule by the elites “who must gain control and exercise leadership, even military leadership, when necessary.”

Engagement. An excerpt from the new book The Open Space of Democracy by poet Terry Tempest Williams. Williams notes that today we too often confuse democracy with capitalism, and that a return to valuing the sacredness of life in all its variety and forms will require each of us to be fully engaged, using our own talents, gifts, and vocations to speak out.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, From the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Review of the book by Steve Coll, managing editor of the Washington Post, whose extensive research includes interviews with virtually everyone still alive who was a major player in the drama that led to Sept. 11.

Faces of the Enemy: Reflections of the Hostile Imagination. Review of the updated version of this seminal book by Sam Keen, originally published during the Cold War, which describes and illustrates with cartoons and posters the process humans use to create enemies and demonize people before killing them.

Staying the Course. An essay by Mary-Wynne Ashford, MD, former president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Addresses the questions: How do you find hope when there is no rational response for optimism? How do you deal with evidence that the situation is worsening despite your best efforts? Does your life make any difference? How do you continue in the face of despair?

Letter from Mary Clark. An internationally known biologist, author, and, most recently, a professor teaching conflict resolution, Mary Clark sends out a Dear Friends and Family letter each year. This piece is adapted from her Winter Solstice letter of 2003.

Helping Assure the Right to Vote. Larissa Keet writes of her experience in Florida attempting to help curtail attempts to harass and disenfranchise African-Americans, and to encourage taking advantage of the 13-day early voting period.

In the September/October 2004 Issue you'll find:

This is the Fight of Our Lives. A keynote speech delivered by Bill Moyers at New York University in which he takes on the politicians, the press, the rich, and everyone else whose actions he sees are un-American, unpatriotic, and plain wrong.

Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit. Just in time for the rhetoric of the election process is this famous astronomer’s advice for the skeptic to tell a reasoned argument from a fallacious or fraudulent one.

Report on The Parliament of the World’s Religions. A team from the Foundation for Global Community participated in the Parliament this summer in Barcelona with the Walk Through Time, a booth, and presentations. Here, two of the FGC team record their thoughts on what was offered and what was accomplished.

A Perspective on the Parliament of the World's Religions. by Richard Rathbun

The Military: Big Budgets, Big Bases, Big Plans. While other budgets are shrinking, the Bush administration wants to increase the military budget for 2005 by nearly 8 percent to $420.7 billion (not including military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan). Many observers think the budget—more than a billion dollars a day—is bloated with too many Cold War weapons not suitable to today. The article also examines the extent of overseas military bases, which many see as an indication of U.S. imperialism.

Quote by activist and author Vandana Shiva.

Book Review: Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, by Lester R. Brown. Brown, who has kept track of the world's environmental systems for many years, reviews the extreme problems humans face on this planet, outlines the solutions he sees that can and are working, but warns that the time is very, very short.

Book Review: The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy, by William Greider. There are some serious questions about how well our capitalistic system is working, notes Greider, and he describes remedies now being tested by reform-minded pioneers.

The Changing Form of Business. Joe Kresse, a former executive in the financial field, covers the history of corporations, some corporate practices that are not helpful in today's world, and what is happening now to change the situation.

A Sane System Wouldn't Have Mad Cows. An editorial by Elizabeth Sawin, biologist and systems analyst, who writes a monthly column for the Sustainability Institute.

Plastic Containers: Bad and Better. Reviews the different plastics used as food and beverage containers.

Remembering Dr. L. Robert Keck. An evolutionary theologian, author, and Senior Fellow with the Foundation for Global Community, he passed away early this year.

From Ancient Greece to Iraq, the Power of Words in Wartime. Robin Lakoff, a linguistic professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of The Language War, notes how words are used to justify war and killing to both soldiers and civilians.

Hope for the World Lies in Expanding our Identity. An editorial by Walt Hays.

From the Writings of Thomas Berry

May/June 2004, No. 75

Toward a Worldview Commensurate with the Times. We all have a view of the world which impacts how we think and what we do. Too many assumptions people operate under might have been acceptable in the past, but are counterproductive in today’s world. This article notes that the time is ripe to move, in computer terminology, from worldview 2.0 to worldview 3.0, and gives some suggestions for what the updated version might be.

Challenging a Religious Worldview. Questions the concept in today’s world of “just” wars; reviews how close the world has come to nuclear war, the continuing nuclear threat, and the destructive capabilities of “conventional” weapons; and notes the unique and powerful role religious institutions can play in bringing an end to war.

Making a New Cosmology Personal. When Karen Harwell read the book, Dream of the Earth, by Thomas Berry, she realized that it “held insights far different from the cultural teachings of my education, my religious upbringing, virtually everything the typical cultural coding told about the nature of reality.” Her article tells what she has learned from further study, and how it has impacted her life.

World Social Forum: Civil Society in Action. A description of the 2004 World Social Forum where 80,000 people—from illiterate villagers to Nobel Laureates—met in Mumbai, India for six days with the shared goal of confronting the power structure they see as moving the world in the wrong direction, and discussing the positive actions different groups can take.

Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective, and Via Campesina. Larissa Keet, who attended the World Social Forum, describes the work of two of the hundreds of groups at the Mumbai meeting—one whose 75,000 members in 20 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in South India, are committed to improving the lot of all women, especially the most marginalized; the other a worldwide movement of peasant farmers who treasure the connection between rural cultures and the seeds they have used for centuries, both threatened they believe by corporate patenting and genetic engineering of seeds.

As We Live and Breathe! A salute to those little microbes which have brought us the oxygen in the air we breathe, the veins of gold we mine, the energy-converting inhabitants of the cells in our bodies, and are examples of the ability to adjust to changing conditions.

Climate Change. Is it a problem? If so, how do we respond? Ignore it? Research it? Take action? Some things to think about in progressively cataclysmic order, from species extinction to possible disruption of that “great conveyor belt,” the Gulf Stream.

Thoughts while circling the Earth. Comments by astronauts from the U.S., Germany, and Saudi Arabia.

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March/April 2004, No. 74

Dancing With Systems. Excerpts from a chapter of the forthcoming book Thinking in Systems by the late Donella Meadows, Dartmouth College professor, long-time organic farmer, journalist, and systems analyst. Includes fourteen “systems wisdoms” which Meadows noted also apply to all of life.

Americans are Awash in Goods, Not in Insight. Editorial by Michael Zielenziger, formerly Tokyo bureau chief for Knight Ridder newspapers, about his return to the U.S. and the culture of “comfortable indifference” he finds in America today.

A Patriotism of the Land. A perspective by John Daniel who notes that The Pledge of Allegiance does not go far enough. His theme: We should also honor our mountains, rivers, deserts, the eastern hardwood forests—places which allow us to know who we are, and places we cannot do without.

Book Review: The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life, by Lynne Twist. Personal stories and insights gained over the quarter century the author has been an activist and fundraiser, travelling the world, and raising $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes.

Book Review: The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People, by Jonathan Schell. Integrates his thinking about the uselessness of nuclear weapons into a more comprehensive discussion of the meaning of power.

Book Review: Matters of Consequence: Creating a Meaningful Life and a World that Works, by Copthorne Macdonald. Wide ranging book based on the belief that in this ultracomplex world, the only action that has a chance of succeeding must be guided by a deep understanding of the human situation, and a broadly compassionate nature.

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January/February 2004, No. 73

When the Oil Runs Out. The world is fast running out of cheap, easily available oil. Has oil production already peaked? what the experts say. What about new oil extraction techniques? How will running out of cheap oil affect our lives, including how nations act toward each other, where and how we live, our food supply? Is there any substitute for oil? Of the ideas we have about conserving oil, which won’t help, and which will?

Live Well with Less Oil. Some thoughts by Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute on ways to save energy, including more efficient cars, better construction methods, use of waste materials, and renewable technologies.

Precautionary Principle. The world will never be free from risk, but many activities are undertaken without assessing the harm they may cause to human health or to the environment. Here are some of the precautionary principles manufacturers and cities are using to avoid predictable threats.

Lawrence of Arabia Has a Lesson on Iraq for the U.S. Michael Keane, of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, and a fellow of the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Education Program, recalls that Lawrence is considered by many as the father of guerilla warfare. Keane lists the elements of Lawrence’s guerilla warfare strategy, compares them unfavorably to the predicament the U.S. now faces in Iraq, and reviews the British experience in attempting to rule that country when it was newly formed.

Some Good News on the Corporate Front. With all the news about corporate corruption—accounting scandals, outright theft by senior officers, political contributions made to get relaxation of environmental and other restrictions—it’s nice to hear that some companies are doing things right. Here is a report on efforts to achieve sustainability on the part of several major silicon valley firms.

“It’s not that easy bein' green.” The challenges the Foundation for Global Community had to meet to be officially certified as a Green Business by the Bay Area Green Business Program.

Adventures on the Web. One person’s experience in search of news, views, and commentary not easily found in the local newspaper, on TV, or in weekly magazines.

“Our Earth is but a small star in the great Universe…” A poem by Stephen Vincent Benet.

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November/December 2003, No. 72

Planetary Spirituality and Berry Picking in Northern Cheyenne County. Marya Grathwohl, a Sister of Saint Francis now living at a center serving Native American women, uses the practice of leaving some of the best berries for birds as a metaphor for the need for us humans to grow a planetary-sized soul to match our new planetary power. “We are born hungry,” she says, “not only for milk and comfort, but for songs of warblers, the alpha female wolf, and water splashing clean over stones.”

How Wars End. Review of Helena Meyer-Knapp’s new book, Dangerous Peace-Making, in which she analyzes the wars in Bosnia, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, the North of Ireland, and South Africa, to see what keeps wars going, and what steps are essential to stop them for good. Meyer-Knapp, who teaches war, peace, and politics at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, evaluates the roles played by leaders of the warring nations, citizen peacemakers, and the international community, and includes a number of principles that apply to all wars and which either lead to the war continuing, or to its end.

Some of the News is Good. In the Sept/Oct issue, Timeline recounted some of the bad news for the environment under the present Administration (“Trashing the Environment with a Thousand Cuts”). Here are nine stories of people and institutions whose actions offer a ray of hope.

Hope Within the Fire. Some citizen initiatives Jews and Palestinians are taking to build understanding, trust, and mutual agreements in helping set the conditions for a peaceful resolution of their conflict in the Middle East.

Why Dialogue? An Israeli student in a U.S. university tells of her experience in meeting with Palestinians and other Israelis as they begin to view each other in a different light.

Wheelchairs Restore Shattered Lives. One man’s idea of providing wheelchairs to the disabled who cannot afford them has grown into an international effort by the Wheelchair Foundation and other supporting organizations. This story tells of the events that made possible the gift of wheelchairs in Guatemala City and in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the reactions of those who received them.

Hymn of Praise. Thomas Berry notes that beyond the individual dimension of the small self, there is a universal dimension of the Great Self that is the source of inspiration and fulfillment for the human.

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We Wanted to Believe. Editorial noting that the hype the Administration used to sell the war on Iraq is nothing new in politics or in business, and that rather than blame leaders for doing what they feel is necessary to carry out their plans, the public, as well as the press, needs to be wary of what we’re told and ask the really important questions.

Ethanol: No Free Lunch. The Archer Daniels Midland Company ad on PBS programs suggests that we ”can drive forever on corn.” Turns out that using ethanol as a fuel is not sustainable, does not reduce greenhouse gases, and is actually an energy sink.

Genetically Engineered Food: Blessing or Curse? A look at this controversial subject, what some of the objections to it are, why there is a demand for labels to indicate food that contains GE ingredients, and a list of some of the processed foods that the Center for Food Safety reported tested GE positive.

Make Mine Organic. The reaction of chimpanzees at Denmark’s Copenhagen Zoo when offered organic bananas.

Trashing the Environment with a Thousand Cuts. Review of the Bush Administration’s aggressive and systematic assault which has resulted in almost daily actions dismantling laws to protect health and the environment. Lists month by month—often day be day—some of the specific actions taken since January, 2001

July/August 2003, No. 70

Relighting the Nuclear Fuse. The Bush administration wants to build more nuclear weapons to use in ordinary battlefield conditions. Discusses the complications this adds to the use and acquisition of nuclear weapons by other nations, and the control of existing nuclear materials.

Preparing to Launch. Dr. Bruce Blair, president of the Center for Defense Information, recalls his experiences as a Minuteman missile launch officer during the 1970s, and reflects on those today who have their fingers on the nuclear trigger.

Dumbing Down What Children Learn in School. Review of the book The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn, by Diane Ravitch, former assistant secretary in charge of research in the U.S. Department of Education, and currently research professor of education at New York University.

A Diplomat Speaks Out. The letter written just prior to the Iraq war to Secretary of State Colin Powell by John Brady Kiesling, political counselor in the U.S. Embassy in Athens, explaining why he resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service.

Terry Gross Interviews Kiesling. A post-Iraq war interview in which Kiesling explains further why he thinks U.S. foreign policy is on the wrong track, and tells some of the reactions he has had to his resignation.

The Mightiest Nation. A column written in the early 1970s, around the time of Watergate, by the great San Francisco Chronicle columnist Art Hoppe.

Bioneers: Walking Their Talk. A report of the 2002 Bioneers annual meeting, focusing on the work of John Todd, whose company, Living Technologies, specializes in cleaning up heavily polluted lakes, estuaries, and canals using a variety of living systems composed of plants, fishes, and snails, all driven by sun and wind power.

Is There Anything Left That Matters? A commentary by Joan Chittistor, OSB, a Benedictine Sister of Erie, a best-selling author, and well-known international lecturer, on the current administration’s attitude toward the war on Iraq.

What to do with old cell phones. Most cell phones are retired after only 18 months. Rather than throw them away, here are four sources that recycle them.

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May/June 2003, No. 69

How Will the Arab World React? Several writer/reporters recall the results of prior attempts by colonial powers to free people in Middle Eastern countries from dictators, assess the current reaction in the Arab world to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and give some words of advice.

Salute to an American Hero. A tribute to Rear Admiral Eugene J. Carroll, who died earlier this year at age 79. Most recently a director of the Center for Defense Information, Admiral Carroll was a military man who understood that America's security is threatened by an over-reliance on military might, and who advocated cooperation rather than confrontation in international affairs.

Sending Youth Abroad to Kill is Heartbreaking. An editorial by columnist Loretta Green which appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.

Iraqi Children Immunized Against Polio in Pre-War Effort. Just months before the U.S./British war on Iraq, 14,000 volunteers from 880 health clinics in Iraq delivered polio vaccine to 4,000,000 Iraqi children in a five-day campaign organized by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Red Crescent.

Three Mottos to Help with Discouragement and Reactionaries. A column written by the late Donella Meadows with words of wisdom for these stressed-out times.

The Divine Right of Capital. Review of the book by Marjorie Kelly, publisher of Business Ethics, discussing the assumptions underlying our economic capitalistic system, with suggestions for making what she sees are some needed improvements.

Despairing Globally, Hoping Locally. An accompanying essay by Marjorie Kelly on the promise of state-level action as an avenue for corporate reform.

Why Aren't They Using Our Words? Beth Sawin of the Sustainability Institute writes of the inconsistency of teaching children not to resort to violence while we attack another nation, a chasm that, she notes, extends beyond war to how we treat our environment.

Words from Henry David Thoreau: "Every ambitious would-be empire clarions it abroad that she is conquering the world to bring it peace, security and freedom, and it is sacrificing her sons only for the most noble and humanitarian purposes. That is a lie; and it is an ancient lie, yet generations still rise and believe it."

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March/April 2003, No. 68

Saying Grace, by BarbaraKingsolver. An excerpt from Small Wonder, her new book of essays.

Destiny and War. If we keep having wars, can humanity survive? Or was Einstein right when he said: “Either we do away with war, or war will do away with us.”

War: The Lure, the Madness, the Way Through. A review of three books: Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History, by sociologist Elise Boulding; War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by war correspondent Chris Hedges; and The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World’s Great Peacemakers, by Scott Hunt, who traveled the world to interview some of the most notable peacemakers of our time.

Beyond War 2003. A group in Oregon is revitalizing the original Beyond War movement of the 1980s.

18 Reasons Why. A list by Richard Duboff of Z Magazine of international actions undertaken by the U.S. in recent years that may help to understand some of the contributing factors to the way the U.S. is viewed from outside its borders.

Slow Motion Disaster Below the Waves. An editorial by Randy Olson on the concept of shifting baselines and their importance in analyzing environmental changes.

The Pew Oceans Commission. Findings of the first independent review of U.S. national ocean policy in 30 years.

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