BFFE | The intelligence of trees
A German forester, Peter Wohlleben, has observed that where he comes from, trees communicate with one another, care with love for their young, their elders, and their neighbors in case of illness. He wrote the worldwide bestseller ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ (over 2 million copies were sold) that filled nature lovers with wonder. His assertions were confirmed by scientists from the University of British Columbia in Canada, who also appear in the film. This documentary reveals the meticulous and thrilling work of these scientists, which is essential in order to understand interactions among trees as well as the consequences of this discovery. This knowledge will change the way you look at life, trees and forests. – bffe.eu
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80 min Followed by a Panel on Inter-being |
EYE Amsterdam – Dutch premiere – |
Directors: Julia Dordel, Guido Tölke, Jan Roeloffs | With: Peter Wohlleben, Suzanne Simard, Teresa Ryan, Monika A. Gorzelak, Amanda Asay, Julia Amerongen Maddison | Camera: Tom Roeloffs, Florian Millot | Editor: Florian Millot | Production: Jupiter Communications | Music licensed at Media Music Now, Premium Beat
tijdverspilling
Because of developments in transportation, we feel planet Earth is getting smaller and smaller. But where are we going in our speedy cars? We play pinball, we gamble. We move so fast simply to do wasteful things.
Kōdō Sawaki | Homeless Kodo
Ecocide – Corporations on trial
“This meeting is not only a fight against a multinational company, it is a commitment to life and freedom. It’s all about stopping the big corporations, which are colonising our food system and our agriculture by enslaving our Mother Earth for their profit. (…) It is a fight for humanity and for the future of the planet.”
Nnimmo Bassey, Nigeria, author and environmentalist
Petitie tegen fusie Bayer en Monsanto
Stop monster-merger BaySanto! (to: Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, European Commission) A Bayer-Monsanto merger would be a disaster for our farmers. It will be a catastrophe for our bugs, bees and birds. We urge you to reject the merger and prevent the damage caused by these corporations. We also demand full openness about your decision making processes.
Why is this important? On October 16 we have published scientific research with our partners, showing the proposed merger should be forbidden under EU competition law. The research, done by international competition law experts from the University College London, explains how Bay-Santo would control our entire food system. They want farmers to buy all they need from one company. Starting with GMOs, seeds, and pesticides as their main products, Bay-Santo will also offer fertilizer, digital equipment, and farm machinery.
Bayer is one of the largest producers of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides. And Monsanto is one of the leading producers of genetically modified plants. [1] Together, these companies could have a total lockdown on what farmers put in their fields, the pesticides they use, what we buy in the shops, and ultimately put on our dinner tables. If the merger is to be successful, the two companies must gain approval of competition authorities all over the world, including from the EU. Bayer has managed to “convince” Donald Trump to back the mega-merger [2], and now there is really only one organisation that has enough clout to stop the deal – the European Union.
We know that Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for competition informally is already negotiating with Bayer behind closed doors. If we don’t act now this mega-merger could be a done-deal. That’s why we have to tell her to reject the deal now. – WeMove.EU
plastic strategy EU
Hopeful Message from WeMove.EU:
It’s a cold and foggy morning in Brussels. Together with 20 other activists I have been waiting for Frans Timmermans for more than an hour. The first Vice-President of the European Commission will open the EU conference on plastic strategy today. We have 600,000 signatures from all over Europe to hand over – three kilograms of paper. Will our signatures hold any weight for him? Timmermans and his staff are coming around the corner with quick steps – and his reaction leaves us almost speechless.
He is concerned about the waste of our seas: “I am your ally and I will do my best so that we can present an ambitious strategy by the end of this year”. Timmermans, the second-ranking official in the European Commission supports our campaign – this is a real breakthrough!
Are these just empty words? It does not look like it. In his opening speech at the conference, he mentions our petition right at the beginning – to the surprise of the plastics lobby. And shortly after, he posts a video of our delivery on Facebook and Twitter. EU’s First Vice-President takes the fight against plastic waste very seriously – and our Europe-wide campaign is of great help to him.
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The fight is not over yet, but this is a huge step forward and we can be proud of it. …
With hope,
Doina (Bucharest), Julia (Warsaw), Jörg (Lübeck), Olga (Bologna), Virginia (Madrid), and the rest of us at WeMove.EU
Buddhism’s call to action
“Science and technology alone cannot stop continuing warfare, racism, and environmental destruction. The illusion of separation that fuels global consumerism and greed, fear, and ignorance needs to be transformed by the realization of interdependence, by the illumination of wisdom and compassion. Each of us must find our own way to contribute to this with the wisdom of our practice and our own unique capacities. …
Find a way to quiet your mind and open your heart. Meditate, turn off the news, turn on Mozart, walk through the trees or the mountains, and make yourself a zone of peace and compassion. You can get swept up in a frightened, barricaded society—or you can respond calmly, with both prudent action and a fearless steady heart. Thich Nhat Hanh explains, ‘When the crowded refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if every one panicked, all would be lost. But if even one person stayed calm, it was enough. It showed the way for everyone to survive.'”
Jack Kornfield
eco-dharma
“Interest in eco-dharma – the ecological implications of Buddhist teachings – is finally growing after years of apparent indifference and little conversation about it in Buddhist sanghas. … Indifference to eco-dharma seems to be reflective of a larger problem with socially engaged Buddhism in the West. … we are getting better at pulling drowning people out of the river, but we are not much better at asking why there are so many more people caught in the river. Who or what is pushing them in upstream? When we dare to ask why so many are homeless in the wealthiest country in history, or why so many languish in prisons, we are dismissed as radicals or leftists. “These concerns,” goes the common response, “have nothing to do with Buddhism.”
Does the ecological crisis also have nothing to do with Buddhism? Or is the disconnect due to our misunderstanding of Buddhism? The philosopher Slavoj Zizek has argued that this disconnect applies generally to Western Buddhism, which “enables you to fully participate in the frantic pace of the capitalist game while sustaining the perception that you are not really in it; that you are well aware of how worthless this spectacle is; and that what really matters to you is the peace of the inner self to which you know you can always withdraw.” His point has some validity. (meer…)
stop glyfosaat!
Begin juni beslist de Europese Unie of ze het gebruik van het omstreden onkruidbestrijdingsmiddel glyfosaat voor minstens een jaar zal verlengen. Glyfosaat is het actieve bestanddeel van Monsanto’s Roundup. Het kankeronderzoekscentrum (IARC) van de Werelgezondheidsorganisatie (WHO) classificeerde glyfosaat eerder vorig jaar als “waarschijnlijk kankerverwekkend“ voor de mens, dit is de op een na hoogste risicocategorie die het WHO gebruikt. – foodwatch.nl
Het European Citizens Initiative van WeMove.eu voert actie tegen deze stof. Met dit burgerinitiatief willen organisaties en burgers een verbod op Glyfosaat bewerkstelligen en een oproep doen aan de Europese Unie voor een pesticide-vrije toekomst. Er zijn een miljoen EU-handtekeningen nodig, de petitie is nu door ongeveer 750.000 mensen getekend.
