Keeping vigil

As I drove into work last night a mist was coming in. Clouds are holy I think. They are mysterious, hiding the world. By veiling the world they actually have the effect of revealing it more, or perhaps they remind humans there is more than what is readily seen. The unseen shows more than the seen. Or something. I love passing under clouds only a few feet above my head. Somehow it makes me feel close to God. Is that presumptuous?
There is also a mystery staying awake while the world sleeps. Again, a practice which carries with it a certain connection to something beyond the human. First of all, it is inhuman simply by the fact that humans can not sustain sleeplessness. By not sleeping I momentarily deny my humanness. I keep watch over the earth like the moon and the stars. I keep watch because someone needs to keep watch at all times. To work a night shift is very much a participation in a divine mystery. I always thought I was not a night person. And I am not really. I am however, a meaning driven person, and give me enough meaning I can keep watch all night.
There was no dawn as I drove home this morning. There was no boundary to sky and earth. All was grey. It was dark when I left, and by the time I had arrived back home it was morning. The trees are covered in hoarfrost. Another holy act. Out of the grayness of the night comes the most beautiful morning. And even though there is still no sun there is beauty. I read “holy” written everywhere on earth. I derive much meaning and direction watching how forgiving nature is to the boundless—she does not panic in the mist, but allows it to transform her.

If I was a cat I would be purring

Oh, wait, I am a cat...

My home is relatively* clean... and I am posting from my own computer. I thought I would not get Internet on this computer so that home would not be a work place... but that means that I am never home. I finally broke down today and frantically ran around* trying to get it working before this evening so I could have my class here. I have to say there is something about writing from one's home. I now can do the majority of my thesis work in my little apartment. I think my fish will be happy too. The less I am around the more his little home suffers.

I never meant to get him in the first place. Poor thing. And they live so long. I would really like a tank full of cute fishys, not elegant ones. It turns out the elegant fish are snobs and don't like to hold company with even their own kind. Silly fish.

Gaelic begins now.

'S toil leam ag ionnsachadh an Gaidhlig. An toil leat?

Its happy to me learning Gaelic. Is it happy to you?

*Relative to the whole semester.

** Don't ask how one can break down and then frantically run about... but it is possible

Thesis Proposal

Hey! It went well! What a relief! I think that I have survived the first phase of academic scrutiny. I am still on my way to becoming an academic. All that is left of the semester is two exams and a bibliography! Hurray!


PCSDP
Providence College Sustainable Development Plan

I am writing my thesis on Sustainable Development as you all know. The title is a joke--I do not have one yet. SD is a field which seems to be more prone than most to the use (and abuse) of acronyms. I have divided the work into three main parts which flow form a macro overview to a micro application. The first section will be a review of the voices and movements, the second a detailed look at various institutions and groups who have applied SD principles, and the third section will propose for Providence College an implementation plan. My task then is not adding anything new to scholarship, but providing Providence with a well researched proposition of how we as an institution can become more sustainable.


A. Context for Sustainable Development
This first section is again a broad overview of the idea of sustainable development. It is both a literature review as well as a contextualization of the various discourses which are taking place. SD is a very big topic both in content as well as global spread. There are as many ideas about what it is as their are fields talking about it. SD will differ depending on whether the speaker is an economist, environmentalist, or theologian. The goal of this section then is to review the categories of action and thought which have arisen, how they define SD, what they are currently doing and what is being negotiated.

a. Definitions
It is very difficult to know whether definitions should precede or follow the history of the movement as they have arisen form specific contexts. Because the discourses about what SD is definitions vary a great deal.
i. Brundtland Definition
The definition given from the Brundtland commission very commonly serves as a broad notion, "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" While this gives an idea of what SD is but it is too vague to be useful for application. Needs change not only across cultural boundaries, but also within groups over time.
ii. Economic
iii. Environmental
I have chosen to look particularly at the economic and environmental ideas about sustainability. There are of course more voices, but these two seem to be in the most conflict. The Brundtland definition arose in the context of neo-liberal theory, and largely defends needs as rights based. Economic definitions of SD are concerned about who owns what and how these needs are going to be distributed. Environmental definitions on the other hand make a distinction between "general needs" and needs from "critical natural resources." SD becomes a discussion about how to live sustainably given the context of all of life on the planet.


b. Historical overview
In this section I will be looking at the skeleton of SD. While there are aprox. 8 gazillion plans, organizations, committees, task forces etc. I will focus primarily on the central texts of the movement.
i. 1972 The Limits to Growth
1972 is the date of the publication of Limits to Growth. This is one of the first studies to systematically analyze human impact on the globe. It is based on a commuter model of the world which looks calculates the various scenarios projected to happen in the future given certain variables. It has been revised and updated, most recently in 2004. I include it as one of the first documents to begin talking about economic and environmental sustainability.
ii. 1987 Our Common Future
It wasn't until 1983 that a UN commission was begun to address current trajectory in overconsumption. In 1987 they produced a document, Our Common Future, which gives the definition and begins to address the need to implement policy.
iii. 1992 Agenda 21
1992 is the date of the Rio Summit which saw the production of Agenda 21, another landmark document which specifies action to be taken on Global, national and local levels.
iv. 2002 Johannesburg
Ten years later there was a World Summit held in Johannesburg which produced a plan of implementation. I may or may not include Copenhagen. Climate Change is relevant to SD, but really just one aspect of it.


c. Current International Initiatives
This section looks at the way these documents from the world summit have been applied in various international contexts. I am mostly interested here in the UK, France, and US as these are especially relevant as comparisons to Canada.
i. UK
ii. US
iii. France

d. Current national and provincial
This section looks specifically at the ways Canada as a nation and Manitoba has implemented SD. Of particular interest is that the headquarters for The International Institute for Sustainable Development is located in Winnipeg.
i. Governmental policy and initiatives
ii. Organizations
1. IISD

e. Religious thought
Because Prov is a Christian institution, I believe it is necessary also to locate our institution within the other current religious dialogue surrounding SD. While the main theory and policy is developed by secular institutions, a great amount of thought and action are being led by faith based institutions and communities. I will give a historical and cultural overview of ecological approaches, and then focus on Christian thought particularly.
i. Historical and Cultural overview
ii. Christian Thought
1. Gottlieb, Wright, Elliot

B. Management Systems
This is the second stage of my thesis which looks at the specific ways three types of communities have implemented SD. Originally I was going to look at communities and universities in a variety of contexts I have decided to focus nationally for the most part, with two exceptions. The first is a selection of Christian communities which in their own way live out both sustainable lives and tie it into their faith. The second one is a small Christian liberal arts college I found in the states with seems to be very similar to Prov in size and geographic location (out in the middle of nowhere). I have chosen three different groups to analyze, cities, communities and universities. Each of these are relevant to Prov for different reasons.

a. Cities
Cities are perhaps the least relevant to Providence college as a practical example to model ourselves around. However, as Prov moves into sustainable living, it will require cooperation with local authorities and collaboration on initiatives.
i. Steinbach
ii. Winnipeg
iii. Other


b. Communities
Because Providence sees itself as a community as well as an academic institution, I will spend some time looking at ways sustainable communities organize themselves. While these are vastly different to Prov in their communal goals I will look at the way the structure the roles as a community rather than an organization. I include WWOOFing because they are an unstable community as we are, with students coming through.

i. Intentional communities
1. Eco-Villiages
2. WWOOFing communities
ii. Christian Communities
c. Universities
SD as applied by other universities is obviously the most relevant to Prov. UOB is a leading Canadian Uni for SD—they are a large institution and well funded. University of Winnipeg has implemented a European based SD system which was developed by the International Standards Organization. They have adapted the standards to fit their own context, and I will be looking specifically to see if this is something Prov could do. This puts the university on a global standard for SD rather than a provincial or national one.

i. University of British Columbia
ii. University of Winnipeg
1. ISO
iii. Illinois Wesleyan University

D. Providence Application
I have the least amount to say about this area as it is dependent on what I discover in the first two areas. The three main areas, however, is an assessment of how sustainable Prov is, a review of the areas and methods required to develop key areas in the College, and lastly a tentative plan for this development.

a. Assessment
b. Strategic areas for development
i. Energy
ii. Materials
iii. Air
iv. Water
v. Academic
vi. Transportation
vii. Practices
c. Strategic plan

Mark Burch! (and more)

Yesterday Mark Burch spoke in our class. Yes, I had the honor to listening to him live. He told us about his own journey in Voluntary Simplicity. After that we got to ask him questions. It is always great to see someone whose work you have read. Words on a page, or on a blog for that matter, can be very dead. But there are humans behind them, and meeting the human behind the word is exciting.

He gave some good insight. He used the phrase "cycle of errors" to describe his own experience of VS. It is an energy giving practice, and this propels one to feel ready to take on projects, which drain the self, until one needs to simplify ones life again, repeating the cycle. I am glad he also has found in himself contradictions like this.

He also likes sitting still. hm. I really am holding out to the idea that dance can be a form of meditation--sitting still is so hard. Perhaps I will aspire to this when I mature to the ripe age of 50.

Another good insight he gave was in how to how one goes about catching a partner in Voluntary Simplicity. It is very simple, obviously. One only has to study Tai Chi with someone and then kiss them. hm. He didn't say much else. He learned this only after his second go at marriage, his first one didn't work out, for obvious reasons. Is it the kissing, the studying, the tai chi or the second go which makes it work, I wonder? Or am I being too academic in my thoughts.

Cant help it, tomorrow I present my thesis outline to the department. As I walk around I wonder why I am doing this, and whether my life will be irrevocably changed? Before that it is the last Prov Players (ie memorization test for Trifles), to work, and then baking for cat friend's b-day. Busy night. busy life. Unsustainable. silly cat.