Nothing unites religious leaders, public policy officials
and global citizens more thoroughly than the emerging sense of urgency concerning the need for thoughtful discussion and deliberate planning on the vitally important subject of Air.
Whether in the form of "breath" or "smoke," "whirlwinds" or "global weather" there is no escaping the universal importance of air. All terrestrial life forms exchange gases with their environments as part of the metabolism of living -- simply to stay alive. Where there is no breath, there is no life. Yet, while we all know that nothing can live without respiration, there has been surprising little reflection on the ethical implications of this basic biophysical principle of life. We live unwittingly in an ocean of air, and we have taken life and breath for granted.
Religious traditions have long reflected upon the importance of breath as the primal manifestation of both Spirit in humans and of the Divine in the natural world. Moreover research scientists are providing us with cumulative evidence of how Earth's atmosphere may operate as part of a self regulating mechanism to sustain life on earth. In addition, public policy officials are increasingly called upon by citizens to provide leadership and devise policy to avert run-away environmental catastrophe driven by current patterns of atmospheric change. Why are not religious leaders, scientists and public policy officials talking to one another on these compelling issues?
This year's Seminar will explore the connections between values and public policy in the light of what we are coming to learn about air in the Earth's ecosystem.
New kinds of awareness imply new forms of ethical obligation, and we will be examining these connections throughout the year as we consider topics like air-borne contamination, acid rain, "pollution permits," the spread of air-borne diseases, aerosol carcinogens and second-hand smoke, indoor toxic environments, global atmospheric and climatic change and many other subjects that highlight the need for humankind to devise a new environmental ethic toward air.
Seminar Schedule
