In the spirit of aligning healthy ecological and human systems, Climate Solutions Group and Invoking the Pause (ITP) sponsored the Climate Summit Speaker Series at the Presidio Officers Club in San Francisco in conjunction with Governor Jerry Brown's September 2018, Global Climate Action Summit

Responses to the challenges of climate disruption must begin with imaginative changes in our agriculture and food production systems in order to align human practices with living ecological systems. Among the most enduring of human enterprises has been the cultivation of food through biological resources based on abundant and fertile soil, plentiful surface water and a balanced and healthy atmosphere. However, the predominant model we might label as "big ag," typically ignores ecological systems interactions and attempts to substitute human industrial inputs for natural dynamic processes.

Highlights:

Interpretative guidance on developing solutions came from another partner, the Capra Course Alumni, including physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist, Fritjof Capra, who spoke about how sustainable agriculture is a vital element of systems theory. Systems theory reaches beyond merely summing disparate parts of the whole, especially where dynamic interactions are occurring.

Josh Fouts, Executive Director from Bioneers contemplated how a balanced informational ecosystem is as important as any human contribution to recognize and cultivate the value and wisdom of the natural world.   Bioneers has been a leading light for cultivating a resonant world view incorporating indigenous and ecological sensibilities.

Calla Rose Ostrander, Dr. Jeff Creque, Gabby Black and Dr. Christopher Potter who have all worked with or for the Marin Carbon Project, participated in various roles.  The MCP is a visionary group implementing practices merging carbon cycling and carbon farming and promoting soil health.  Each spoke about promoting intentional changes to agricultural practices which, when implemented, will help our food production sector contribute partial restoration of carbon levels to the atmosphere thus harnessing nature's inherent balancing principles and creating a successful and scalable response to climate change.

ITP Ally Brock Dolman of the Occidental Arts and Ecology center provided an engaging contribution on the essential quality of our water planet, namely abundant freshwater which is one more living system we take for granted. In addition to appreciating our blessing of healthy soils, Brock asserted that agricultural production and land use should be intentionally managed with water use in mind to be more complimentary to a healthy and productive biosphere.

The panel on climate communication produced some marvelous moments of wisdom, insight and clarity from the audience including Joanna Macy from Berkeley and Petra Popp from Paris on the challenges of balancing the self in an age of climate convulsions.

We are grateful to the Presidio Trust for providing access to such a special venue.

Videos of all the presentations are now viewable at https://vimeo.com/album/5481596.
Additional information on the event itself can be found at the CSG website:
https://www.climatesolutionsgroup.org/