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Journey of the Universe

Film: Co-authored by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker

Inspired by the New Story described by Thomas Berry, the Journey of the Universe draws on the latest scientific knowledge to tell the story of cosmic and Earth evolution. It aims to inspire a new and closer relationship with Earth in a period of growing environmental and social crisis. In one day on a Greek island, we enjoy a visually engaging, poetic recounting of our shared emergence from the Great Flaring Forth. Not a film to focus on water, yet water is everywhere – a compelling image of the source of all interwoven planetary life.

One World One Water

Discussion: Facilitated by Rik Sargent

The Downstream Neighbor asserts that, when we consider Colorado water in the context of the cosmos, the global hydrologic cycle, and the entire family of life on Earth, we are better able to understand our home watershed and be responsible to the downstream neighbor. Artist Rik Sargent shares some thoughts on his role as artist creating new icons for an emerging awareness, One World One Water. He will engage three other viewpoints on the significance of the film’s message – for Earth, Colorado Water 2012, and the South Platte watershed.

The Whole World is a Downstream Neighbor: Building a Water Secure Future for All.

Keynote: Maude Barlow

Many parts of the world are running out of water and the earth is rapidly drying up as demand far outstrips supply. Maude Barlow will challenge us to understand the true nature of the human and ecological water crisis and lay out the path to a just and sustainable future based on the notions of water as a commons and a public trust; the human right to water; and the rights of water and nature.  To watch the video of Maude Barlow’s keynote address, click here.

Deep Transition: A Call to Evolutionary Catalysts

Presenters: Michael Brownlee and Lynette Hanthorn

Deep Transition is designed to empower and support individuals who now find themselves called to an extraordinary level of service and contribution in response to humanity’s collective predicament and to the profound vulnerabilities of our communities. It is for those who recognize that our collective predicament is very serious and urgent but also have an abiding sense of what is possible, a vision of a future that flies in the face of civilization’s apparent entropic collapse. Deep Transition is about truly finding and inhabiting our place, and delivering our as yet unnamed gifts in our place—hopefully in time.

The Rights of Nature and the Right to Water — Our Evolution from Dominion to Communion, from Sustainability to Thriveability

Presenter: Dan Leftwich

Dan Leftwich will address Colorado’s water crisis by starting with a fundamental question: “Whose water is it, anyway?” Current dynamics in the debate are borne of competition for water rights and a narrow focus on individual survival. When we widen the lens to include the entire Earth Community’s rights to water in the view, and the role of water “in the great community of existence,” we unleash the power of cooperative evolution. When communion with Nature is seen as the basis for our collective survival, we will move beyond competition to creativity, beyond sustainability to thriveability. To watch the video of Dan Leftwich’s presentation, click here.

Water Ethics in Policy and Practice

Presenters: David Groenfeldt and Robert Yoder

The way we use and allocate water, and the priorities we ascribe to competing uses, are motivated by our values, or more accurately, by value assumptions (ethics). Unpacking the often hidden values underlying water policies, and checking these values against the ethical standards we hold in other aspects of our lives (religion, sense of duty, principles of fairness and equity, etc) can reveal disconnects between the values we profess, and what our policies are actually doing to people and ecosystems, both present and future.

This session will outline a way of looking at water ethics and illustrate the concepts with examples from Colorado’s Front Range, the downstream neighboring state of New Mexico, plus cases from Ethiopia, Nepal, and India.

The Origins of Water in the Cosmos

Presenter: Linda Gibler

This session traces the story of water from the Big Bang to our own bodies. Water’s deep history begins 13.7 billion years ago with the creation of hydrogen and then the fusion of oxygen in the cores of stars. The story continues with the emergence of water in stellar clouds and celebrates water’s subsequent role as midwife in star birth, the first life on Earth, and each life since.

The Human Right to Water and Sanitation: Perspectives fr om the Global South in a World of Global Changes

Presenter : Elizabeth Peredo Beltrán

Recently the peoples of Bolivia, Uruguay, and Ecuador experienced a resurgence of indigenous values when faced with pressures to commodify their water. This led to a period of framing narratives based on deeply held values of solidarity, complementarity, reciprocity, equity, diversity and sustainability. Now that such values form part of the legal framework of these countries, the work of transformation continues. Achieving equity within a country is daunting enough, but the realities of global inequities are far more daunting. This presentation will offer a perspective quite different from business-as-usual in the US and enlarge your view of what is possible. Elena Holly Klaver interprets for those not Spanish-literate. For the audio of Elizabeth Peredo Beltrán’s talk, click here.

Biomimicry: How Would Nature Solve a Water Crisis?

Presenters: Shane Wright and Marie Zanowick

Biomimicry is an emerging science that takes inspiration from Nature to design products and processes that fit in on planet earth. Ms. Zanowick is a Certified Biomimicry Professional and will present a brief introduction to the science of biomimicry with ideas on how this science can be used to identify solutions to environmental challenges of the South Platte River watershed. Shane Wright, Groundwork Denver Youth and Water Programs, will share his experiences working in the world of water and in nature. He will suggest that natural systems are important and must be protected – and that those who love and appreciate them can be their best advocates!

A Local Rights Approach to Fracking

Presenters: Phil Doe, Teresa Foster, Sonia Skakich-Scrima, Mary Schaefer Smith

Introducing Community Rights, a new civil rights movement to politically and legally reclaim our inalienable rights – including the right to clean air, clean soil, clean water, and local self-determination for the Common Good, as well as nature’s inalienable rights to its own life support and health. Participants will learn how the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund came to pioneer this approach and how it is unfolding via Community Rights Anti-Fracking Ban campaigns in several local communities. Lessons learned when facing disinformation campaigns are also addressed: “Community Organizing in a World of Spin.”

Allyship in Food Justice

Presenters: Rise Tren, Mike Wird, Nick Brown

The role of a food ally for food justice in the Denver area will be the topic of an interactive introductory discussion. Participants will learn the definition of an ally and use different tools to create space to discuss and recognize different forms of systematic oppression. The session will end with a group led discussion of what specifically is the role of an ally in the Denver/Colorado area for food justice.

The Energy-Water Nexus: Coal

Presenter: Leslie Glustrom

In Denver, approximately 70% of the electricity used comes from steam plants that run on fossil fuels. These steam plants boil off millions of gallons of water a day to produce the electricity we all depend on. This workshop will explore the connection between the use of electricity and the use of water and discuss the ways that our electric system needs to change in the 21st century, including the need to incorporate more flexible resources that can accommodate increasing levels of clean, renewable energy and to ultimately move our state and country into the post-fossil fuel era.

Watershed Groups and the Downstream Neighbor

Panelists: Amy Sauer, Dennis Stowe, and Laurie Rink

Getting involved with your local watershed group is an up-close-and-personal way to bond with and defend your water! The Barr-Milton Reservoir Watershed Group is just downstream from Denver, providing a sample of what the various local watershed groups along the South Platte are up to. The Mississippi River Network is a consortium of watershed groups working on behalf of the Big Muddy, our downstream neighbor. This plenary panel gives us an introduction to the role of watershed groups and the issues they face – and how we can learn and participate more in the days to come.

Barr-Milton Watershed Association

The Barr Lake and Milton Reservoir Watershed Association (BMW) works collaboratively to improve water quality on Colorado’s Front Range. Half of all Colorado citizens live within the BMW watershed. Water in the BMW watershed is used for agricultural and municipal use and provides habitat for wildlife. BMW helps farmers, environmentalists, wastewater treatment plant operators, water providers, irrigation companies, and regulators, not to mention Front Range fishermen, hunters and families, better understand the needs and benefits of the watershed. Our members (and friends) work cooperatively to study and evaluate the necessary improvements to ensure clean, safe water for all. http://www.barr-milton.org/.

Mississippi River Network

The Mississippi is truly America’s River. From Lewis and Clark’s great adventure and Mark Twain to wildlife habitat and the backbone of our economy, this River embodies the spirit of the United States. Because the River runs through 10 states and connects 31 states through its vast tributary system—including Colorado—you don’t have to live on the Mississippi to have a big impact on the River. But the once mighty Mississippi River is in trouble. During this conversation, we’ll review the history and importance of this mighty River, the serious threats it faces, and what one group is doing to protect it. We’ll ask one important question: Can the River count on you?

Earth Healing Day

Facilitator : Kate Armstrong

Those who include Earth Healing Day in their spiritual practice devote the hour between noon and 1 pm on the fourth Sunday of the month to honor the planet that sustains us, feeds us, and shows us immeasurable beauty. By meditating in gratitude, respect, and love for the living planet, we seek to enhance the health of the entire biotic community. As the day proceeds, a planetary wave of spiritual blessing moves around the planet in an expression of global unity.