Our Climate Programs
What we teach is not merely of intellectual and academic interest. It is important for communities to understand if we are to be adaptable to impending global changes that have only just begun and will continue to accelerate in coming years to a state that humans can scarcely imagine because our species has never experienced such conditions.
All three of our foci contain information necessary to understand global heating and climate change, the greatest challenge that our species has faced in its million year history. In particular, we offer education about climate change of the kind that scientists call "type II" - rapid, abrupt change, known to be the norm on Earth, unlike the more gradual, predictable "type I" changes predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). No one else in our region offers education about type II climate change from a systems perspective. Type II change can only be fully understood from the perspective of Gaia theory and systems sciences.
We offer two integrated programs that offer education to our communities about climate change. Both of these programs are manifestations of our evolutionary transition from solely academic study to real life applications.
The Adaptability Project
One is our Adaptability Project, which is open to the lay public. In it, we offer seminars, courses, workshops, films, speaker, facilitated discussions, and other components intended to help our communities not only understand type II climate change, but to also begin taking pro-active steps to prepare for survivability and adaptability, insuring security around issues such as water, food, energy, shelter, transportation, etc. We have plans to develop online components, including a forum and distance learning. We are developing the project as a prototype for a national model that can be adapted for use in any community.The foundation the Adaptability Project - the entry point for all participants - is a 4-week reading seminar based on Diane Dumanoski's powerful book, The End of the Long Summer which references numerous principles taught in our program.
Climate Adaptation Program
Our second climate program is Euglena's Climate Adaptation Program, or ECAP, within which we offer professional seminars about systems sciences and climate change to professional groups like architects, builders, educators, medical professionals, government agencies, etc.For example, as part of ECAP, in June, 2009, we collaboratively organized a half-day climate change seminar with and for the Southwest Oregon chapter of the American Institute of Architects. We provided education about the science of climate change, while a prominent local architect provided specific examples of architectural principles relevant to building design conferring greater adaptability in the face of type II climate change. The seminar was attended by 45 professional architects and builders, and earned very strong positive reviews.
If you belong to a professional organization and would like more information about what ECAP can do for you, please contact us.
⇐Gaia ⇐Systems Sciences ⇐Biology Climate Program