EKOS Communications, Inc.

Wow...wasn't that some race! I spent much of Saturday glued to the television coverage. With my country currently in the grip of a bunch of miserly, cynical, divisive neo-cons, I had more than a passing interest in this political event.

If you're wondering as to why there have been no blogs from me for a while... It's the end of another term of teaching which means essays to grade and a final exam to set, invigilate and grade. These are my least-liked aspects of teaching, but the system demands them.

Biosphere Navigation: Existing Structures. Cold Hard Steel Shard Blade Cutting Barging Pushing. Severing Damp Brown Earth; Scarred and Broken. Unseen Subterranean Creat-ures upended and life-ended in a moment of astonished upside down disequilibrium. On the Sea floor, on the Prairie, in the Rainforest, the Blade cuts and swaths through centuries of harmonious co-existence. The wind and the currents follow in due course spreading and wasting the fertile soil, dissipating and disappearing the seabed life filament, scattering the loam of rich soil, collapsing the Forest Canopy with no root bed to uphold the delicate balance. The Tractor Machine moves on; belching, blue smoking, and grinding.

This morning I awoke feeling incredibly grateful. For living where I live. The recent snowfall cloaked trees, rooftops and fence rails in a fluffy blanket of white, but at that moment, guilded with the gold of the rising sun. The waters of the bay and the strait beyond shimmered at the brush of a light breeze. A flock of Canada geese swirled in, honking raucously, but doing nothing to disturb the family of otters scrounging for breakfast along the rocky promonotory that guards the northwest entrance to the bay. An air of peace, at-one-ness and sublime beauty prevaded the scene, filling me with immense gratitude to be able to call this place home.

From its inception, I've envisioned ekosTV to be an environmental media channel dedicated to the advancement of ecological literacy and sustainability. I realize that the term "ecological literacy" may not mean much to many people, but it is the best short-hand notation I've come across to describe what I have in mind.

My conceptualization of the term has been greatly influenced by writings of such people as Fritjof Capra, David Orr and Stan Rowe. Capra defines ecological literacy as "understanding the principles of organization of ecological communities (ecosystems) and using those principles for creating sustainable human communities."(1) David Orr describes it as:

"a broad understanding of how people and societies relate to each other and to natural systems, and how they might do so sustainably. It presumes both an awareness of the interrelatedness of life and knowledge of how the world works as a physical system;"

"[knowing] something of the speed of the crisis that is upon us. It is to know ... the vital signs of the planet and its ecosystems;"