This is a preliminary web site for my - Alder Stone Fuller - new project, A Story of Gaia, which will form the core of my upcoming tour & book. This site is evolving weekly. Please check back often for updates!
The official
web site -StoryofGaia.com
- is under development using Drupal. It will contain complete descriptions of the courses - both introductory & advanced - an overview of the book, a community forum, & more.
Story of Gaia is separate from the
Euglena Academy web site because: 1) it is independent of, even if influenced by, the academy; 2) we are closing Euglena Academy; that story will be told another day.
Why Story of Gaia?
Humanity
is at a bifurcation point. With climate change, we face the largest
geologic & evolutionary event of our species' history. We need to
begin to live on Earth differently grounded in a new model of nature
based in systems sciences, especially geophysiology or Gaia theory.
This
set of linked, integrated courses offers relevant information
useful for progress towards that goal. It offers a radical, new view
of nature, Earth, life & the nature of reality – grounded in
the best systems sciences available that will change one's
perspective, help one understand one's own life, health & healing
in the context of planetary health. With narratives & graphics, they tell a story of Gaia, our living planet which we must
now come to know deeply.
The first three courses in the series
explain the core ideas discussed in Diane Dumanoski's The End of
the Long Summer
&
Laurence Gonzales' Everyday
Survival,
both of which not only play a
role in the
courses, but motivate me to offer them.
This series has been designed for any adult - individuals, students &
teachers -
who wish to either merely learn these ideas for themselves, but it is also designed to teach others how to teach these topics
effectively
in a short time - ranging from one weekend to one month.
| Overview of introductory courses
I offer introductory (7) & advanced (~10) courses. The
courses described below are introductory courses, all core to A Story of Gaia. Full descriptions for now can be found here. Each
is about 10 hours long. Each can be offered a single weekend, one week
(4 afternoons or evenings) or 4 weeks (one afternoon or evening per
week).Fees operate on a sliding scale. Note: these are introductory
"survey" courses. For those who desire more depth, courses can be
expanded. Due to their linkage, these courses can be engaged in any order, though when possible, fastest net gain will be realized by starting at the beginning. Each can be structured for completion in one weekend, one week (meeting 4
days), one month (meeting once weekly) or expanded into classes up to 12
weeks for students seeking greater depth. Optional
discussion & outdoor lab options are available. Please see courses for detailed list of topics, logistics
for explanation of course organization & fees. Please contact me with questions. Gaia 1 : The
Fractal Edges of Chaos in Nature : Sciences, Mathematics, Models &
Intuition : Science (v non-science), critical thinking, hypothesis testing, theory, models, non-linearity, randomness v
chaos, fractals, power laws & computational systems.
Gaia 2 : Why
Organization Exists : Energy, Gradients, Self-Organization &
Emergence : Non-equilibrium
thermodynamics - energy,
gradients, dissipative systems,
self-organization - & emergence theory. Self-organization &
emergence are flip sides of the same coin;
that is, each is only fully understood in terms of the other.
Gaia 3 : Life,
Health & Evolution : Autopoiesis, Symbiosis, Organisms &
Gaia : Life, metabolism,
homeostasis, physiology, health, healing & evolution on
organism & planetary scales. (This is my newest course of the series. For a detailed outline of course topics, please see this page.)
- Gaia 4 : Animate Earth : Science, Intuition & Gaia based on the book of that title by Stephan Harding. (Note: the previous three courses are not required prerequisites, but those having studied in one or more will net greater understanding.)
Adaptability 1 :
Survivability
& Adaptability on a Volatile Earth
Based
on The
End of the Long Summer
by Diane Dumanoski & Everyday
Survival
by Laurence Gonzales, which address the nature of the problems we face & the strategies & mental attitude that we must adopt in order to deal with them.
Adaptability
2: A Capricious Beast : Understanding Abrupt, Chaotic Climate
Change : An in-depth
examination of type II climate change from the context of systems
sciences,
especially non-linear dynamics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics &
geophysiology & published studies.
Adaptability
3 : Preparing for & Surviving Abrupt, Chaotic Climate Change : How
to increase survival & adaptability at personal, community &
regional levels; meeting basic human needs during large-scale climate change : water, food, shelter, energy, health care, clothing, fiber, transportation, security, psychology ....
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