The RēMind, No. 020: Deep Breaths
The RēMind, No. 020: Deep Breaths
RēTREAT / Latest Regenerative Book Releases / How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine is Impacting Our Global Food System and Climate / Landmark UN Plastic Pollution Treaty / and more!
There are some weeks where everything is just harder… focusing, eating, sleeping, reading the news, not reading the news, and writing a newsletter. This week, we share some articles we did manage to read and some books we are very much looking forward to reading.
Our Blossom into Spring retreat is coming up quickly (March 25-27) and will be hosted on our gorgeous farm (pictured above) in Fayetteville Tennessee! Spots are running out so sign up soon!
Before we begin, we thought we would share a short five minute meditation all of us could do, and probably use, wherever and however we are. Hope everyone out there is staying safe, sane, and healthy.
Best,
The Rē team
RēTREAT:
Blossom Into Spring: A Revitalizing Retreat
March 25-27, 2022 in Fayetteville, Tennessee
Ayurveda teaches us to observe how our bodies and minds are influenced by the transitions of our environment and helps us remember our interdependence and unity with nature. Ayurvedic practices encourage us to consciously work and align through the constant changes of life to create a healthy, harmonious state of mind and body. One way to do so is by participating in a spring cleanse… so we at Rē are hosting one just for you!
At the Blossom Into Spring retreat, we will invigorate our senses and our souls as we come alive with the re-awakening of Mother Earth. We will use Ayurvedic dietary and herbal techniques to clear and open physiological and psychological channels in the body and mind.
Thana Nu of Nourish Me Wellness, Caitlin Smith of Within Wellness, and Ashlei Laing of Rē : The Regenerative school will be facilitating the weekend, holding space, and helping us bloom. Consider our invitation and lean into a beautiful, practice to clear the accumulated energies that no longer serve us.
All are welcome! No experience needed, only open minds. Join us!
LIMITED Full weekend, day pass, and SCHOLARSHIP registration available! For more information and registration details, click here or visit our Facebook event page.
Recently Added to Our TBR List:
Healing Grounds by Liz Carlisle
In her new book, University of California, Santa Barbara Environmental Studies Program professor, Liz Carlisle traces regenerative farming to its Indigenous roots. She tells the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers who are reviving their ancestors’ methods of growing food—techniques long suppressed by the industrial food system. In doing so, Carlisle shows that carbon can be stored in the soil if we adopt ancestral land management strategies.
To read an excerpt of her new book on how female farmers of color are reviving ancestral methods of growing food and reclaiming their communities’ relationship to land, click here.
For a great interview with Civil Eats, click here.
Fresh Banana Leaves by Dr. Jessica Hernandez
As an environmental scientist with academic credentials and Indigenous heritage, Dr. Jessica Hernandez is acutely aware of the ways that colonial frameworks continue to shape academia and undergird prominent frameworks for addressing environmental degradation. In her new book Fresh Banana Leaves, she critiques the ways that settler colonialism is still influencing the environmental movement, and lays out a compelling case for centering the voices of the Indigenous people who are so often living on the front lines of the climate crisis.
To read an interview between the author and Atmos, click here.
The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas
“You Can’t Separate People From the Planet” says activist and author Leah Thomas as she lays out her vision for a more just environmental movement. Her new book draws on 30 contributors, including José Gonzales, founder of Latino Outdoors, and Sophia Li, a climate journalist who speaks out against anti-Asian racism and brings to light the various ways race, gender and disability render certain communities more vulnerable to the climate crisis. The Intersectional Environmentalist is an introduction to the intersection between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and an acknowledgment of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people—especially those most often unheard.
To read more about this new author and book click here.
In Other News:
The Field Report: What the Invasion of Ukraine Means for the Food Supply
By Lisa Held for Civil Eats, March 9, 2022
Together, Russia and Ukraine’s food exports account for about 12 percent of the calories traded globally. In addition to significant exports of sunflower oil, barley, and corn, the two countries provide close to 30 percent of the world’s wheat exports. Yet at this point, Ukraine’s grain supply is effectively offline. Ukraine’s government also banned exports of rye, barley, buckwheat, millet, sugar, salt, and meat through the end of the year. While wheat exports mainly happen in the fall and therefore the supply has not yet been interrupted, prices have increased 55 percent in Europe. Last week, commodity wheat prices shot up to a level not seen since 2008.
To continue reading about how the war could have an outsized impact on our global food system, visit here.
Big Oil is Exiting Russia. What Does That Mean For The Climate?
By Emily Pontecorvo for Grist, March 3, 2022
The situation in Russia won’t stop demand for fossil fuels, and major oil companies may decide to replace their Russian investments with new oil and gas ventures elsewhere.
To continue reading about how withdrawing from Russia may hinder plans to transition to clean energy click here.
The Environmental Costs of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
By Diana Kruzman for Grist, February 25, 2022
Eastern Ukraine is full of industrial sites like metallurgical plants, chemical factories, power stations and run-down mines… Fighting around these sites risks generating extreme toxic pollution, with severe health impacts worsening the already horrific humanitarian crisis for local people.
There's huge potential for an environmental catastrophe adding to heartbreaking humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, to read on click here.
Op-Ed: There Is Ample Evidence That Agroecology Can Transform the Food System
BY Lauren Baker for Civil Eats, March 4, 2022
Ultimately, the evidence in support of agroecology from farmers, research, science, social movements, and policy arenas is extensive and exists in abundance. In use by millions of people worldwide, agroecology, regenerative and Indigenous food and farming practices sustain health and well-being, are economically viable, culturally appropriate, protect nature, and respect the planet. And yet the fact that this wealth of knowledge is not acted upon on a larger scale boils down to what type of evidence is considered valid, and by whom.
To keep reading this fantastic op-ed on the importance of learning from lived experience, storytelling, and cultural histories, click here.
Climate Change is Already Making Parts of the World Unlivable
By Umair Irfan for Vox, February 28, 2022
Adaptation might entail building seawalls, planting different types of crops and trees, and improving governance. But these and other efforts are already proving to be a challenge, and some of those boundaries are already being surpassed. “Adaptation cannot prevent all losses and damages,” Roberts said. “Even with effective adaptation, limits will be reached with higher levels of warming.” And if people fail to adapt, much more suffering is in store.
We’re already hitting the “hard” limits of what we can adapt to.
There are still effective ways to adapt that can also lower emissions, the latest IPCC report from UN scientists finds. Click here to read on.
The UN Is Finally, Maybe, Doing Something About Plastic Pollution
By Jamie Leventhal for Vice, March 3, 2022
“What we laid out was, in the easiest terms, a plan for a plan,”said Erin Simon, head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund. “It’s about setting up a framework that countries feel empowered to take action on… There could be plenty of time for countries to back off what they committed to… [but] They are likely to take action if they have the opportunity to inform the process.”
About 10 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into our oceans every year—the equivalent of a garbage truck of plastic every minute. The UN has just signed a landmark agreement to reduce plastic pollution, click here to continue reading.
That’s all for this week! Do you have any books you have been enjoying? Or articles that have piqued your interest? We would love to hear from you! Email us at admin@regenerativeschool.org.
As always, we at Rē are grateful for your attention and support. If you liked this newsletter, consider donating at https://regenerativeschool.org/redonate/
Thank you and see you soon!