Dear Fellow Members of the Process Nexus,
Until we have a working platform, you will be hearing from me from time to time. Unfortunately, my knowledge of what is happening is very limited; so, you will learn more about what is happening near me than you may want to know. Please send me your news that you would like to share. We expect that the platform will open on July 15th, and from then on all organizations participating in the Nexus will have direct access to sharing news, announcements, and events. Additional features, such as a discussion forum, member map, and file sharing, will follow.
Tomorrow (Friday, May 21) evening from 5 to 8 PM (Pacific), a remarkable six-day conference will begin on ecological civilization. It is the fourteenth in a series held by the Institute for the Postmodern Development of China. These conferences have attracted fifty to eighty Chinese people to Claremont annually. They have played a significant role in clarifying the meaning of “ecological civilization” so as to guide China in its efforts to advance toward this official goal. This year the Center for Process Studies and the Institute for Ecological Civilization have shared in planning a meeting that will be by Zoom and directed to the whole world. Its leadership will be far more international than has been possible in the past. Click here to register for the event.
Meanwhile, Richard Rose, a member of the Cobb Institute board, has created a new major at University of La Verne preparing students to help the world with its deepest needs. He is counting on his students having firsthand experiences with activities in Pomona dedicated to realizing its ideal of becoming a compassionate city. We are proud that this program is a member of the Claremont Process Network. Our goal is that Pomona will model the turnaround needed in many cities.
The University of La Verne brought a very remarkable woman to lecture, Renee Comly. She has developed cutting-edge technologies and is introducing them at key places around the world. Like us, she cares about local industries serving local people. One example is a way of gasifying plastics that turns this supposedly indestructible waste into a source of energy. Until recently every method of disposing of plastics has been extremely costly, but there has been a technological breakthrough. Locally she is working with Eric Kowalczyk, a classmate of Kat Reeves (a member of our organizing committee) at All Paths Divinity School, and a member of our nexus. We hope he will create a local company to bring Comley’s gifts to Pomona, and we hope that company will also be a member. It can be a locus for valuable learning by La Verne students. Richard Bunce and Michael Witmer (members of the Cobb Institute) will be working with key leaders of the city of Pomona to get the complex process underway.
Please understand that the Nexus committee is not organizing or planning anything for Pomona. The Nexus as an organization is simply giving expression to the unity of a movement whose time has come. We think our awareness of shared concerns and opportunities to cooperate may enhance our efforts.