We are living through a time when the entire world is taking a good, hard look at itself. This has given humanity an incredible opportunity to shift focus and choose systems that feed life, that create biological resources, rather than only financial resources. We have a chance to turn away from systems that marginalize, extract, and degrade…and choose what we want to cultivate for ourselves and for future generations. Trained as a cultural anthropologist and skilled in four languages, Juliana Birnbaum has lived and worked in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Nepal, Costa Rica and Brazil. She is the co-author of Sustainable [R]evolution: Permaculture in Ecovillages, Urban Farms and Communities Worldwide and CBD: A Patient’s Guide to Medicinal Cannabis. She is also the mother of two daughters and has attended over 100 births as a doula and assistant midwife. Juliana currently coordinates the Volunteer and Faculty departments at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. In this episode… Juliana’s fascinating background Far-reaching effects of consumerism Seeing life through the lens of permaculture What a sustainable city looks like How the Coronavirus pandemic is revealing the flaws in our societal structures The cost of industrial agriculture Relocalization of food Relocalization of energy Co-housing and ecovillage communities Impact of our diet choices Force and violence against Life that is inherent in our modern societal structures De-commodifying humans’ basic needs The need to develop communication skills that support the sustainable community   Resources Sustainable [R}evolution: Permaculture in Ecovillages, Urban Farms and Communities Worldwide CBD: A Patient’s Guide to Medicinal Cannabis Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken Mary Oliver www.cultureofpermaculture.org