Contact:
Mary Leyser (mleyser@eco-res.org)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EcoRes Forum Launches Climate Change E-Conference Series

18 January 2007 - The EcoRes Forum, a new initiative undertaken by Mary
Leyser, Coordinator of the Eco-Ethics International Union (EEIU), and Acad.
Prof. Gennady Polikarpov, EEIU Vice-President and Chief Scientist at the
Institute of Biology of Southern Seas in Sevastopol, Ukraine, announces the
launch of a series of online e-conferences focusing on the ethical,
political and sociocultural aspects of climate change.

The series, which will be offered free of charge, starts off in April 2007
with a two-week dialogue on a topic of increasing urgency: expanding and
accelerating an ecocentric philosophy among societies around the world. The
need for such a shift has long been recognized. Based on the UN's Rio
Declaration of Environment and Development, in 1992 Al Gore observed, "Our
challenge is to accelerate the needed change in thinking about our
relationship to the environment in order to shift the pattern of our
civilization to a new equilibrium - before the world's ecological system
loses its current one." (Earth in the Balance)

Titled "From Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism: Making the Shift", the
e-conference will bring together academics and activists, scientists and
social critics, researchers and journalists, community leaders and citizens,
all focused on looking for answers and actions to make this paradigm shift a
reality. After reflecting on past movement successes to identify
transferable practices, the semi-structured discussion will evaluate the
current status - looking at what is working (and what isn't) around the
globe. Armed with this knowledge, participants will shift focus to the
future, considering multi-prong approaches for moving forward on this
trans-disciplinary issue.

As EcoRes materials outline, the forum's mission is ambitious, yet,
organizers are convinced, fully achievable:

In keeping with our foundational philosophy of ecocentric environmental
ethics and commitment to the principles of social equity and environmental
justice;

· by leveraging the potential of new media by providing an easily accessible
global platform for discussion and access to subject experts;

· by involving global stakeholders in global issue discussions by
circumventing the logistical and financial barriers of traditional dialogue
interactions;

· by building ongoing connections and networks between these actors;

· by crossing borders, whether disciplinary, philosophical, or geopolitical;
and

· by maintaining a results-oriented focus;

the goals of the EcoRes Forum are:

· to level the field of discourse by moving it to a space whose boundaries
are set only by our own creativity;

· to promote awareness, public dialogue and the free exchange and
exploration of ideas, knowledge and issues related to climate change;

· to leave all participants with something of value, whether knowledge, best
practices, or a new perspective, which can be put to use immediately to
improve efforts in their individual fields; and

· by so doing, to contribute to taking the environmental movement to the
next level and thereby, in some small way, to assist in preventing further
extreme human-induced climate change.

For more information or to register for the April event, visit the EcoRes
Forum website at http://www.eco-res.org or write forum_at_eco-res.org.

###

EcoRes Forum: From Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism: Making the Shift
Online E-Conference | Exploring the Ethical, Political, and Socio-Cultural
Aspects of Climate Change
For more information, visit http://www.eco-res.org

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Received on Sat Jan 20 05:47:30 2007