There are about 1.5 million NGOs just in the United States. No wonder their calls to action, their ads with forlorn-looking children, and their mission statements can start blending together. Over the last 30 years, NGOs have increasingly taken on the role of government. As privatization has rapidly defunded the State, NGOs have rapidly expanded to take on the role of providing social services to those relegated to unliveable wages and polluted communities by the private sector.¹  Thus, the funding streams for those services are fickle, as they follow the wishes and whims of the ruling class, as they direct the lion’s share of philanthropic funding to NGOs.² » Read More

Last year ITP celebrated its 10-year anniversary during our Annual Grant Partner Gathering, now a formalized part of the initial ITP grant process.  While we hoped it would provide both a respite from the day-to-day churn, we also worked hard to ensure it was invigorating for our grant partners, both personally and professionally, as well as our invited Allies (visiting experts that join the Gathering to provide advice).  We took great care to work with trusted facilitators and engaging presenters in a beloved and beautiful setting (Westerbeke Ranch), to create a welcoming, purposeful and truly ‘pause’- worthy experience.  » Read More

“In order to (re)create conditions conducive to life on this planet for ALL life, including effectively managing a rapidly changing climate, we need to reimagine and evolve the way our children learn to have the most significant, positive impact over the long term... moving us as a species towards stewardship and regenerative action, rather than utilization.”

Our 'Pause' opened with a council: a beginning free of pretense and hierarchy,a forum nurturing to all vulnerabilities. » Read More

36.5 is a durational time-based art project, spanning seven years and six continents, that engages people directly on personal, local, and global scales about the crisis of sea-level rise.  36.5 founder, Sarah Sunde writes about her 'pause' experience. 
Flexibility is a necessity when working with water.  Therefore it is necessary in all parts of my process as well.  Question: What can you do when it seems impossible to get together a big group at the same time? Answer: Take stock of where you are in the process and keep moving forward in whatever way makes sense, and something better than what you initially imagined is likely to occur.  » Read More

 Read the latest from our Planet Protector superheroes at DreamRider Productions. 

Sign of the Times
Can your money shrink your carbon footprint? The New York Times explored the ways that investors can support sustainability with their money, featuring ITP Grant Partner As You Sow's work on Fossil Free Funds. If you haven't been to Fossil Free Funds yet, check it out! You have more power over where your money goes than you know.

Building the capacity for relational engagement on climate change between scientists and communities
by Faith Kearns and Clare Gupta

Participants gathered at Mayacamas Ranch in northern California for an interdisciplinary pause. Photo by Faith Kearns

Climate change is an emotional issue. It can be scary as a scientist to come up against that kind of emotion – whether your own or other people’s – when you’ve spent your career trying to remove feelings from your work, as most scientists are trained to do. At the same time, being uncomfortable with emotions can be a serious limitation when trying to engage effectively with others on contentious issues like climate change. » Read More

“The teachers are everywhere, what is wanted is a learner” says Wendell Berry. We are here, we are learners. As humans, we are a relatively young species and, deep within, we have an affinity for nature. We feel awe and wonder – from flowers, birds, mountain peaks, rivers, sunsets, and thunderstorms.

Our team of six practicing biomimics will join together in a remote log cabin in the mountains of Montana in early September. We will “press pause”, slowing down and reflecting. We will gather lessons and draw inspiration from Nature that will help us empower current and future change-makers in the K-12 educational system – our young people, their educators, and their communities – to understand and take action on climate change. » Read More

From ITP Grant Partner, Mark Schapiro:

Hi friends and colleagues,

In the week before President Trump abandoned the Paris climate agreement, the fossil fuel companies that had once supported the administration in a groundbreaking lawsuit jumped ship, afraid of being forced to reveal key documents.  Now the Trump administration has been maneuvered into a legal corner. My story on how this legal challenge could be much harder to dodge than even the Paris climate accord. Hope you find of interest. Its here, in Pacific Standard