The Vol 2 No 2 2019 Ecological ISSN 2515-1967 A peer-reviewed journal Citizen www.ecologicalcitizen.net CONFRONTING HUMAN SUPREMACY IN DEFENCE OF THE EARTH IN THIS ISSUE Saving wild rivers The ‘why’ and ‘how’ Pages 131 and 173 The case against ‘enlightened inaction’ Applying lessons from Henry David Thoreau Page 163 AN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL No article access fees | No publication charges | No financial affiliations About the Journal www.ecologicalcitizen.net The An ecocentric, peer-reviewed, Ecological free-to-access journal EC Citizen ISSN 2515-1967 Cover photo Aims Copyright A protest against damming of 1 Advancing ecological knowledge The copyright of the content belongs to the Vjosa on the river’s banks 2 Championing Earth-centred action the authors, artists and photographers, near Qeserat, Albania. 3 Inspiring ecocentric citizenship unless otherwise stated. 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There are no charges for and Merriweather Sans, both of which are publication and no fees to access any of the typefaces with an Open Font Licence that content. have been designed by Eben Sorkin. “The task is to think of ourselves as within ecosystems […] These enfolding land-and-water systems, used and abused by humanity, are more than resources; they are part of the miraculous world ecosystem that brought life into being, sustains it and renews it.” Stan Rowe 118 The Ecological Citizen Vol 2 No 2 2019 www.ecologicalcitizen.net Contents The Ecological Citizen | Vol 2 No 2 2019 For a listing of Friends of the Editorial Journal, please Water – a free-flowing subject that reveals the urgent need for humanity to change its course 121 see page 146 Joe Gray and Ian Whyte Opinions The Anthropocene: Where on Earth are we going? 129 Will Steffen Fighting the disappearance of Balkan rivers 131 Cornelia Wieser Holistic versus individualistic non-anthropocentrism 137 Gregory M Mikkelson Addressing the decline in wetland biodiversity 139 C Max Finlayson Ecuador endangered: A call to action 141 John Seed Reflections Limited civilization based on beauty (a vision) 147 Victor Postnikov Decoupling the global population problem from immigration issues 149 Eileen Crist Special feature Neptune’s Navy: A global initiative 153 Captain Paul Watson Photo feature Photo feature – The devastating scale of waste in the oceans 156 Caroline Power Long articles Against enlightened inaction: Edification from Thoreau 163 Luke Philip Plotica Future rivers, dams and ecocentrism 173 John J Piccolo, Richard D Durtsche, Johan Watz, Martin Österling and Olle Calles Rights of rivers enter the mainstream 183 Grant Wilson and Darlene May Lee Dandelions are divine 189 Bill Vitek Book and culture reviews Damaging thinking: A review of Timothy Morton’s Being Ecological 198 Featured artists Adam Dickerson Looking beyond the past to give African wildlife a future: This issue also features A critical review of The Big Conservation Lie 202 artworks by Chris Alton, Tarik Bodasing Rebecca R Burrill, Tony Cassils, John Cussans, Poetry section Clare Price, Maggie Works by Wendell Berry, Aleksander Blok, Julia Travers, Rebecca R Burrill, Roberts, Marina Roy, Susan Wardell, Erica Stretton, Pete Mullineaux and Elizabeth Carothers Herron 213 Anna Sebastian and Selected by Victor Postnikov Franciska Tawetz. The Ecological Citizen Vol 2 No 2 2019 119 Editorial Board www.ecologicalcitizen.net Editor-in-Chief David Blackwell John J Piccolo Patrick Curry Educator and Nature-lover Associate Professor in Writer and Scholar Halifax, NS, Canada Environmental and Life Sciences London, UK Susana Borràs Pentinat Karlstad, Sweden Lecturer in Public International Law Deborah Rose Associate Editors Tarragona, Spain Adjunct Professor in Eileen Crist Tom Butler Environmental Humanities Writer and Teacher Writer and Activist Sydney, NSW, Australia Blacksburg, VA, USA Huntington, VT, USA Coyote Alberto Ruz Buenfil Adam Dickerson Nigel Cooper Environmental and Social Activist Writer and Gardener Chaplain and Biologist Huehuecoyotl Ecovillage, Mexico Gundaroo, NSW, Australia Cambridge, UK Dyane Sherwood Joe Gray Paul Cryer Jungian Psychoanalyst Field Naturalist and Eco-activist Conservationist Oberlin, OH, USA St Albans, UK Hillcrest, South Africa Vandana Shiva Ian Whyte Cormac Cullinan Scholar and Environmental Activist Field Naturalist Environmental Attorney and Author Delhi, India Ottawa, ON, Canada Cape Town, South Africa Steve Szeghi John Davis Professor of Economics Wildways Trekker Wilmington, OH, USA Art Editor Westport, NY, USA Bron Taylor Stephanie Moran Alan Watson Featherstone Professor of Religion, Nature Artist and Librarian Founder and Visionary – Trees for Life and Environmental Ethics London, UK Findhorn, UK Gainesville, FL, USA Mumta Ito Andrew Walton Art Advisor Lawyer, Zoologist and Bioregionalist Salomón Bazbaz Lapidus Founder – Nature’s Rights Birmingham, UK Director – Cumbre Tajín Festival Forres, UK Haydn Washington Papantla de Olarte, Mexico Marjolein Kok Environmental Scientist Environmental Activist and Researcher and Activist Poetry Editor Utrecht, the Netherlands Sydney, NSW, Australia Victor Postnikov Helen Kopnina Rachel Waters Poet, Essayist and Translator Environmental Anthropologist Academic and Advocacy Journalist Kiev, Ukraine Leiden, the Netherlands Brooklyn, NY, USA Joseph Lambert Fiona Wilton Consulting Editors Researcher in Earth Jurisprudence Programme Coordinator Sandy Irvine Brighton, UK – Gaia Foundation Political Activist Sandra Lubarsky Colombia/Uruguay Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Scholar in Sustainability Doug Woodard Ted Mosquin Flagstaff, AZ, USA Environmentalist Naturalist Michelle Maloney St Catharines, ON, Canada Lanark, ON, Canada Lawyer and National George Wuerthner Convenor of AELA Photographer, Author and Activist Editorial Advisors Brisbane, QLD, Australia Bend, OR, USA David Abram Alexandra Marcelino Peter Jingcheng Xu Cultural Ecologist and Geophilosopher Jurist in Environmental Law Researcher in Literature Upper Rio Grande Valley, NM, USA Lisbon, Portugal Beijing, China Melinda Alfano Maria Carolina Negrini Mersha Yilma Graduate in Water Resources Lawyer Practitioner of Earth Jurisprudence New York, NY, USA São Paolo, Brazil Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Oussou Lio Appolinaire Vanja Palmers Suzanne York Practitioner of Earth Jurisprudence Buddhist Teacher promoting Animal Rights Director – Transition Earth Avrankou, Benin Lucerne, Switzerland San Francisco, CA, USA María Valeria Berros Alessandro Pelizzon Researcher in Rights of Nature Researcher in Earth-Centred Law Santa Fe, Argentina Lismore, NSW, Australia 120 The Ecological Citizen Vol 2 No 2 2019 www.ecologicalcitizen.net EDITORIAL Water – a free-flowing subject that reveals the urgent need for humanity to change its course here is perhaps no theme that Editorial (see Box Essay 2) looks at how Joe Gray and reveals more than water does our aquatic contexts can help evoke such Ian Whyte T need to behave as a plain member empathy. of the Earth community. In this, the fourth We also explore, in this issue, ocean- About the authors issue of The Ecological Citizen, we bring you related matters. In a special feature (pages Joe is a field naturalist a collection of articles, poetry and artworks 153–4), Captain Paul Watson reflects on based in St Albans, UK. Ian on this subject, as well as a number of other the achievements of Sea Shepherd. We also is a field naturalist who pieces not specifically related to water. have a photo feature from Caroline Power lives in Ottawa, ON, Canada. Much of the aquatically themed content on plastics and other waste in the sea. We Joe and Ian are Associate focuses on freshwater, and, in particular, plan to return soon to the ocean, including Editors of the Journal. rivers. John Piccolo and his co-authors, in the looming threat of deep sea mining, an article starting on page 173, explore the with articles being in the works for our next Citation guidance that ecocentrism offers on the issue and an upcoming special supplement Gray J and Whyte I (2019) trade-off