Newsletter / May 6, 2026
by David Korten
We are rapidly dismantling the living systems on which our future depends—forests that regulate climate, wetlands that filter water, grasslands that sustain biodiversity, and migration corridors that keep ecosystems whole. These losses are undermining water security, food systems, and climate […]
Newsletter from David Korten / February 2, 2026
Dear Friends,
We have just posted the third in a trilogy of strategic briefs on humanity’s transition to an Ecological Civilization. The first, Ecological Civilization: From Emergency to Emergence (2021), focuses on why a global civilizational transformation of human society is essential. The second, Eco-nomics for an […]
The Living Universe Story: A Participatory Integral Spirit Cosmology for an Ecological Civilization (2026), explores the cosmological and spiritual foundations of an Ecological Civilization. It brings together insights from modern science and the world’s wisdom traditions to articulate a coherent understanding of the universe as a living, self-organizing, and evolving process—and the human […]
This paper completes a trilogy addressing humanity’s transition to an Ecological Civilization.
The first paper, Ecological Civilization: From Emergency to Emergence (2021), identified the nature of the ongoing civilizational crisis and named the choice […]
December 18, 2025
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! We welcome your feedback and comments at e-news@davidkorten.org. This special Noteworthy edition of our newsletter is a collection of important and timely works we highly recommend. As always, please share with friends and colleagues, and initiate conversations […]
by David Korten/October 28, 2025
In Part I of this two-part series, I examined the conflict at the heart of China’s Two Mountains Theory—the promise of both “green mountains and clear waters” and the “gold and silver” of economic growth. I argued that this framing is […]
This is the first in a two-part series exploring how China’s pursuit of innovative ecological policies alongside fossil fuel-powered economic expansion will have serious consequences for the world’s poor majority. Read Part II here…
David Korten/October 21, 2025
Humanity faces a defining choice: do we climb the green mountain of ecological health and community well-being, or […]
On September 20, 2025, David Korten delivered this talk for “The DEATH and Life of the Green Building Summit,” held in the Cascadia bioregion and hosted by the School of Regenerative Design.
My friends in the Living Building Challenge movement,
For two decades, the Living Building Challenge has set the world’s […]
March 29, 2024
Dear Friends,
With this special newsletter I am launching my just-released paper – “Eco-nomics for an Ecological Civilization” – presenting a framework for a new economics grounded in our deepening understanding of life and our distinctive human nature and potential.
What we now call […]
March 31, 2024
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Conventional economics serves us well only if our purpose is to exploit people and Earth to make money for the already rich. I call it ego-nomics. To secure the wellbeing of all of Earth’s people, we will need a new economics that […]