When I was doing my research on simple living, I came across the name Ernest Callenbach. I had never heard of Callenbach, so I decided to dig a bit deeper into who he is and what he has done.
Callenbach is a writer, known best for his writings about ecology and the green movement. In 1975, he published Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston. It became known as the original book about an ecological utopia and was a great influence on not only the counter culture of the ‘60s, but also the green movement of the ‘70s. Callenbach followed that up with Ecotopia Emerging in 1981. He also wrote The Ecotopian Encyclopedia (1981), Publisher’s Lunch (1989), Ecology: A Pocket Guide (1998), Living Cheaply With Style: Live Better and Spend Less (1993), and Bring Back the Buffalo!: A Sustainable Future for America’s Great Plains (2000).
The utopia Callenbach wrote about in his novels didn’t reject all technology, but focused on select types of technology, including videoconferencing. Not long ago, Callenbach learned of the Yamagishi movement in Japan. This community’s aims and practices are very suggestive of Callenbach’s Ecotopia society.
In 1990, Callenbach came up with his Earth’s 10 Commandments:
1. Thou shalt love and honor the Earth for it blesses thy life and governs thy survival.
2. Thou shalt keep each day sacred to the Earth and celebrate the turning of its seasons.
3. Thou shalt not hold thyself above other living things nor drive them to extinction.
4. Thou shalt give thanks for thy food to the creatures and plants that nourish thee.
5. Thou shalt limit thy offspring for multitudes of people are a burden unto the Earth.
6. Thou shalt not kill nor waste Earth’s riches upon weapons of war.
7. Thou shalt not pursue profit at the Earth’s expense but strive to restore its damaged majesty.
8. Thou shalt not hide from thyself or others the consequences of thy actions upon the Earth.
9. Thou shalt not steal from future generations by impoverishing or poisoning the Earth.
10. Thou shalt consume material goods in moderation so all may share Earth’s bounty.
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