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 Alastair McIntosh's Home Page

 

New Book - Riders on the Storm: the Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being

Link opens to purchase, reviews, events & video

 

 

Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey my previous book, now in paperback from Birlinn (UK/world) and Cascade (USA)

"This is the book I've been waiting to read all my life" - Cameron McNeish, mountaineer & BBC broadcaster

"Fascinating, provocative and, occasionally, very funny" - Joanna Kavenna, Times Literary Supplement

"I felt I had been led to holy ground" - Brian D McLaren, Foreword to the Cascade edition 

Video clips: Opus Earth author interview (5 mins); BBC TV Adventure Show (12 mins) Royal Society Ed TEDx (12 mins) 

 

Click picture for hi-res photo downloads

Shortcut links to Key Material

@alastairmci

[Contact information]

[Upcoming Events public itinerary]

[Booking me & accountability]

 

[Published articles - chronological]

Published articles - classified index:

  1. Community

  2. Globalisation

  3. Nonviolence

  4. Sustainability & climate

  5. Land Reform

  6. Superquarries

  7. Epistemology

  8. Scottish constitutional

  9. Psychology & ethnology

  10. PNG & South Pacific

  11. Theology & philosophy

  12. Consciousness studies

  13. Mythology & poetics

  14. Spirituality

 

Other Key Links

[An Idea of Speaking Topics]

[Index of rare third party resources]

[Interviews, podcasts, videos, TEDx]

[BBC Thoughts for the Day]

[Letters to the Press]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New This Past Year:  [St Andrew's Day lecture on multiculturalism, Theology in Scotland (Aug 2020)]  [Dark Mountain 10th anniversary essay: God Carry Me (Jan 2020)]  [Papua Visitors Mussel Feast at Croirgerraidh (Aug 2019)]  [Healthy Community, Healthy Land: Report of West Papua Province study tour to Hebrides (Jul 2019)]  [Doom and Dharma - politics of climate change & regenerative culture, in The Ecologist (Jul 2019)]  [Towards Third Millennium Christianity - PCN public lecture (Jun 2019)]  ['Spirituality and Social Activism' - book chapter with Matt Carmichael (May 2019)]  [Data Set on our solar & heat pump renewable energy system - 64% cut in domestic carbon emissions (2019)]  [Interviews - press, radio, TV, podcast (to date)]  [BBC Thoughts for the Day (to date)]  [Twitter feed]

 

Hello, and a warm welcome to the website of Alastair McIntosh. Thank you for visiting my home page. See below for contact details and my public itinerary. Also, the tabs above for main themes, and links to the left for a classified index of publications and some other ports of call.

Since 2004 I've live within the old parish boundary of Govan in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, where I am a founding trustee of the GalGael Trust. This works with multiple facets of urban poverty in seeking to release blocked flows within the human spirit. Since 1996, my work has been mainly freelance. I am a Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology (CHE) of which I was previously director, an honorary senior research fellow (professor) in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, and have held honorary fellowships or professorships at the universities of Strathclyde (Department of Geography & Sociology), Ulster (Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages) and Edinburgh (School of Divinity).

I run this site to represent myself professionally. Its main purpose is to make my published work readily available. Forgive it being an amateur website that is self-maintained, using antique FrontPage software from the last century. If you've only landed here to get the retro experience, then make yourself at home.

Nearly all of what I've posted has been previously published or delivered as an address, usually involving peer review. It includes items from local newspapers, the national press, academic papers in refereed scholarly journals, magazine contributions, published letters and poetry, reports, speeches and some broadcasts. There are also sections with my interviews, podcasts and video, and of rare 3rd party resource material. The latter is where I've scanned important but hard-to-find documents that are essential to my work or that of folks with whom I work.

I live with my wife, Vérène Nicolas who I met in Ireland in 1996. I was running a study tour and she was working on a farm, having a background in agriculture, economics and rural development. These days her work is mainly with transformative learning and collaborative leadership in community-based organisations. Both of us are Quakers.

 

What I do and stand for (updated January 2021)

 

What is found here broadly represents my work in human ecology - the study of and participation in relationships between the natural environment and the social environment. Some define human ecology in terms of population, environment, resources and development (PRED). My approach also integrates the psychological and spiritual backdrop to being a conscious human being in a living world. Much of my work is informed by the combination of practical action, study and reflection. In this, I am especially influenced by liberation theology - theology that liberates theology to do what it should do. In choosing what issues to work on, I therefore ask questions like:

bullet"Does what I do feed the hungry?"
bullet"Is it relevant to the poor or to the broken in nature?"
bullet"Does it contribute to understanding and meaningfulness?"
bullet"Does it give life?" 

In recent years, it has been the last of these questions that most binds my work together. To do human ecology, like doing theology, is to pull on a tangled ball of string. You cannot unravel one loop until you've understood the network of connections. For me, such interconnection is the essence of reality and the basis of consciousness. It is about the spiritual, which is to say, life as love made manifest. It is the innermost structure that underpins the outer forms of things, including their psychology, ecology, politics, economics and forms of collective religious expression. That is why I believe that what the world most needs today is a deepening of spiritual vision. Science gives outer sight, but spirituality complements this with insight. Such understanding is the key to my work and ability to maintain hope, even where the grounds for optimism might be frayed.

The Coronavirus has caused my face-to-face events to have been cancelled or shifted online for most of 2020, and so far the same in 2021. However, I remain available to offer online events.

 

My background, writing and activism

Born in 1955, all of my school education (1960-73) took place in the community where I was raised, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles. A traditional Scottish education allows for a generalist worldview. I hold a BSc in geography from the University of Aberdeen (1973-77) submajoring in psychology and moral philosophy, a financial MBA from the University of Edinburgh (1980-81), and a PhD by published works in liberation theology, land reform and community empowerment from the Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages, University of Ulster (2008). For a CV and short bio see here.

My work is mainly represented through the books and articles linked from the tabs along the top of this page. The best known are Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power (2001) and Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition (2008). My books have variously been described as "world-changing" by George Monbiot, "inspirational" by Rowan Williams while Archbishop of Canterbury, "careful, sober reasoning" by the philosopher Mary Midgley, and "truly mental" by the singer Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

My two most recent books draw together much of my life's work. Spiritual Activism - Leadership as Service (Green Books, 2015) is co-authored with Matt Carmichael. It is a practical guide, based on a quarter century of postgraduate teaching, and was named Book of the Year by Sir Jonathon Porritt, formerly chair of the UK Government's Sustainable Development Commission.

Poacher's Pilgrimage: an Island Journey (Birlinn, 2016; Cascade 2018 in USA) has been described by the Rev Kathy Galloway of the Iona Community as "a quite wonderful book - a theology of justice and peace and love re-presented through human ecology." I use a twelve day walk through remote and rugged terrain on the island of my childhood to explore the roots of war and alienation in our times. It breaks through into an ecology of the imagination, and spiritual insights for the third millennium.

My best-known work includes Scottish land reform as commenced with the Isle of Eigg (1990 - present), the Harris superquarry battle (1992 - 2004), the spirituality of community, identity, belonging and place (1986 - present), nonviolence and understanding war (1976 - present), the psychospirituality of climate change (2006 to present), and radical human ecology (1990 - present). For further information on my current work and campaigns click here.

Less well-known is my work with South Pacific education, development and ethnography (1980-91 in Papua New Guinea and 2012 onwards in Indonesian West Papua), sustainable tropical forestry (1984-95), micro-hydro electric and alternative energy (1978-86 and 2012 onwards), the depth psychology of cigarette advertising (1995-96), corporate social responsibility in the cement industry with Lafarge (2004-13), NGO marketing, PR, finance & management (1980-1990), parapsychology and consciousness research (1973-1980), cultural psychotherapy, conflict and power analysis (1994 - present), the GalGael Trust, urban poverty and cultural renewal (1997 - present) and applied liberation theology (1977 - present).

 

Availability for Events, livelihood and travelling

Since 1996 I've made my living on an entirely self employed basis - writing, broadcasting with the BBC, keynote speaking at events, workshops, retreats, taught courses and consultancy. For availability see my public itinerary, and a rough idea of the kind of things I talk about at this list. My personal financial accountability, my suggesting scale of charging for events, and my approach to travel in the face of climate change is given here. We now have good broadband so I am able to connect for online talks and presentations if required.

Places at which I have spoken or taught in recent years include the universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Exeter, Bath, Cape Breton, Saskatchewan and Florida, the Russian Academy of Sciences (Economics Dept), INSEAD European Management School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Glasgow School of Art, the British Council, the Irish School of Ecumenics at the University of Ireland, the World Council of Churches, Groupe Credit Mutuel, Shell plc, Nokia Research Centre, Lafarge SA (where I sat until 2013 on their Sustainability Stakeholders' Panel), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Schumacher Lectures and Schumacher College, Greenbelt Festival, the Society for Ecological Regeneration, Friends of the Earth, WWF International and UK, Australia's Rainforest Information Centre, Transition Towns, the Diocese of Liverpool, the Iona Community, the Scottish Crofting Foundation, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Learning and Skills Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Scottish Government, the Jakarta Institute of Theology, the Defence Academy's Joint Services Command & Staff College (JSCSC, on nonviolence), the Royal College of Defence Studies, École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, the Irish Military College and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

 

Where now? - Riders on the Storm: the Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being

I spend about half of most days dealing with correspondence and seeing visitors. It is a joy to get such feedback, though I often struggle to cope with it efficiently. I give priority of time to activists and young scholars (masters and doctorate candidates) working with social, environmental or religious change. When we can, Vérène and I get out in our canoes and we about once a week we have a shared meal with our neighbours at the GalGael Trust, a mile down the road.

One major area of work this past year that builds on themes opened up in Poacher's Pilgrimage is exploring a Christian spirituality that might be fit for purpose for the third millennium, one that rests on principles of nonviolence rather than authoritarian control. As of the autumn of 2019 through to spring 2020, I am working on a short book on climate change for Birlinn, Riders on the Storm, due August 2020 in time for COP26. Here is the draft publisher's blurb.

Dangerous climate change means that massive social change is essential if much of the earth can remain habitable. What needs to happen will challenge our politics, our economics and our technical capacity. But above all these, it will be a challenge to our humanity. In this succinct and passionate new book, Alastair McIntosh examines the drivers in the human psyche that have allowed unfettered consumerism to threaten the planet. He argues for a radical shift in our consciousness of what it means to be human at this stage in our evolution. His message is not one of optimism, but of building on soul and meaning in these troubled times. Of building the capacity for resilience and regeneration that can make us riders on the storm.

 

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Contact Information:

 

Alastair McIntosh

26 Luss Road

Glasgow

G51 3YD

Scotland / Ecosse

 

 

Email - mail@AlastairMcIntosh.com (preferred first point of contact)

 

Mobile (cellphone): +44 (0) 7444 580 380 (preferred second point of contact)

 

Twitter: @alastairmci (I am not on other social media, I can be DM'd without requiring to follow)

 

For work issues please try to avoid phoning outside weekday working hours. Remember time zones - we're in GMT or BST in summer (i.e. GMT+1). If you need to discuss something that requires much thought I prefer an email first if possible to arrange a mutually convenient calling time. I am on Skype, Facetime and WhattsApp but unless it is a pressing matter please first arrange any call by email or text.

 

 

Directions to our home/office:

 

Public Transport: For public transport in Scotland, it is worthwhile downloading the Traveline Scotland app. If coming from central Glasgow, take the subway (underground train) to either Govan or Ibrox. They're each one mile from our house. From Govan is a more interesting walk, but Ibrox is a simpler route and less congested if we're picking you up by car (see below if walking). From either Govan subway station or the city centre (Renfield St), you can get a McGills Route 26 bus to the second stop on Craigton Road, from where we're the next street up on the right. The fare is £3.60 from town as of the start of 2018). They're every 10 or 16 minutes during the day, but the timetable is unreliable. Our house is no. 26, half way along Luss Rd on the right. If coming from city centre's Queen St or Central stations, the stops for the 26 bus are on Renfield Street (extending onto Union Street). Taxis up from Govan are about £4, from city centre about £12, and from the airport about £20.

 

If walking from the subway exit at Ibrox, turn right onto Copland Road. Up to the lights and turn right. Pass alongside the Rangers football stadium, go straight on over the first roundabout, straight over the second roundabout, on to the lights, turn right down Craigton Road, and Luss Road is the 5th exit on the left (depending on what you count as an exit).

 

By Car: If coming on the M8 from east or west, exit at junction 24 (Helen Street), signposted for Govan. Head downhill and over the lights to a roundabout, as if heading to the Clyde Tunnel. Turn left at the roundabout then right at the lights into a residential area, Craigton Road (signposted to "Elderpark Workspace"). Luss Road is the 3rd on the left (or 4th depending on what you count). 

 

If coming by car from the North via the Clyde Tunnel, as you exit the tunnel prepare to take the first left just at the tunnel's end. Be careful - it comes on you very quickly and it's easy to overshoot. This brings you out onto Govan Road with a very large roundabout. Turn right at this, onto Drive Road, passing a Elder Park on your left. At the end of Drive road, keep the park on your left by turning left onto Langlands Road. Take the 3rd right, just before you lose the park, onto Arklett Road, then 2nd right is Luss Road.

 

Avoid the M8 approaches if you can when there's a football match on at Ibrox. There may also be parking congestion at such times. Taxi drivers from outwith this area do not know it well. Tell them that you want Luss Road which is off Craigton Road, and to take the Helen Street exit if coming from the M8.

 

 

 

Alastair McIntosh's Itinerary of Main Events

This table shows roughly which dates I'm booked up for. It also shows what sorts of events I take on. For information on booking me for events please click here. For an overview of my typical speaking topics click here. Gaps in the timetable do not necessarily signify availability, especially over weekends, as this is not my private diary. Dates marked for delivery of Thought for the Day mean that I have to be near a BBC studio early that morning, and have time on the previous day for preparation - though these dates can be swapped with another presenter. Events marked "s.t.c." are "subject to consent/confirmation", and it is best to confirm events with the organisers' information before turning up.

2020 (last year)

This Year - 2021+

 

 

NOTICE: Many events this spring and early summer have been postponed or cancelled by the organisers due to Coronavirus. I remain open to bookings later in the year and by internet conferencing, and have access to hosting Zoom with capacity for up to 500 participants.

 

  1. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 3 Jan, (preparation previous day).

  2. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 12 Mar, (preparation previous day).

  3. Leading Iona weekend for GalGael participants, Fri 20 Mar - Sun 22 Mar Postponed to 2021.

  4. Seminar with MSc Global Environment, Politics and Society class at Edinburgh University on themes raised in class reading of Soil and Soul, afternoon Tue 24 Mar. Moved online.

  5. Leading a week at the Findhorn Foundation, commencing 28th March. Cancelled and but hope to rearrange 2021 - will probably be on theme of Pilgrimage of Life, dates not set yet.

  6. Learning from the COVID-19 Crisis: a Sharing with Alastair McIntosh, Zoom, view recording here.

  7. A public conversation chaired by John Surrock QC between me and international mediator Ken Cloke, Core Solutions & Collaborative Scotland, Grassmarket Community Project, 7 pm Wed 25 Mar, free but tickets here. Postponed to Nov 4 and meanwhile, a Zoom version on 6 May (see below).

  8. Keynote lecture to the Unitarians' General Assembly, The Revolution will be Spiritual and workshops for clergy on Spiritual Activism, Birmingham, Wed 8 Apr 1900-2015. Cancelled, but moved to Zoom - view recording here.

  9. Leading the Good Friday worship at Greyfriars Kirk Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, Fri 10 April. Cancelled, but moved to Zoom - view recording here.

  10. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Thu 16 Apr, (preparation previous day).

  11. Where Now, Climate Science and Activism? A dialogue between Rupert Read and Alastair McIntosh, Sat 18 Apr, 1700, Zoom - view recording here.

  12. Talk on The Spiritual Challenges of Climate Change, Wed 22nd April, 7.30pm St Stephen’s Church, Exeter. Postponed.

  13. Guest lecture on Nonviolence in The Realities of Conflict module of the Advanced Command & Staff Course, UK Defence Academy, 23-24 Apr.. Cancelled.

  14. About Spirituality - a sharing open to all, chaired by Professor Laura Hope-Gill of Lenoir-Rhyne University with me giving a talk, conversation & open floor, no password but Zoombomb disposal in action, sign in 4.15-4.30 pm Sat 2 May then doors lock, Zoom - view recording here.

  15. Climate Change and the Pandemic: A Call to Consciousness and Collaboration, a conversation with the mediator Ken Cloke and me, organised and chaired by John Sturrock QC, Wed 6 May, 1700-1900, Zoom - view recording here.

  16. Speaking in the Southside Fringe Festival, Glasgow, on The Spiritual Basis of Community, 17 May, 1800. Cancelled.

  17. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 19 May, (preparation previous day).

  18. Reimagine: Highlands & Islands - a 2020 Vision, guest with Ariane Burgess (Scottish Green Party lead candidate),  1500-1600, Wed 20 May, Zoom - view recording here.

  19. Guest speaker on Land Reform at Community Land Scotland annual conference, Glasgow, 22 - 23 May. Postponed.

  20. A sharing between Laura Hope-Gill, Jen Stout and me with open discussion of experience around Conspiracy Theories and Community Trust, 1600 UK BST time, Wed 10 June. Zoom - view recording here.

  21. Public talk, In our Doom is our Dharma: climate change and consciousness, Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, 7pm Wed 17 June. Postponed.

  22. Speaking at Solas Festival on Climate Change and the Human Condition,  Perthshire, 19-21 June. Cancelled.

  23. Address to the Nordic Gathering of Yearly Meetings of Quakers, near Gothenburg, Sweden, 25-28 June. Cancelled.

  24. Event on spirituality and activism with Dougald Hine in Stockholm afterwards, t.b.c. Cancelled.

  25. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 1 Jul, (preparation previous day).

  26. Speaking in New Networks for Nature, University of East Anglia, 10-12 Jul. Cancelled.

  27. Talk to Lausanne Business School, Switzerland, Implementing Sustainability Strategy: Being and Doing, 1000, Sat 13 June, private event by Zoom.

  28. Talk to the Fintry Trust on forthcoming book, Riders on the Storm, Thu 16 July, 1000, private event by Zoom.

  29. BBC Alba screening of interview about climate change and Riders on the Storm, 8pm, Mon 3 Aug, preview clip here.

  30. Address to Pax Christi Scotland in online vigil to mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, by Zoom, 1900 Thu 6 Aug, by Zoom.

  31. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 7 Aug, (preparation previous day).

  32. Closing speaker at Canadian Quakers' Yearly Meeting on theme: Quaker Leadings and our Calling in these Times, 5.30 pm EST (2230 BST), Wed 12 Aug, Zoom link to video of event probably to be posted here in Sept.

  33. Launch of Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being, online by Birlinn Books in partnership with Climate Fringe & The Centre for Human Ecology, chaired by Prof Alison Phipps of Glasgow University, 7 pm Thu 13 Aug,.  Zoom - view recording here. Also, new here, 1 hour podcast edited from the very rich discussion by Climate Fringe (COP26 clearing house) here.

  34. Speaking in Edinburgh International Book Festival on Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being, The New York Times Main Theatre, Mon 24 Aug, 1000, Cancelled.

  35. In France (wife's family) 26 Aug - 9 Sep - if inquiring about new book please contact Birlinn directly, and I will be pretty much unavailable between 29 Aug and 4 Sept.

  36. Book event with Jonathon Porritt, 1800 Wed 16 Sep. (his book, not mine, but with some overlap), chaired by the CEO of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, by Zoom webinar, register here.

  37. Speaking at Mainstreet Trading Bookshop, on Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being, St Boswells, Melrose, 1930, Wed 16 Sep. Cancelled.

  38. Speaking in National Library of Scotland online event, on Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being, 1700 Tue 22 Sep, Zoom - view recording here (45 mins).

  39. Reading group online Q&A for Riders on the Storm with the Centre for Human Ecology, 1900 Thu 24 Sep.

  40. Reading group Q & A session 1 for creative writing class on The Writing of Alastair McIntosh held by Prof Laura Hope-Gill at Lenoir-Rhyne University, North Carolina (private event), 2200 Thu 24 Sep.

  41. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 29 Sep, (preparation previous day).

  42. Speaking on Riders on the Storm online at the Wigtown Book Festival, 1100, Fri 2 Oct, Zoom -  view recording here.

  43. Irish Hedge School in dialogue with fellow guest the musician Luke Concannon (Nizlopi), 1900 Mon 5 Oct, open only to course participants, details of full course at The Trailblazery.

  44. Speaking in The Embodiment Conference on Embodying Community: Climate change, consciousness and cultural trauma", 2200 UK time (5 pm Eastern Time) Sat 24 Oct, watch live at this event link and free view for 48 hours after.

  45. Speaking in a New York Open Center "Virtual Quest" event, on Reclaiming Celtic Spirituality, 3 pm Eastern time, 7 pm UK time (GMT), for 90 mins, Sun 11 Oct. Note time change and only 4 hrs US-UK time difference this week. Online conference sign-up here (not free).

  46. Integral Human Development a sharing about development, climate change and "the survival of being" with the staff and supporters of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, 1230 Wed 28 Oct., Zoom registration, free, here.

  47. Interview by Fulbright scholar (University of Toronto) Alec Ruth, on theology, 2 Nov, watch the 50 min video on YouTube.

  48. Reading group Q & A session 2 for creative writing class on The Writing of Alastair McIntosh held by Prof Laura Hope-Gill at Lenoir-Rhyne University, North Carolina (private event), 2100 Thu 5 Nov.

  49. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Wed 11 Nov, (preparation previous day).

  50. Speaking at Maryport Arts & Literature Festival, Senhouse Roman Museum, Cumbria, 12 Nov. Postponed to 2021.

  51. Keynote speaker for Interfaith Responses to the Environmental Crisis, a UK Interfaith Week event hosted by the Green Party Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum, 1100 - 1300 Sat 14 Nov. View recording here.

  52. A sharing at the conference of Inclusive Gathering Birmingham (non-denominational church), on Riders on the Storm, 1600 Sun 15 Nov, Zoom Link here (free).

  53. GalGael Trust board meeting, 1700 through evening, Tue 17 Nov.

  54. Giving a talk for Scottish Book Week, Edinburgh Central Library, on Climate Change and the Survival of Being (focus on the psychology & spirituality) 1930, Wed 18 Nov, chaired by Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing Laura Hope-Gill of Lenoir-Rhyne University, North Carolina. Zoom registration link here (free).

  55. Address to the AGM of Urras Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh (the Carloway Trust Estate community land trust on the Isle of Lewis) - Land, Climate Change and Weaving the Basket of Community, 1930 Wed 25 Nov, non-members can request a Zoom link by emailing here.

  56. Keynote address on The Climate Emergency and Over-consumption, online conference of the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge Fund convened by Keep Scotland Beautiful, Thu 26 Nov. Zoom recording here, starting 39 mins in on Main Stage from 1440 video panel.

  57. Online guest for Dougald Hine's Homeward Bound conversations on "the deep territory of the climate crisis, the end of the world as we knew it and the survival of being", 1900 Sun 29 Nov (use the above link to sign up for series).

  58. A sharing with the Green Recovery Book Group about Riders on the Storm, 2000, Thu 3 Dec..

  59. A talk to Irish Quakers YM Peace Committee - Atomic Theology - 1800, Thu 10 Dec, Zoom link t.b.a..

  60. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Mon 14 Dec, (preparation previous day).

  61. The Parable of Jesus - an impromptu Christmas Day Zoom reflection and sharing, 1400 25 Dec, view Zoom video here.

  62. Into Life's Last Days: the Spirituality of Care & Dying - a Zoom sharing of Wed 30 Dec 2020, held by Laura Hope-Gill and Alastair McIntosh: View video here: http://bit.ly/LastDaysVideo

 

  1. Talk on The Practice of Pilgrimage to retreat of Red Letter Christians, 0945, Thu 7 Jan, Zoom but not sure if public.

  2. Panel discussion in the Red Letter Christians retreat on the theme: Borders and Space: Our Relationship with The Land. 1400, Fri 8 Jan, Zoom as above.

  3. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 12 Jan, (preparation previous day).

  4. Delivering The Immortal Memory at the GalGael Trust on-line Burns Supper, 1730 Thu 28 Jan, by Zoom.

  5. Guest interviewee along with the Birmingham Bard Jimmy Davis at the launch of Luke Concannon's (of Nizlopi) new album, Ecstatic Bird in the Burning, 2000, Fri 5 Feb, join on Zoom or Facebook here.

  6. Glasgow Quaker readers' group discussion of Riders on the Storm, 2000, Mon 15 Feb. Others are welcome, but discussion priority will be to given the group.

  7. Talk on Faith in the Environment: climate change & community to Westport (Ireland) Eco-congregation, 1930, Thu 16 Feb. Watch video on YouTube here.

  8. Speaking in the Paisley Book Festival on Climate and Community, interviewed by Roxani Krystalli, 1800, Sat 27 Feb. Watch video on YouTube until late April.

  9. Speaking in 'Enough for Lent' organised by Enough, on How to be Local: belonging, meaning and knowing life and nature at home, 1800 - 2000, Wed. 10 Mar.. Free, register for Zoom link.

  10. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 12 Mar, (preparation previous day).

  11. In conversation with Ruth Harvey, leader of the Iona Community, on Difficult Conversations Around Climate Change: Civic Space for Climate Justice, 1900, Wed 17 Mar. Watch video on YouTube here.

  12. Edinburgh University talk on Modern Scottish Land Reform to students of MSc Global Environment, Politics and Society, 1000, Fri 26 Mar.

  13. Leeds University talk, Place and Performance Research Group, Land Consciousness: What can England learn from Scotland about Taking Back Control? 1600, Fri 26 Mar. Watch the webinar video from this link.

  14. Book group for Riders on the Storm with St James' Church, Leith, 1930, Mon 29 Mar..

  15. Note: Due to a need to provide support for a family member, I will be unavailable for events that require permitted travel, and some days may be more restricted than normal, between April 8 and 26.

  16. Lecture to environmental MBA students at Lausanne Business School, Switzerland, The Being and Doing of Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility, 1000 GMT+1 (1100 CET+1), Fri 9 Apr.

  17. A talk and sharing with The Welcoming on Climate Justice and the Survival of Community, 1730, Tue 13 April, Zoom registration here (free).

  18. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Tue 13 Apr, (preparation previous day).

  19. Lecture to New York Open Center, A Celtic View of Nature on Earth Day, for one hour starting 12pm EST (1700 BST - in UK), Thu 22 Apr, immediately followed by event below. It's free, but please consider the donation option, as they're being kind enough to pay me. Watch the video here.

  20. An Earth Day conversation at the New York Open Center with Jeff Gitterman of Gitterman Wealth Management, on Wall St and the climate crisis. This follows directly on previous session. For one hour starting 1pm EST (1800 BST in UK). Use the same video link as above, but Gitterman part starts one hour in.

  21. Leading a breakout group for COP26 Coalition event, on vision for a future Scotland, 1030 Sat 24 Apr, Zoom registration here (free).

  22. Discussion with environmental students at the Canadian Mennonite University using Riders on the Storm as their course book, 1930 BST, Sat 24 Apr..

  23. Red Letter Christians - 'book club' event to discuss Spiritual Activism (Green Books) with me and co-author Matt Carmichael, 1000 - 1200, Sat 1 May. Free, register for Zoom link.

  24. Two lectures to the Command & Staff Course, Irish Military College, Curragh: The Nonviolent Challenge to Conflict and The Depth Psychology of Conflict, 1400 - 1600, Mon 10 May (by Zoom).

  25. Kenmure Sharing on refugees, identity and solidarity, with Prof Alison Phipps, 1700, Sat 15 May, by Zoom.

  26. Reunion meeting from Findhorn 2019 group, 1830 - 2000, Mon 24 May, private event.

  27. A sharing on "Reimagining Activisms" in online course A Journey Home, put on by Christabel Reed of Advaya, Tue 1 Jun.

  28. Panel on Spirituaity after Covid, Ekklesia with Luath Press, 1930 - 2045, Thu 3 Jun, details t.b.a..

  29. Sermon about climate change at St Martin's Episcopalian Church, Dalry, Edinburgh, 1030, Sunday 6 Jun. In person if restrictions allow.

  30. Speaking in day conference on Land, Food Heritage and Power at University of Bangor, Wales, by Zoom, on "Land, Power and Community Food Security in Scotland", Wed 16 Jun (all day, speaking at 1105 then panel at 1430).

  31. Giving the Adderbury Gathering Annual Public Lecture 2021, on the theme Riding the Climate Storm: a Call to Quaker Calling, hosted by the Banbury & Evesham Quakers, 1500 (doors open from 1430), Sun 20 June, book a free Zoom ticket here.

  32. Presentation to school children participants at the Inspiring Purpose Sustainable Futures award ceremony, Association for Character Education, 1600, Thu 22 Jun, by Zoom.

  33. Speaking at a Hilfield (Franciscan) Friary residential retreat in Dorset, Nourishing the Soil, Nurturing the Soul, on Soil, Soul and Community in COP26. 1100, Sun 27 Jun. For non-residents the the talk can be attended by Zoom, suggested donation £10 at above link.

  34. The Pilgrimage of Life - an online pilgrimage exploring departure, initiation and return organised by the Quakers, open to all (with optional donation to Glasgow Quaker meeting house funds), 1400 - 1715, Sun 27 Jun, Zoom info & registration link: http://bit.ly/GQpilgrimage

  35. BBC Radio Scotland Thought for the Day, broadcast 0720ish, Fri 2 Jul, (preparation previous day).

  36. Speaking on Climate Change and the Human Future in the Edinburgh Science Festival, "The Encampment of Eternal Hope", Royal Botanic Gardens, 1100, Sat 10 Jul, free but bookings here.

  37. Speaking and panelist at Summer Stravaig, Design Innovation & Land Assets, Glasgow School of Art and University of Ulster, 1000, Wed 14 Jul.

  38. Mostly unavailable Sat 17 Jul - Mon 2 Aug, holiday back home on Isle of Lewis.

  39. Keynote talk, Community, Consumerism and Climate Change: Scotland and West Papua Province in the international course, Guardians of the Forest, Wed 4 Aug, course participants only.

  40. Talks at SEALL Live Literature festival at Armadale Castle, Isle of Skye in two events Wed 11 Aug around the year's theme, Scotland's Coasts and Water. Riding the Three Great Floods (1430 hrs, p. 31 of programme); and in conversation with Skye poet Myles/Maoilios Campbell for the first bilngual publication of  great mythic poem, And so Somersault (1930 hrs, pp. 32 - 33 of programme) - with a special focus on tradition bearing today with guests Catherine MacPhee & Iain MacKinnon joining our discussion.

  41. Training for the clergy of the Unitarian church in Spiritual Leadership, conference On Being Beloved Community, Mon 6 - Wed 8 Sep, Great Hucklow, Derbyshire.

  42. Mostly unavailable Wed 8 - Wed 22 Sep - Verene's family matters.

  43. Preaching at St Salvator's Chapel, University of St Andrews, 1100, Sun 26 Sep, on the spirituality of climate change and COP26.

  44. Pre COP26 Zoom event for Spanish speakers, organised by Grian Cutanda of the University of Granada.  See here for the video that he Spanish subtitled on our Spiritual Activism book. Time & details t.b.c. a month before, Mon 27 Sep..

  45. An Evening with Alastair McIntosh chaired by psychotherapist Jim Griffin on the theme, In our Doom is our Dharma: Climate change and consciousness. Hosted by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality & Peace, now changed to online, 1900, Wed 29 Sep, tickets £6/£4 here.

  46. Speaking in event, Geopoetics and the Land with James Murray-White and Tina Scopa, Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, Pearce Institute, Govan, Glasgow and webcast, 1700, Thu 30 Sep, details t.b.a..

  47. Public lecture in the Science, Wisdom and Faith weekend at Greyfriars, "Climate Science and the Healing of the Nations", Edinburgh, weekend 15 - 17 Oct., details t.b.c..

  48. Delivering the Angus Macleod Lecture 2021 hosted by Comunn Eachdraidh na Pairc (Pairc Historical Society) with :‘I’ve Never Known You Be So Bad Before! – Land, Community and Climate Change, Covid permitting in Kinloch Historical Society hall, Balallan, Isle of Lewis, 1930, Thu 21 Oct, this event will also be livestreamed.

  49. Conference keynote speech on climate change and the place of business & professional leadership to Rotary International, Cumbernauld, Sat 23 Oct.

  50. COP 26 UN climate change conference, Glasgow. I will be based locally for this period, a mile away from where we live, and available for speaking, but not for travelling far from Glasgow over this period, 1 - 12 November. As a primer to the science, politics and what Scotland might bring to COP 26, see my recent book: Riders on the Storm.

  51. Public lecture to Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church Eco Group, Human Calling After COP 26, 1900, Sun 28 Nov, details t.b.a..

  52. Talk on Climate Change and the Farther Reaches of Human Nature for the Scientific & Medical Network, 1930, Wed 2 Feb 2022, details t.b.c..

  53. Keynote talk and workshops at Festival of Unitarians, The Pilgrimage of Life, 19 - 20 Feb, 2022 (moving online).

 

 

 

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Last Updated: 14-Jul-2021

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