Reviewed by Ian Mowll
https://live.newscientist.com/
The New Scientist magazine ran their annual weekend of talks and stalls at ExCel London – a large exhibition space – in October 2024.
At the event, GreenSpirit members Helena Kettleborough and Phil Barton ran a stall promoting the book written by Helena, Journey to Hopeful Futures and prints of visual art by Phil. People visiting the stall were encouraged to write an inspirational sentence or two about a better world. It was great to see the enthusiasm and level of engagement by so many people.
The stall ‘Journey to Hopeful Futures’
Some of the postcards written by participants with words of inspiration.
During the weekend, there were a wide variety of amazing lectures, many of which contained cutting edge research. It seems that the more scientists learn about our planet and the cosmos, the more interconnected and interdependent they find it. For instance, I learnt that super massive black holes at the centre of galaxies are connected with star formation and that volcanoes on Earth are important in regulating our climate.
I also learnt about the search for gravitational waves which will help our understanding of the first few moments of our Universe, that climate change prediction is much harder than it may seem to the layman and that the James Webb Telescope is a huge success, helping with new discoveries about the cosmos.
I was encouraged to see that the talks included one about the reality of free will which was packed, there seemed to be a hunger for meaning making amongst participants. Also, there were two talks about the Universe Story from the Big Bang to the present day – one aimed more for kids and one also looking at the role of chance in the unfolding Universe.
There were also many ‘green’ stalls at the event run by groups such as Greenpeace, the Ocean Conservation Trust and the Woodland Trust. With all of the awe and wonder of science and the passion to care for the Earth, I felt very much at home, and I sometimes think that this kind of event is part of a new form of spirituality. There is the inspiration (awe and wonder), practical action (stalls about caring for the Earth) and, in a sense, the whole event is a community. All that is needed are some forms of rituals to help groups to come together and keep their intentions on track and we nearly have the whole package.
We live in a rapidly changing world, and we continually need to respond in new ways to make the world a better place – for me, this event is doing just that.