CHRISTEN  E.  CIVILETTO

This week at a conference I met three women sitting next to each other. The woman closest to me was Muslim. Next to her sat a Jewish woman. And the woman on the end? You guessed it: Christian. Interesting coincidence, I thought. Then I learned that they are part of an intentional community. They live together. Eat together. Side by side, they study, garden, clean, cry, exercise, and debate. Muslim, Jew and Christian. In fact, lots of other women and men live in this community

There’s a new concept gaining steam on the international scene. It’s called "environmental peacebuilding” or “environmental peacemaking” (and sometimes “environmental mediation”). It’s based on the principle that our common dependence on the natural world—clean water, fresh air, usable timber, or accessible oil, metals and minerals—can provide a pathway to peace for parties in conflict. Put another way, it’s the idea that cooperation among countries is essential because natur