Peter Berg
Peter Berg (1937-2011), the social-revolutionary thinker, writer, ecologist, environmental activist and founder of Planet Drum Foundation, died on July 28, 2011, after a sudden case of pneumonia complicated by his bout with lung cancer. He was an unforgettable personality for anyone who made his acquaintance over the past several decades.
You can view, below, a complete archive of Peter’s works that are on this website. We've also published a selected bibliography of some of his essential writings, and a collection of appreciations of Peter from around the world.
This is Peter Berg’s report from the first year of Planet Drum Foundation’s involvement with Bahia de Caraquez, an eco-city in Ecuador. When the people of a small urban area decide to pass a law declaring an “ecological city,” it is an unusual and laudable act of public dedication. If there are already some extensive reforestation projects immediately nearby, and a non-profit estuary protection agency […]
Ecuador Eco-Gathering Report #7San Francisco, California It’s a few days after the vernal equinox in San Francisco, a date when the equal length of days and nights is the same here as it is all year in Ecuador. How remarkable to find anything similar to what happened there just three weeks ago. The festivities for Bahia de Caraquez’s Declaration as a “Ciudad Ecologica” (Ecological City) […]
In February, 1999, Peter Berg, Director of Planet Drum Foundation, traveled to Bahía de Caráquez in Ecuador, on an invitation to collaborate in discussions about the future of the human and natural environment of the area, which has been ravished by natural calamities over the past several years. Out of these meetings (which Peter has documented in his Ecuador Dispatches) came the following By-Law declaring an […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Eco-gathering (This is probably the last account of events here until after the Eco-Gathering February 27-28. In fact, there may not be a chance to send another before leaving Ecuador March 6 because of uncertainty about travel and e-capability.) The barrio of Santa Martinita is a workers’ district of cement block houses near the center of town that rises on a […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Eco-gathering Report #5 Our species has probably been as intelligent, creative and physically similar for at least the last 100,000 years. Agriculture has been practiced for only about the last 10,000 years, or one-tenth of that time. The Industrial Era probably began in the middle of the 17th Century, but has been prominent for only the last 200 years, or just […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Letter #2 Dear Friends, If you are part of an informal group or belong to an organization that is associated with bioregional activities or sustainability in any form, please write an e-letter of congratulations and support to Patricio Tamariz and the Ecuador Eco-Gathering in Bahia de Caraquez at archtour@srv1.telconet.netso that it can make an impression on the national and other officials who […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Eco-gathering Report #4 Finding enjoyable aspects of Bahia is as easy for a stranger as anywhere I’ve been. All of the most populous areas of the city — market, ferry landing, municipal building and downtown businesses — are within a few blocks of each other. Walking to them is so full of contact with residents and visitors that it can’t be […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Letter #1 Dear Friends, Nicola & Dario spent several hours with Patricio, Flor-Maria & myself last night planning an Eco-Bahia Support Group meeting for later this week. A group of 50 or so including both officials and barrio leaders, youth and worker sectors will divide into committees to support aspects of eco-city such as transportation, water, etc. They will also bring […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Eco-Gathering Report #3 Even when you know what it is, the government-provided shack village at Fanca for people who were made homeless by the mudslides and earthquake here is a powerfully stark and incomprehensible sight. All of the 50 or so rough-finished wood stilt and bamboo-sided dwellings are above your head and only reached by steep stair-ladders. They float peculiarly as […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador — Report #2 It’s unbelievable that a small city that was already visited last year by an El Nino about four times as severe as the worst one in previous recent experience could once again endure a hillside-saturating and road-swamping season, this time by La Nina. But it has rained almost every day, sometimes extremely heavily, for the last week. Concern […]