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.
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador We hosted a dinner billed as a “celebration” for both landowners and representatives of urban communities who have participated in Planet Drum’s 2008 revegetation program. After an hour of meeting each other and waiting for the inevitable late arrivals, Clay as Field Projects Manager explained the purpose of the gathering, described Planet Drum’s history in Bahia, and invited everyone to watch […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Ecuador is undergoing a political transformation of undeniably profound and long-lasting significance. As with most South American countries this is a time of widespread change and realignment for many reasons, but in Ecuador there is an additional uniquely internal factor that stands out above all others. It is rewriting the national constitution. President Rafael Correa put the issue of constitutional reform […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador At this moment hundreds of thousands of tons of water hyacinths are floating down Ecuadorean rivers headed for the coast. Heavy rains that flooded out the shallow places where they overgrew during summer and fall have loosened stalks and leaves in long drifting lines that now artfully illustrate the river current. Occasionally there are large patches of plants that tore away […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador After many delays due to rain and unavailability of people or horses, Clay and I finally made a second trip to the village of Pajonal for the purpose of riding over the most promising road site to the Planet Drum land. We began to encounter the usual obstacles immediately. At the outset there was only one horse and one burro for […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Whenever I return to Ecuador the first real taste of the country is the Guayaquil bus terminal (terminal terrestre). Serving the biggest city in the country, it feels like the commercial district of a uniquely busy small town of its own because there are thousands of people and hundreds of seemingly permanent features such as import and export delivery businesses, vendors, […]
Francois Truffault’s 1960 film “Shoot the Piano Player” was acclaimed as part of the French cinematic New Wave spearheaded by Jean-Luc Goddard. It even bears some resemblance to the tense pairing of characters who represent innocent liberated role-playing contrasted with overt criminality that marked Goddard’s brilliant “Breathless”.Truffault’s free-living but seemingly innocent musician is like the young woman newspaper vendor in “Breathless”, and his unredeemable thief […]