Convergence

The Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Peak Oil, Global Climate Change, financial chaos, a multitude of books about a perfect storm of world crises, "What does it mean?", "What can I do?", "What, me worry?"

This plethora of problems seems to beg for a convergence of clarifications, don't you think? Here's a selection of reading material I've come across lately that, for me anyway, really puts all these events into a coherent perspective.

The Arab Spring was a series of revolutions against oppressive regimes, each one building on the success of those that preceded it. What made it mostly work and what has not been available in the past was the instant communication provided by 'Social Media' services on the Internet.

Moving Planet was a worldwide day to move beyond fossil fuels, with over 2000 events in more than 175 countries. While many groups pitched in to provide support, logistics and help getting the word out, this was mainly an effort of Bill McKibben and 350.org Again, success could be traced to the use of the Internet to spread ideas, bring news of arrests by the Empire as they happened and the creation of instant community.

Occupy Wall Street started pretty much as a single event in Now York City but momentum, communications and the pent-up frustration and anger of several generations soon turned it into a 1,500 city, global movement. Many people who had never been part of a bottom-up, ground-swell movement did not 'Get it', and still don't. The clearest explanation that I have seen for those who have spent their whole lives subservient to The Empire appeared in !yes Magazine.

The Great Turning, a book by David C. Korten lays out the case for and the course to, a peaceful and just world that works for all people which he calls "Earth Community". Korten writes from a variety of perspectives including those of economist, historian, journalist, statistician, spritualist, humanitarian, dreamer and pragmatist. He also draws on the work of numerous colleagues from a wide array of disciplines and has the ability to present the resulting superabundance of ideas, anecdotes and concepts as a unified and lucid whole.

And finally, if anyone was wondering if this is some new idea that was cooked up in a short time, with little thought to back it up, here is a re-issue by rabble.ca of a story about the New Politics Initiative 10 years after   —   "What goes around, comes around".

Tweet
MY WEBSITE   —   ANewHumanity.CA

Is Harper trying to increase Canada's military might?

We [Canada] are fast becoming no more than an an insignificant backwater of the most powerful and destructive Empire the world has known. If we are even remembered in the post collapse world it will be as one of the minor players in the great degradation of humanity.

Our real wealth (land, water, all other resources both renewable and non) are in the hands of greedy, uncaring and low functioning individuals, as is our less important financial wealth and our so-called 'democratic' governments whose members and bought and paid for at election time. We have intelligent thinkers who can see through the futility and stupidity of Empire after 5,000 years of failure but, because their alternate social and financial systems do not offer the unsustainable, and for most, unattainable lifestyles of Empire they are denigrated as doomsayers and lunatics.

The world is quickly approaching a convergence of many crises which, taken together, have the potential to comprise the most general and most devastating cataclysm the human species has ever encountered - we could use some good thinkers, planners, stewards and humanitarians. And we had better listen to them if we don't want our grandchildren and their grandchildren to spit on our graves.

It is completely within the human capacity to design and initiate a new way for us to interact with the world around us and with each other but it would require adjustments and upheavals that only a few are currently willing to agree to. So here we are, rushing headlong towards the cliff edge, hoping that an unknown someone will fill the valley before we get there. They won't.

Tweet

Could this be the start of a Smart Grid that actually is — or is not?

If the "Smart Meter" push by BC Hydro could have a result like this, then I would support it, at least in principle.

I am not 100% positive that RF radiation is safe but, with the air full of it already, I believe this will only be an insignificant addition. The privacy issue is another matter altogether. We are already being logged, CCTV'd, chipped, swiped, bar-coded, GPS'd, triangulated and having our privacy stripped from us every time we wake up in the morning so I'm really not that happy with some 14 year-old hacker tuning into when I do my laundry or have a shower.

If, however, telling our inanimate and mechanical metering devices to "Smarten Up" was going to allow me to adjust my power usage for optimal efficiency (from my perspective) and even to hang enough PV's on the roof and erect enough windmills on the front lawn to actually save some money and the world at the same time, that would [probably] be good - except for the PO'd neighbours.

Because it is pretty hard to imagine any business enabling this or even allowing to happen right under its nose, I would want to have a closer look however. If this is just to allow BC Hydro to collect data at my expense, I will refuse to have one installed if I can catch them at it.

Let the neighbours laugh because I am the only one on the block with an old and dumb meter, it just seems to suit me better. And, I can always remind them about the noisy windmills and glaring PV panels, maybe even the smell from a possible biogas co-generating set-up and the pigs required to run it . . . . . YEAH!

Tweet