Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
There has been much written about the federalist nature of the American political system. But virtually all of it focuses on the rights of states vs. the federal government. At this historical moment, where the last bastion of true democracy is at the local level, we need to extend the debate to include the rights of communities vs. the states.
Open source hardware could be a revolutionary tool for unlocking the shackles that currently tie us to profit motivated, proprietary innovation. The concept springs from a vision to alleviate poverty through empowering decentralized and affordable, small-scale production. Participants anywhere in the world can use the internet to access, improve, or adapt designs for local manufacturing and drastically increase the rate of innovation.
The Republicans are a party in crisis. Having lost the election, they’re now wracked with internal strife and prospects for a turnaround in the near term appear dim.
There are now just over six weeks until the publication of The Power of Just Doing Stuff: how local action can change the world. I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you a bit more about it and why you might want to start building into a fever pitch of excitement. It will be published second week of June, will have 160 pages, will sell for £7.95, will be a thing of great beauty, and an inspiring introduction to what Transition is and the ‘Big Idea’ that it represents.
In ways both scientific and pragmatic, there can be no resilience without transformation.
"The universe is an undifferentiated whole. About that we can say nothing more." This catchy aphorism from political philosopher Bruce Wright may seem nonsensical at first glance, but is worth exploring in the service of deepening our intellectual humility. Facing multiple, cascading ecological crises, we humans need science more than ever and more than ever we need to understand the limits of science.
Some of the most extreme weather patterns – the driest, wettest, hottest and coldest months ever recorded – have occurred in recent years. The Arctic is warming dangerously, much quicker than scientists predicted, weakening, and changing the course of, the Gulf Stream bringing Britain erratic weather and disrupting agriculture. It has brought home to all, except the most head in the sand sceptics, the urgency of cutting greenhouse emissions. But, paradoxically, it has occurred at a time of heightened economic crisis when the resolve of governments and corporations to act to avert global warming is diminishing. Since the collapse of the Intergovernmental talks on climate change in Copenhagen 2009 all pretence at tackling climate change at an international level has been dropped.
Every so often we need to take a breather from the daily drumbeat of news and market data, to remind ourselves why we expend so much effort in our info-scouting and dot-connecting duties here at PeakProsperity.com. If we don’t, it’s dangerously easy to get mired in unproductive angst directed at our corrupted financial system, our reckless monetary & fiscal policies, and our short-sighted consumption of non-renewable resources. When that happens, every day presents us with ample new opportunity to mount our soapbox for an indignant rant; and while it feels cathartic, it doesn’t create progress.
It’s been said that the fate of any great movement is to be cannibalized by the mainstream or to die. I’d like to suggest two others paths: zombiehood and courageous re-invention.
Trying to have a conversation about the issues central to this sequence of posts, to make use of an apt if familiar metaphor, is rather like trying to discuss the nature of water with fish. The ideas that play the largest part in shaping our experience of the world and of ourselves are so deeply woven into the act of perception itself that we rarely if ever notice them until we run face first into their limits.
Merry May Day everyone! And welcome to our on-line summer edition. We’re 24 pages of full-on, full colour news and views. Great photographs, great articles, contributed by Transitioners and community activists working in the field. Ordinary people doing extraordinary stuff in all kinds of places: in the city, in the wild, in books, housing co-ops, small businesses, allotments, in the park, down the pub, on the (solar- panelled) roof, underwater, even on the netball court. We’re in Greece, Spain, France and Portugal; we’re in Sheffield, Louth, Crystal Palace and Lostwithiel.
Albert Einstein, known for his intellect, also possessed immense vision. He said, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” Doing what has always been done is the current MO for most professionals in the transportation industry. How many times have you walked into a room and people’s excitement deflates at the sight of you with your manuals and standards in tow. I think our profession’s image can change if we recognize where we need to go. After all, we are in charge of getting people from point A to point B. Can’t we also move our profession to a new, more visionary place?
