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Last week, on June 20, the BBC published an article based on a recent interview with Greta - you know, the young Swedish climate activist who no longer needs a last name.
The climate activist is skeptical of some world leaders' motives
From that BBC article, listed below are eight statements by Greta -- along with my explanation of how each of those statements is very much in synch with what we write about in Outcry. Here they are:
1. She doesn't think any "green recovery plan" will solve the crisis alone.
In Outcry, we estimate that our current lifestyle in western nations is no more than 10% as GREEN as needed for us to survive longterm. That's why we stress the absolute need to totally, and urgently, reinvent our civilization. Well-intentioned, individual actions will not suffice.
2. "The level of knowledge and understanding even among people in power is very, very low, much lower than you would think," Greta told the BBC.
In Outcry, we highlight the fact that no one in authority is even talking about the desperate situation that we are in -- and we talk constantly about the urgent need for a global "conversation" regarding our dilemma and what we must do about it.
3. Greta says the only way to reduce emissions on the scale that is necessary is to make fundamental changes to our lifestyles, starting in developed countries. But she doesn't believe any leaders have the nerve to do that.
In Outcry, we draw the same conclusions AND we've provided a "visual" of how a sustainable future civilization might look: a way of living that would greatly increase our chances of surviving as a species. Ours is not a vision that we expect will come true, but rather it is a visual that may help to spark the much needed awareness and
conversation
required to move us quickly toward living sustainably.
4. Ms Thunberg says the only positive that could come out of the coronavirus pandemic would be if it changes how we deal with global crises: "It shows that in a crisis, you act, and you act with necessary force."
In Outcry, we mentioned the silver lining of Covid-19 on the cover and devote all of Chapter 13 to that topic. In the final chapter, we talk about how the pandemic has jolted us into thinking differently about almost everything.
5. Greta says she is encouraged that politicians are now stressing the importance of listening to scientists and experts.
In Outcry, the longest chapter is Chapter 4, in which we report the conclusions of eleven big picture scientists. Although most of their conclusions are grim, I choose to believe that we still have a chance. How so? By virtue of the fact
that their collective knowledge or expertise may be lacking in 4 critical areas that, if properly addressed, might greatly improve the odds that we will survive: Food choices, Systemic Change, Artificial Intelligence and Leadership. With excellent execution in all four, we like our chances for survival as we explain in
Outcry.
6. "The climate and ecological crises cannot be solved within today's political and economic systems", the Swedish climate activist argues. "That isn't an opinion. That's a fact."
In Chapter 11 of Outcry, entitled
Earthonomics Replaces Capitalism,
we introduce a few new words and describe what they mean: Earthism, Earthocracy, and Earthonomics. We define the last one:
A way of keeping score on planet Earth that rewards all actions to improve the biosphere and punishes those actions that inflict damage. In this envisioned system, the actions of individuals and nations will be met with rewards or with punishments as appropriate.
7. Greta is shocked by the carbon-intensive lifestyles she saw in the US. "Apart from a few wind power plants and solar panels," she says, "there are no signs whatsoever of any sustainable transition, despite this being the richest country in the world."
That is exactly why, in Outcry, we chose the USA, which has the most wasteful and destructive lifestyle in the world, for the envisioned 3,000 mile, futuristic, ultra-green living corridor that we dubbed the Great Big Northern (GBN)
.
That visual appears in Chapter Seven, which also includes two pictures of Greta sitting alongside Outcry's co-author, Stuart Scott, in Sweden and in Poland in late 2018 -- right before Greta was to become one of, if not the, most famous and most-admired, teenager in the world.
8. Toward the end of the article, Greta stated "Doing our best is no longer good enough. We must now do the seemingly impossible. And that is up to you and me. Because no one else will do it for us.
In Chapter 9 of Outcry, we talk about the crucial importance of systemic change -- the kind of change that cannot be delivered by individual citizens. Only enlightened governments can make those kinds of changes. How do we enlighten them? By doing our best to get everyone in the world talking about it.
How can you help get that done? You can start by reading Outcry yourself and then encouraging others to do the same.
The Bottom Line.
We believe that it is possible, using today's technology, to design and build an entirely new human habitat that can totally replace the grossly unsustainable manner in which we are living now.
Toward that end, we must begin an urgent
conversation on the replacement of our civilization - a process that we believe is essential to our survival. To help jumpstart that process, I am now offering to conduct
Zoom conferences
free of charge for any group of six or more people.
In preparation for those sessions, I have developed a one-hour format consisting of an opening statement followed by a slide show, discussion and Q&A with the attendees. The sessions that you organize will be far more interesting and productive if attendees have read
Outcry in advance.
I look forward to my Zoom call with you and your group in the near future. Shoot me an email and let's get started.
PS:
Our book, for a host of environmental reasons, is
only available as an e-book on Amazon
. As such, it contains hyperlinks to hundreds of references and videos, it is less expensive and it does not have to be manufactured and delivered.
You can join my mailing list and/or find all of my previous postings by visiting the SOS Memos page on my website.
Here are a few of them where you can see how my vision has evolved since that first "creative idea" on 9-21-18:
As always, I am just trying to spark a global conversation about what is needed. By sharing a vision of what I believe is possible, I hope to influence others to think bigger, better and bolder.
********************
As for speaking, I continue to search for mainstream audiences who may have an interest in learning more about a realistically hopeful vision for our future - and their role in making that vision come true.
In the months ahead, I will continue to focus on the urgent need for a totally reinvented greening of our civilization - beginning with a model in the USA that could be applied globally over the next fifty years.
Upcoming talks
: There are lots of open dates on my calendar as my next scheduled public talk is
at
Camp Plant-Stock
in Black Mountain, NC, on August 15, a "live" week-end affair that has been converted into an online, virtual event instead.
As for the specifics of my topic, I invite you to
contact me directly
about how I might tailor my presentation to best suit an audience you may have in mind:
Universities,
churches, think-tanks, legislative bodies, environmental
organizations, alumni associations, leadership clubs, PTA's, family, neighbors
and/or civic groups who may appreciate a message of reality and hope for our future.
What else can you do to help?
Three things:
1. Live as greenly as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of "big picture" solutions that are crucially necessary for saving our civilization.
2. Share this BSB and my
"Mama Ain't Happy" BSB with prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials whom you respect. They need to learn a lot more about the many reasons why
Mama ain't happy.
3. Here are a few more GRATOLA-related blogs that you can share with your most powerful friends, leaders, journalists and movie producers.
Until next time, just remember...
Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.
This SOS Memo series was created by:
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
In the past two years, I have spoken at a
VegFest in
Fort Myers, at
vsh.org
in Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, the
College of the Holy Cross
in Worcester, MA, a
Plant Powered Manhattan
event in New York, at a lakeside health conference in
South Haven, Michigan, in Buffalo, NY, at the
University of Scranton, at Dr.
Fuhrman's
Golden Gate Health Getaway
in California and at the
Healthy World Sedona Health and Sustainability Conference in AZ.
To schedule a presentation at a venue near you, please contact me at
[email protected]
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