Discuss: Multiplication Saves the Day

I hope the Obama Presidency will bring an ear of effective and responsive government. I think it will.  Obama appears to be strong willed and decisive, but wise and open to new ideas.  While he spoke a lot about “clean coal,” he also spoke about solar and wind power. The key is to keep the pressure on him thru the media. Letters to the local papers, elected officials at the national, state, and local politicians. A phone call is better than a letter, and the best thing is to run for office.

Project Laundry List, of which Bill has been an advisory board member for a decade, is priming the pump for a movement. The Wall Street Journal called our Right to Dry efforts a green movement. Sign the petition at http://www.right2dry.org and get a clothesline on The White House lawn. That is symbolism that will change the world.

Oh, my! How naively charming. Can it be that progressive activists still believe that real change will come if we but pressure and cajole the government (bought and paid for by corporate America, including Obama who took a hard right turn in order to get elected) into doing the right thing?

I walked with Bill McKibben two years ago and I’ve appreciated his books, but neither personal lifestyle incremental (additive) change nor national or global political (multiplicative) change is going to carry us into a new and sustainable paradigm.

The problem is not that we’ve got the math wrong, it’s that we’ve propagated exponentially since the agricultural revolution 5,000 years ago and we continue to believe that some permutation of new technology and enlighted leadership is going to bring us to the promised land.

The change that will restore us (not save us) is an inward spiritual shift of consciousness. There is evidence that such a shift is in the offing, and it’s true that it requires only a small part of a community to “seed” a global change in the whole (the hundredth monkey phenomenon).

But a restoration of balance in the Earth’s living ecology will occur largely in spite of us, not because of us. It will not be a vast network of clothelines (or the WWW) that will weave a new world order, but rather a webwork of awakened souls participating selflessly in the Great Dance.

In addition to the action ideas mentioned by Bill, people should also consider getting involved in one of the 200+ grassroots around the country that have already succeeded in blocking over 80 coal plants and promoting climate friendly-alternatives. A full list can be found here:
http://coalswarm.org

When you spoke at Bioneers this year and had everyone text message Obama, and then asked that everyone send you their contact lists to help build 350.org, we all heard a collective groan from the audience.  “Not my personal contact list!” That’s so politically incorrect, many people seemed to be saying.  And therein lies the rub. Very few folks are willing to do politics with our neighbors, friends, or families.  This past eight years has psychologically traumatized whole swaths of the population even more than we were before.  Very few are willing to be nonviolent warriors for the planet, much less their own backyards. Obama sure isn’t supporting civil disobedience -  which is what it’s going to take to solve not only global warming but all the other challenges we currently face, just like the civil right movement, etc.

Bill doesn’t give us his actual carbon footprint nor mention that Native Energy carbon offsets purchased by Orion don’t go for wind turbunes, but to subsidize a BeefUSA award winning dairy operation’s methane digester, promoting sales of cheaper beef products. Nor does he mention how Big Oil money wends its way into Orion reportage (covered-up by the editors). Is investment-banker founded Orion a front? Open discussion is long overdue.

Given that only 5% of the population taking action is sufficient, what if I don’t want to be part of that 5% believing that there are enough people in the US who will take action to add up to that 5%? Or is this some kind of reverse psychology to get more people to be part of that 5%, thus exceeding that 5% manifold? :)

Fantastic read! Thank you for stirring the passion inside.  I just completed the 300-page 100% recycled book The Complete Guide to Energy Conservation for Smarties that is intended for all those folks needing direction.  There are flocks of lambs that will follow in one cohesive group if led and if they understand the significance. The passionate 5% are the leaders.  Speak up. Give explicit instructions.  Tell your friends and family exactly what you want them to do.  Remind, reiterate, and recap expectations again and again.

After years of practice as a nurse practitioner, I know most people cannot even formulate a question when puzzled.  Those passionate 5% out there must not wait for individuals to ask for help, or for them to ask ‘what they should do’.  We must take control, speak with authority and give an absolute plan for them to follow.
 
Political involvement is one of the most important strategies for change. Squeaky doors get grease.  Every important change in this country from civil rights, womens rights has started from the bottom up including last weeks election.  The election alone can’t make change happen.  We all must shout together and often. So, give information, telephone numbers, email addresses, rallies directions, discussions groups, arrange car pools, and do whatever it takes to move the people in the right direction.