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Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: "Mike Nickerson, Inviting Debate" <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: "Bear River Sessions" cont.
Greetings Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance:
Jan has asked for brief introductions.
>What are you/your group involved in?
Guideposts for a Sustainable Future, (the Sustainability
Project) is involved in clarifying the choice which our societies
have to make this generation:
Do we seek solution to life's challenges through perpetual
economic expansion or by pursuing sustainable relationships
with the Earth and our communities?
This question is spelled out in Internet detail at:
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/Question/Question.shtml
Our most recent opportunity is the "7th Generation Bill"
initiative which aims to put together and promote a Private
Members Bill that our M.P. Joe Jordan is committed to presenting
in the Canadian House of Commons.
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/well-being.shtml
>How did the work get started?
It started with a four year study of what people felt is
important enough to work on for free or not-for-profit. The outline
of sustainability below was the summary of that study. We didn't
know it meant sustainability at the time, but it was later pointed out
and has served as a useful definition of common cause ever since.
Sustainable activities:
1 - use materials in continuous cycles.
2 - use continuously reliable sources of energy.
3 - come mainly from the qualities of being human
(i.e. creativity, communication, movement, appreciation,
and spiritual and intellectual development).
Non sustainable activities:
4 - require continual inputs of non-renewable resources.
5 - use renewable resources faster than their rate of renewal.
6 - cause cumulative degradation of the environment.
7 - require resources in quantities that undermine other people's well-being.
8 - lead to the extinction of other life forms.
>What have you learned from your work?
We have an enormous task ahead of us to which all
inspired actions contribute. Each individual that recognizes
the choice we face and comes to understand the
social/environmental foundation of sustainability, adds weight
to our side of the balance. When enough people comprehend the
options, the balance will tip in favour of long-term well-being.
>Where do you see your work heading?
The "7th Generation Bill" process offers an excellent
medium for reaching people. Most of my energy for the next couple
of years will likely be spent making the most out of this opportunity.
The permaculture camp we are developing is another focus.
We can only see so far into the future. By building what we perceive
and standing there to look ahead, we should be able to see further.
In the mean time, establishing domestic ecosystems where nutrients
are maintained in perpetuable cycles and the sun heats our buildings
is the essence of security. Or so it seems to me.
for more detail see:
bio: http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/Bio.html
A Strategy for Environmental Recovery
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/Strategy.shtml
Why We Will Succeed:
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/Question/succeed.shtml
the Three 'R' S.P.
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain/RRRSP.shtml
Looking toward our synergistic impact.
Yours, Mike N.
http://www.cyberus.ca/choose.sustain
Sustainability Project - Inviting Debate
P.O. Box 374, Merrickville, Ontario
K0G 1N0
(613) 269-3500
e-mail: •••@••.•••
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Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Introduction
>What are you/your group involved in?
My main on-the-ground project is setting up a "London Human Rights Forum",
which will be based around an annual programme of monthly lectures on three
main themes: 'the individual & society', 'global economics', and 'holistic
perspectives'. I'm hoping that Noam Chomsky will agree to give the inaugral
lecture next February, and Susan George & Helena Norberg-Hodge will give
presentations later in the year. I anticipate a discussion group forming
out of the lecture series, and potentially conferences, seminars, retreats
etc.
On the .net I'm list administrator for a recently formed political
discussion list which aims to identify the core political & economic
principles of a 'new civilization'.
>How did the work get started?
After joining Amnesty International in '95, I took on the role of
organizing human rights adult education evening courses and the idea for a
Forum gradually evolved from this. The realisation that the global economic
system is a major cause of human rights abuse has steadily drawn me towards
radical politics. Before this I spent 25 years on a 'spiritual path',
including 4 years in an intentional community in the north of Ireland.
>What have you learned from your work?
It's early days yet, but the support we've received for the Forum
(including a £1,000 grant from a Marxist trust fund) suggests that we're
heading in the right direction. Adopting a grounded, pragmatic,
business-like approach seems to be a sound policy.
>Where do you see your work heading?
Right now I'm just taking it as it comes. What I _hope_ is that we can
somehow create a way of living on this earth that is just and fair to all,
genuinely democratic, sustainable, and respectful to Gaia.
One thing that does seem clear to me is that we are participating in some
kind of evolution of consciousness. In my view, our highest purpose is to
nurture this process, and our future social, economic and political systems
will need to have this 'transpersonal' perspective in mind.
Paul
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Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: •••@••.••• (John Lowry)
Subject: Re: ... - Movement Paradigm
Richard, great work. I am begining to see our economic situation in a new
way, and I think the question is, 'how can we celebrate our success.' As a
matter of fact, the ingenuity of our species has overcome the basic economic
condition we inherited -- scarcity. The socio-political problems we face
today largly result from staying too long in institutions designed to cope
with scarcity, when the fact of material abundance is quite clear. Perhaps
a political movement that celebrated this extraordinary accomplishment could
also, through better distributive systems, empower the indivuals who compose
society to ponder what we might do next. -John
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Create a sane and livable world
in vibrant democratic societies.
Bring corporate globalization under control.
CITIZENS FOR A DEMOCRATIC RENAISSANCE
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http://cyberjournal.org
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