Changes everywhere.

Well--there's been another long gap, lots of changes for me and for the Earth, plus I read another book that hooked my attention and offered inspiration--so here we go again!

The book that offered inspiration is WHAT TO DO WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN (and it's always your turn) by Seth Godin.

I recommend Seth's innovative effort highly and warn you that the messages touch every part of your life--business, spirituality, leisure and the full gamut of relationships. I printed out my Mastermind goal sheet and tucked it in the back to remind myself not to limit focus--on Climate Change or anything else.

Of course, I've read other books recently--always reading, sometimes learning.

Recently, Naomi Klein http://www.naomiklein.org/main produced a book entitled This Changes Everything. It has received generally positive attention and is selling well. Some reviews of her book are interesting in their own right-----most agree that Naomi covers important new ground and new perspectives are explored. Some reviewers note the lack of a definite path to sustainability in the concluding pages. Others are negative about prospects for creating critical change, unless a major deconstruction of the world's political and economic foundation is successful---in the relatively near future.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/17/naomi-klein-s-this-changes-everything-will-change-nothing.html

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/22/why-global-warming-skeptics-are-wrong/?insrc=rel

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27226-climate-crisis-the-deindustrialization-imperative-and-the-jobs-vs-environment-dilemma

More recently, The New Climate Economy was published by The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate   http://newclimateeconomy.net/content/global-commission. This 300+ page report takes a more optimistic position suggesting that economic growth and addressing climate change are not incompatible. Most importantly, land use is a key element in the discussion (more on that coming up in subsequent posts). 

If you haven't read these publications, please do--they are thought provoking. 

My own opinion is that the kind of proximal change needed to avert climate disaster is dependent on MANY individuals making relatively modest alterations in their decisions, based on new perceptions of the Earth and their interaction with it. That can happen very quickly and the aggregate impact could be quite significant. I've expressed that view before--but here's a new wrinkle. 

One of the obstacles to achieving that sort of change is that NONE of the present paths proposed to address Climate Change shows a strong chance of leading to actual success at attaining sustainability. Does anyone think AB32 is THE answer to a sustainable future? It's captured the attention of many in California for nearly 10 years, but the premises within are out of date and in many cases irrelevant. 

The negativity that surrounds most current writing on climate change adds to the growing feeling that there is NO solution to this accelerating problem. Heaping ominous data on the growing stack, partly to "convince" those who deny Climate Change (and how's that effort working out???) only fuels futility among the very populations that should be receptive to making modest lifestyle changes for the sake of future generations of humans and other living things.  

Where does that leave us? People will indeed walk a difficult path that involves some sacrifice --- if they believe that path really leads to a worthy destination. Extending the life of the planet that we all occupy as a suitable habitat for ourselves must surely rank as a worthy destination!

That leaves creating the path! 

That may sound simple, but there's a flip side. Do those who have the knowledge and determination to create that special path truly believe that sufficient numbers among the populations of the world would follow it for enough time to produce a sustainable future? 

There's a clear need for increased mutual faith, respect and cooperation in this matter. It is also clear than not meeting that need creates risk beyond reason, although we are presently playing on that very landscape of probability. 

Next blog I'll delve into some of the messages in Seth's book and why they are particularly apropos to these times.