Wednesday, August 17, 2011

One Giant Leap for Humankind


















Take heed unto Paul Gilding's The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World (Bloomsbury Press, 2011): "So this is your story. There is no one else. We are the people we've been waiting for. This is the time. This is our time" (page 8).

And again: ". . . humanity, the economy, and the planet's ecosystem operate as a single interdependent system and . . . this system is in serious trouble" (page 30).  

My question: on a personal basis, now what?  Shall we "go with the flow" and see what happens, responding as necessary, or shall we try to think into the future, planning ahead?  On a practical level, what will each of us do from this moment onward?  Same old, same old, or something radically different?  

So far, I've put a lot more thought into cuisine, shifting consiederably into seeking more organic vegan meals. Not in a dogmatic way, but in a moderate way. One has to start somewhere. Water is another basic consieration. So is air. The old status quo of "unlimited economic growth" is over. Certain political candidates may promise $2/gallon gasoline or aim to "pray away" droughts and disasters and economic turmoil, but I wouldn't count on their vision or actions to be very helpful. Talk is cheap and nonessential, but basic essentials like air and water are not cheap any longer.

Today's Rune: Defense.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the century when everything comes to an end, thanks to all of us.

JC

Charles Gramlich said...

Unfortunately, the situation is so complicated that most people simply won't be able to plan for the future with any degree of reasonableness.

Drizel said...

We are very lucky in South Africa that you can still drink water out of a tap, most cities in the world cant do that. We have a add here for Saving water....it says that the next war will be over water. I can think it to be true....humans are wasteful.

Luma Rosa said...

We will be in the future what we do today. If we look for quality of life, certainly in the future we will have a better quality of life, than those who do not think and act about it. But if we think as a world community, what we do good, nothing will be if other people do wrong, so we are responsible in helping to change mindsets. From when we wake up we are responsible for the volume of water that came out of the faucet to wash his face, for example.
Bom fim de semana! Beijus,

Erik Donald France said...

Thanks y'all for the comments. They will go off into space long after we're here, no doubt . . .

Much appreciated, cheers ~~