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ultimate priorities?

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by Bob Allen, May 7, 2007.

  1. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    As avidly as I support Hybrid technologies, solar power, biodiesel and the whole renewable energy enterprise, I keep getting this near subliminal mantra running through my mind: all we are doing is trying to maintain our current lifestyles in "environmentally friendly" ways, and that isn't enough.

    We need to question the lifestyle itself.

    My partner and I watched a documentary about the "Pachamama Alliance". In a nutshell: the Pachamama Indians of Ecuador became aware that their pristine 880,000 acre primeval rain forest was in danger from big oil companies working with the Ecuadoran government. Realizing that they alone could not cope with the threat, they contacted sympathetic white folks skilled in environmental action to help them out. For their part, the Anglos realized that the Pachamama were the best possible protectors of this forest, so, rather than try to supplant the Pachamama leadership, they taught the Pachamama basic negotiating skills, and technological skills to help them. The native folks learned word processing, had two way radios set up so they could communicate over the vast distances involved; they learned how to organize data and present arguments in courts. The Pachamama also learned to develop the economic potential of the rain forest (eco tourism, etc) in ways that both allowed it to generate income and to continue in its pristine condition.

    There was an initial success in that the government put on hold plans to exploit the rain forest, but the long term issues have yet to get resolved.

    When asked what they (the Anglos) could do, one Pachamama elder said, simply, "change your dream".
    Simply put, the Pachamama realized that the threat to their habitat arose from the wanton, mindless over-consumption of the West.

    We need to change our dream. The short term goal may be to get 50+ mpg out of our cars, but the long term question implies that we need to rethink the whole "ownership" mindset of our society and our relentless search for happiness through consumerism.

    The question posed by the Pachamama elder and the recent mass shootings, to me, are not unrelated. We have a materially over saturated / spiritually undersaturated culture. Our religious institutions do not begin to address the problem because their collection plates would dry up if they challenged our comfort too much.

    I find it hard to accept this although I know it's true. What's hard is that the sacrifices have to come from each of us (myself, e.g.) and not "everyone else". First thing I did was cancel the bulk of a road trip planned from Seattle to SF for June.
     
    #1 Bob Allen, May 7, 2007
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    This is EXACTLY what I mean when I say we have to change our stories we enact. I try to explain this nearly every day but a lot of people do not understand or are not ready to understand, or worse yet, do not care to understand. I even described the idea of "comfort" to a politcal science class last week. I told them that so many of us fear sustainability because we think we will live in discomfort. I said, what most don't realize is that we can actively change our perception of comfort. I used to think it would be "uncomfortable" to sell my big house and Corvette yet after changing my mind about what is really important in life and what level of comfort I am willing to live with, I was able to sell those things and stop buying so much crap that I didn't need. Am I uncomfortable? Not at all. In fact, I am more comfortable without those things. It all came down to a change of mind. As David W. Orr said "The first change that needs to take place is between our ears".

    There are a number of books that touch on this subject but the first and foremost is "Ishmael" ~ Daniel Quinn.

    If you are interested I can post up a list of books, authors and speakers/professors who promote this change in idealogies and worldview towards one of global sustainability.
     
    #2 F8L, May 7, 2007
  3. jimmyrose

    jimmyrose Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(F8L @ May 7 2007, 08:02 PM) [snapback]437177[/snapback]</div>
    Go for it.

    P.S. Like the new avatar...
     
    #3 jimmyrose, May 7, 2007
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ May 7 2007, 05:57 PM) [snapback]437204[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks :)

    Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit
    by Daniel Quinn

    My Ishmael
    by Daniel Quinn

    The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late
    by Thom Hartmann

    The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention
    by David W. Orr

    Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure
    by Daniel Quinn

    The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
    by Dalai Lama (Author), Howard C. Cutler (Author)

    These are a few of the books I can think of right off the top of my head. Of them I think the most influential are "Ishmael" and "The Nature of Design". Both books really helped me refocus my intentions. Here is descirption of both books:

    Ishmael:
    Before proceeding Ishmael lays some ground definitions for his student so they can be on the same page as they continue to discuss. He defines:

    "Takers" as people often referred to as "civilized." Particularly, the culture born in an Agricultural Revolution that began about 10,000 years ago in the Near East; the culture of Ishmael's pupil
    "Leavers" as people of all other cultures; sometimes referred to as "primitive."
    A "story" as an interrelation between the gods, man, and the Earth, with a beginning, middle, and end.
    To "enact" is to strive to make a story come true.
    A "culture" as a people who are enacting a story
    Ishmael proceeds to tease from his pupil the premises of the story being enacted by the Takers: that they are the pinnacle of evolution (or creation), that the world was made for man, and that man is here to conquer and rule the world. This rule is meant to bring about a paradise, as man increases his mastery of the world, however, he's always screwed it up because he is flawed. Man doesn't know how to live and never will because that knowledge is unobtainable. So, however hard he labors to save the world, he is just going to go on screwing it up.

    Ishmael points out to his student that when the Takers decided there is something fundamentally wrong with humans, they took as evidence only their own culture's history- "They were looking at a half of one-percent of the evidence taken from a single culture-- Not a reasonable sample on which to base such a sweeping conclusion."

    Ishmael says:

    "There's nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at odds with the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact, in which they are the lords of the world, they will act as the lords of the world. And, given a story to enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered they will conquer it like a foe, and one day, inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now."


    The Nature of Design:
    The environmental movement has often been accused of being overly negative--trying to stop "progress." The Nature of Design, on the other hand, is about starting things, specifically an ecological design revolution that changes how we provide food, shelter, energy, materials, and livelihood, and how we deal with waste. Ecological design is an emerging field that aims to recalibrate what humans do in the world according to how the world works as a biophysical system. Design in this sense is a large concept having to do as much with politics and ethics as with buildings and technology. The book begins by describing the scope of design, comparing it to the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Subsequent chapters describe barriers to a design revolution inherent in our misuse of language, the clockspeed of technological society, and shortsighted politics. Orr goes on to describe the critical role educational institutions might play in fostering design intelligence and what he calls "a higher order of heroism." Appropriately, the book ends on themes of charity, wilderness, and the rights of children. Astute yet broadly appealing, The Nature of Design combines theory, practicality, and a call to action.
     
    #4 F8L, May 7, 2007
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Video conferences that promote sustainability and talk about a revolutionary change in the way we view the world and our place in it. How this can positively effect our local communities, the nation and the world.

    Paul Hawken     Click on "multimedia" then chose to view one of the Bioneers 2006 formats. It might be a bit soft for some but I feel what he has to say rings with truths and spiritual connectivity. Zen, you'll like this one. :)

    David Korten - Speaking at a vetrans for peace meeting. Wonderful information/ideas on our current global problems.

    Fritjof Capra - sustainability and systemic thinking


    If you are really interested in this stuff try to catch a Bioneers event or go to the Bioneers website and you can purchase MP3 files from radio shows and prior Bioneers conferences. There is so much good information out there.
     
    #5 F8L, May 7, 2007
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