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@econologics – sustainable balance in our social & economic circle of life!
ecoNVERGE – inspire ● balance ● harmony
Think, lead and act without the box!
We change the way we LIVE! – We change the way of LIFE!
Around the world, we are seeing the emergence of creative alternatives to destructive economic paradigms. The good news is what is healthy for an ecosystem is also good for people: key ingredients are localization and regionalism. The best economic and environmentally sound solutions are place-based, diverse according to region, and are responsive to local communities and social needs. Instead of fearing a transition to an Earth Community Economy, we can support and enjoy local organic food, vibrant local businesses, a healthy local economy, jobs with justice and the development of clean decentralized energy. I’m not talking about utopias, but rather regenerative, functional, local communities.
The “Rights of Nature” approach promotes a structure of law that recognizes that our living planet has rights of its own. If a Rights of Nature legal framework were implemented, activities that harm the ability of ecosystems and natural communities to thrive and naturally restore themselves, would be in legal violation of nature’s rights.
The Rights of Mother Earth framework recognizes the inherent meaning, sacredness, and value of the natural world: that which is not tradable or subject to commerce.
These rights along with respecting human rights are what being civil means.
“Our life-giving rivers, forests, and mountains are treated as property to be sold and consumed,” the author writes. “In our legal systems, because nature is property, it is invisible to courts.”
Countering the Market-Driven Economy:
All of these actions herald not simply a declaration of new rights in the traditional sense, but a new consciousness of the Earth as a living organism with which we as humans must coexist. In order to live in harmony with the Earth and to halt the most destructive aspects of our modern life, we need to advance a new economy based on the carrying capacity of our Earth and finite planetary boundaries. Recognizing that nature has rights can inform and help to legally re-enforce principles that counter a solely market-driven economy, thereby fostering a new sort of sustainable economy—an “Earth Community Economy,” if you will—based on respect for natural laws and governance systems that uphold the rights and needs of nature in balance with the rights and needs of humans.
This way of thinking globally takes into account and includes the entirety of the Earth Community: human communities together with ecosystem communities of river, forest, desert, ocean, mountain—and all that those imply. There is room for growth of understanding as well as the health and prosperity of each community over time, if we act without further delay.
A Framework to Support Human Well-Being:
Rights of Nature legislation will encourage the formulation and implementation of new economic structures and indicators such as Gross National Happiness, Genuine Progress Indicator, Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, and others that do not rely upon GDP as the only true or acceptable metric. We must question defining worth, wealth, value, and well-being based on only the measuring of money and quantities of material goods. The vital force of life itself and human happiness cannot be forced into a monetary system; they do not equate. In the language of the “new bottom line” put forward by the Network of Spiritual Progressives in its mission statement, we are called to evaluate our social and economic institutions “not only to the extent that they maximize money and power, but also by how much they maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological sensitivity, and our capacity to respond with awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation.”
At the core of our global societal and environmental crises is a need to change our fundamental personal values and what we uphold as meaningful in our lives. When we honestly look at the level of systemic change now required to meet the urgency of our time, we can see that personal transformation and changing how we are living on the earth is critical to mitigating our global crises.
Working Toward an “Earth Community Economy”:
We must change the way we think about what an economy is for, and how we measure it. Today, we measure economic well-being using flawed instruments such as the GDP. Yet even the generation and dumping of toxic waste is part of the GDP—a wildly inaccurate measure of progress. We must begin to develop new metrics like the Gross National Happiness Index, which assesses economic performance based on the health and well-being of people living in balance with each other and nature.
Cultures living close to the Earth have shown a balanced way of life quite unlike newer, consumer-driven notions of simply having more. “Living well” in the Kichwa language of the Indigenous people of Ecuador, is called sumak kawsay; in Spanish, it is buen vivir. The Buryat people of the Lake Baikal region express it this way: “To live a life of honor is to live with tegsh,” meaning to live in appreciation and balance with all of life. An Earth Community Economy envisions a future that has not come from enslaving Nature and treating all other life as mere resources for human exploitation and unchecked material growth.
While a Rights of Nature framework does not solve all of our daunting problems, it does offer a foundation upon which healthy economic principles and sustainability can be built. Advocating for a systemic economic alternative that balances the rights of human communities with the rights of ecosystems should be at the heart of all international sustainable development and climate negotiations. As we look to completely transform our responsibilities and relationship with the natural world, this Earth Community Economy based on Rights of Nature is an idea and a necessity whose time is now.
Find Your Inner Mandela: A Tribute and Call to Action!
HBR – Find Your Inner Mandela: A Tribute and Call to Action
Don’t just mourn Nelson Mandela. Learn to be Nelson Mandela.
He was the consummate turnaround leader.
He knew that he was an icon and shaped a culture for others. His goal was to change behavior, not only laws. The head of what was then Daimler Chrysler South Africa, who had returned to his native South Africa after apartheid ended, motivated a hostile, unproductive black work force by engaging with them in their dream of building a Mercedes for Mandela. This was all about culture, not about financial incentives. People raised their aspirations because Mandela encouraged them.
He also understood the power of forgiveness. Despite 27 years in prison, he emerged with his sense of justice intact — but no discernible bitterness. He maintained his faith in people no matter what, that people would come right in the end, he said.
Mandela’s legacy is larger than racial justice and more widespread than his country or continent. His legacy lies in the lessons about leadership he left for all of us. We can pay tribute by channeling him: Discouraged because things don’t break your way? Consider Mandela’s 27 years in prison. Unwilling to give up the perqs of power? Recall Mandela’s no-more-than-five-years promise. Tempted to crush the competition, eviscerate enemies, or publicly humiliate those who make mistakes? Find your inner Mandela, forgive, and move on.
Once Upon a Tragedy: A PhotoStory of When Haiyan Struck the Philippines
– by Carla Marez Peruelo (Wannabe)
#YolandaPH #reliefPH #BangonPH #Visayas #Haiyan2121 #RebuildVISAYAS
by Carla Marez Peruelo
Blog: Wannabe – InkBlots and IceBergs
Original blog article: click the picture for URL
Once upon a time, somewhere between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea…
…there lay a unique archipelago named the Philippines.
• • •
It boasted of pristine-white beaches with clear blue waters…
…abundant natural resources found nowhere else in the world…
…and picturesque sunsets of the kind that’ll take your breath away.
• • •
But despite these stunning treasures, the Philippines hosts a people of notable humility and simplicity.
The Filipinos are a remarkable people. They are hard-working and resilient, patiently bearing the hardship of life…
…but they never forget to smile.
No matter what month of the year it is, there’s always a festivity somewhere in its 7,107 islands.
They are among the happiest people in the world…
…and indeed their smiles are among the most beautiful…
…the most authentic…
But as in all stories, it can’t be all smiles and peaceful days for the main characters; a stormy time has to come. Only, for this particular story, the “stormy time” is quite a literal one.
• • •
Supertyphoon Haiyan.
Believed to be one of the strongest typhoons ever — the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, packing estimated maximum sustained winds of 195 miles per hour — Typhoon Haiyan had the whole world on tenterhooks.
Unlike its fellow supertyphoons which have come and gone without causing much fuss (as they did not make landfall and simply contented themselves raining down upon vast oceans), Typhoon Haiyan wanted to be a show-off and decided that it had to make its presence felt on inhabited land.
At first, it wondered where it ought to go, and then something unique down South China Sea caught its eye (no pun intended).
Hmm, the Philippine archipelago, perhaps?
Thus Haiyan (local name Yolanda) rained down on the Philippines that fateful day.
Okay, so “rained down” is totally an understatement.
“Ravaged” seems to be the more fitting term. Entire cities were flattened in Samar and Leyte, the worst-hit parts of the country.
The Filipino people living in these worst-hit areas faced a terrible ordeal. The widespread devastation Haiyan brought upon Central Philippines was nothing short of apocalyptic.
Power and communication lines were cut off…
…and the damage and rubble extended to as far as any of them could see.
Transport vehicles were destroyed.
But even if our jeeps weren’t destroyed, asked Juan, where would we use them? The roads are unpassable.
And even if the roads were passable, added Pedro, where would we go?
Certainly, we have no office today…or for quite some time.
We have no class.
We have no market day.
We don’t even have a roof…
…and in fact, we have no home.
We have but a small bundle of scavenged things…
…but we have lost more than our possessions.
We have lost our community.
We have lost lives.
Where do we go from here?
• • •
The Filipino people cried desperately for help.
No sooner had the Filipinos called, when the world was quick to respond, “We are here. We will help.”
And bit by bit, the Filipino could smile again.
Hope was born amidst a sea of hopeless destruction…
…and the Filipinos could only be grateful for the great helping hand of the world’s nations that pledged and delivered aid…
…and look up to the warm generosity with which the rest of humanity embraced it.
As much as a happily-ever-after would sound good right about now, the real story dictates another plot twist. The outpouring of help from both within and outside the Philippines did not manage to easily flow into the hollow vessel Haiyan bore into the middle of the country.
As days passed, the country began to speculate on why only trickles were making their way out of a full pitcher when so many glasses needed to be filled.
The Filipino people were divided on the issue.
Was it lack of organization and incompetence in leadership?
Or are we expecting too much and being too hard on the government?
The rest of the Filipinos wondered and debated and thought some more, while those badly afflicted could only hold on to hope that help would come sooner than the hooded black figure with a scythe.
• • •
Meanwhile, a few other matters were irking Filipinos.
Philippine broadcaster Korina Sanchez, wife of DILG Sec. Mar Roxas, clashed with CNN’s Anderson Cooper didn’t know what he was talking about
Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay earned the wrath of the Filipino people when relief goods for Haiyan-hit areas were boldly stamped with his name
Korina Sanchez also received additional backlash when netizens spotted her name imprinted on these slippers donated for Haiyan victims
But such issues of political gimmickry, attempts to protect the government’s image, and finger-pointing battles between the LGUs and the national government are, as Anderson Cooper would put it, “all just kind of a bizarre side show.“ Cooper continues, “The only thing that matters is what’s happening on the ground, and is aid getting to people who need it most?”
That is indeed the right question to ask. And while individual civilians can only do (and rage) so much to help in the relief efforts and try to hasten the delivery of aid to the needy, there’s no denying that in the aftermath of this tragedy, we saw no shortage of inspiring acts of altruism and kindness by people from all walks of life, from all across the globe.
With the outpouring of such help and support from a world that no longer recognizes borders in times of calamity, of heroic acts of volunteerism and sacrifice, and even of small yet touching acts of kindness, the Filipino people is bound to pull through. After all, their resilience is unmatched…
…their fire to survive no matter what the odds cannot be quenched by any typhoon…
…their well of optimism goes deep…
…their faith is strong…
…their sense of humor even in difficult times is unparalleled…
…and their smiles are still among the best.
Their flag may currently be worn and torn in some places, but they continue to raise it up.
As the world joins the country in clearing out the debris of the Haiyan aftermath…
…in rebuilding homes and lives…
…in contributing small acts of kindness that snowball to great change…
…and in lighting hope amidst darkness…
…the Filipino people will once again rise up, smiling.
Because typhoon or no typhoon…
…this people knows how to bear hardship and uphold incredible resilience in daily life.
Such is the story of the Filipinos as a people, lived out in day-to-day battle, and only challenged and highlighted by the great tragedy that made the rest of the world shudder to even witness.
A happy-ever-after is not near in sight, and the story of the Filipino people’s recovery from the devastation brought by Supertyphoon Haiyan is far from over. But this story will not have to end in a tragic scene, either.
¨
The flattened cities in Central Philippines — in Leyte, Samar, and others — will rise up again. Their wiping out was catastrophic, but it brings the potential of a clean slate for a fresh start. Hope is not lost. Amidst all the rubble, the Filipino flag will continue to unfurl proud and strong, with no hesitation in its wave and no hiding of its sun…
For as beautiful and picturesque as its sunsets are, the Philippines’ sunrise is even more majestic. No matter how many earthquakes rock its beds and no matter how many typhoons lash out at it, every morning, the sun still rises to smile down on this country…
…Or more probably, the sun only reflects the smile the Filipino people has for the world, every single time it rises to face another day.
From Money & Life interview with evolution biologist and futurist Elisabet Sahtouris
“Why do you stay in your prison, while the door is so wide open!” – Elisabet Sahtouris
We are living in a huge choice era!
Think global, act local – glocal approach!
In her unique approach, called “Living Systems Design,” she applies the principles of biology and evolution to organizational development so that organizations may become more functional, healthy living systems, with increased resilience, stability, and cooperation. She wrote “Earth Dance: Living Systems in Evolution.”
Ecology and Economy are both household terms (Greek roots), where as economy relates to the rules of the household and ecology relates to the organization of the household. Therefore they should never be separated as they should go hand in hand.
Nature has millions of years of experience of its closed loop ecosystem. Our economics has to be adapted to that valuable non-waste, learning from the science of nature.
Elisabet demonstrates clearly how economics and financial systems can equally balance as would nature and our own body balance its evolution through constant cooperation and collaboration, sometimes competition. However that competition turns into negotiation, turning competition in friendly creativity.
Taking people and nations to the level of cooperation and collaboration is our true task in human evolution.
The internet is the largest living entity – not of a combination of computers, but of people driving the content and the collaborative dialogue and knowledge sharing.
The transition to a mature collaborative society is happening like the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, into a total new society, going through a harsh transition (crisises and chaos).
This transition is essential, though frightening, we have the capacity to transform. Humanity will get through that evolution becoming more and more cooperative and create a new human society with different approaches to economics.
There is a lot of work, starting with unlearning and learning new ways of how we live, work and consume. Mainly the Western world needs to adapt, away from our developed mis-values and lacking education about resilience building and creativity during crisis and chaos.
Each individual has to take their responsibility up and act within that transition narrative, rolling-up your sleeves and engaging with local communities and making more use of arriving advanced technologies.
We can also learn from inventive ancient ways of how to withstand the impossible!
Even our democracy system should go back to its roots: for example choosing leaders through wisdom.
We have to create economics that serve the well-being of all people and creatures on earth, through being more pro-active and adjust our education system.
We need to go to a gifted economy using gifted currency, in which we value each other and our gifts we offer in building the new phase in humanity. We are building it but we are limited because we still deal with the debt-based economy. This is part of the Transition Narrative, but it is up to the new generations to fasten the process, using their new ways of doing things through the experience we are building today in the new socio-economic models.
We can make the Transition Narrative happen through building an economy based on motivation and our capacities, not on debt! A community owned economy based on relationships – a living system!
The problem with capitalism originates between our ears!
– by Otto Scharmer of Theory-U and Presencing Institute brings the best-ever overview of requirements of the Transition Narrative (ecoNVERGE / @ Econologics) for humanity to evolve to a new Paradigm Shift.
The root cause of today’s global crises originates between our ears
Profound personal, societal and global renewal is not only possible; it is crucial for our planetary future. What is needed are change makers willing to lead from the emerging future; leaders who are willing to learn about and practice the journey from ego-system to eco-system economies. We have the places, living examples, frameworks and tools in hand. Now what we need is the co-creative vision and the common will to bringing it into reality.
10 insights from our new book Leading From the Emerging Future: From Ego-system to Eco-system Economies
We live in an age of profound disruption. Global crises, such as finance, food, fuel, water, resource scarcity and poverty challenge just about every aspect of society. Yet, this disruption also brings the possibility of profound personal, societal and global renewal. We need to stop and ask: Why do we collectively create results nobody wants? What keeps us locked into the old ways of operating? And what can we do to transform these root issues that keep us trapped in the patterns of the past?
1) The root cause of today’s global crises originates between our ears — in our outdated paradigms of economic thought
A structural disconnect between:
Three Levels: Symptoms; Systemic Disconnects; Paradigms of Economic Thought
2) The blind spot of modern economic thought can be summarized with a single word: consciousness
3) The evolution of the economy and of modern economic thought mirrors the footprints of an evolving human consciousness
The stages of economic development that come with them:
4) To paraphrase Einstein, the problem with today’s capitalism is that we are trying “to solve problems with the same consciousness that created them”
5) Helping stakeholder systems shift their way of operating from ego-system to eco-system awareness is the central leadership challenge of our time
6) The shift from ego-system to eco-system awareness requires a journey that involves walking in the shoes of other stakeholders and attending to the three instruments of inner knowing: open mind, open heart, and open will
Theory U: One Process, Three Instruments (Open Mind, Open Heart, Open Will)
The effectiveness of accessing these three instruments depends on the ability to deal with the sources of resistance (“three enemies”):
7) Addressing the current global crisis at its root calls for a 4.0 update of the economic operating system through reframing eight “acupuncture points” of the global economic system
They are:
Eight Acupuncture Points of Transforming Capitalism to 4.0
8) Shifting the system to 4.0 requires a threefold revolution
Inversion means turning inside-out and outside-in:
The Matrix of Social Evolution (all system levels, all structures of attention)
the three transformations for the individual (column 1), the relational (column 2) and the institutional inversion (column 3 and 4) in the form of a Matrix of Social Evolution that integrates all system levels (micro-meso-maco-mundo) and all structures of awareness (1.0 to 4.0).
9) We need new types of innovation infrastructures in order to build collective leadership capacities on a massive scale
These infrastructures will include:
10) The shift from an ego-system to an eco-system economy requires a global movement that needs to be supported by a new leadership school. That school should create collaborative platforms across sectors, systems, and generations and work through integrating science, art, and the practice of profound, awareness-based change
Such a new leadership school would be a home base for the emerging global movement of 4.0-related transformation journeys. At the same time, it would prototype a 21st century action university that integrates three forms of knowledge:
An Ego-2-Eco Transformation Leadership School—A Set of Global Acupuncture Points
Set of principles that are essential for this type of school and which are designed for global-local replication:
February 2013 report by retired geo-scientist J. David Hughes and published by the Post Carbon Institute which claims to debunk the possibility that unconventional fuels might turn the United States into an energy-independent petro-state.
The report forms the foundation for Heinberg’s new book, Snake Oil: How the Fracking Industry’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future
He talks about the implications of a fracking-fueled petro-boom from North Dakota to Pennsylvania that’s got U.S. energy executives crowing about abundant fossil-fuel-derived energy to last the next century or two.
It’s a claim that directly flouts the concept of peak oil—the point at which global petroleum production goes into terminal decline—and Heinberg’s assertion that growth (as we know it) is headed into irreversible decline.
“We’re really being sold a bill of goods,” Heinberg says, handing over a copy of the Hughes report, “Drill, Baby, Drill: Can Unconventional Fuels Usher in a New Era of Energy Abundance?” Using data provided by a Texas company called DI Desktop, which analyzed production data for 65,000 fracked wells from 31 shale plays, the report examines natural gas as a commodity. According to their findings, production rates at many of these sites are already in decline. Operators then must drill more and more to keep overall production steady, and with that comes increased energy needs, making the whole endeavor more expensive.
Aside from fracking, methane hydrates—the trapped natural gas molecules currently being scouted by Japanese research vessels and found in abundance on the sea floor—have been heralded as the next frontier. The speculative fossil-fuel goldmine forms the basis for Charles C. Mann’s May 2013 cover story for The Atlantic with the headline that declared, with the impact of a lightning storm in summer, “We Will Never Run Out of Oil.”
But then there’s the problem of net energy, Heinberg points out. “The vast majority of those resources we won’t burn for economic reasons,” Heinberg says, “because it just costs too much—not only investment capital, but it costs too much energy to get the stuff out of the ground to use it.” It’s a concept defined as EROEI—energy return on energy invested.
“As time has gone on and as I’ve studied the data, I’ve come to realize that it’s more of a process, not just falling off the cliff,” he explains.
Part of the process, for those not involved in the higher echelons of government and society where policy decisions are decided, is to live consciously.
Heinberg looks to be a man in his element, negotiating a careful balance between the heavy realization that life as we know it is headed for irrevocable change, and the simple joy of everyday living.
If humans look honestly at the crisis at hand, begin sharing, using less, being nice to each other, there’s no reason we can’t have a perfectly acceptable future, he tells me. But that means facing facts. To make a true transition, the technical piece would be relatively easy, he explains; it involves building lots of solar and wind, prioritizing electric rail and redesigning cites for walking and bicycling. Heinberg mentions his admiration of the Transition Town movement, which started in the United Kingdom and uses permaculture concepts to build resilience in communities to weather gracefully the coming economic and environmental upheavals.
Of most concern is whether the “fossil fuel” industry is successful in making people believe that there’s enough oil and gas to keep us going for another century, in the style in which we’ve become accustomed, he emphasizes. The oil boom in North Dakota (and elsewhere) is going to be short-lived, but it’s bought us some time—a few short years—to get to work on renewables.
“If we use that time—maybe it’s five or 10 years—to really invest in renewable energy and conservation, than so much the better,” he says. “But if we just take those five or 10 years and delay what we ultimately have to do anyway, at the end we’ll be in a much worse position than we already are.”
We will either ALL make it or NONE of us will make it !
The essential difference between CSR and sustainability, and how businesses have to urgently think long-term strategy in order to sustain existence!
How people can live in harmony with their environment has always been an issue.
People start to see that we will not be able to continue to live the way we have been living!
The way we live and in a time we are so connected, we are actually so disconnected from the reality.
For the first time in history of humanity, we are starting to be part of the earth system, people are shaping the planet!
Not only people but also the corporate world is accepting that a swift change is mandatory!
More and more businesses and societies are awakening to this historic challenge.
The big 3 systems that shape civilization:
– Food and water
– Energy and transport
– Materials footprint
Industries like the food sector will have to strategically change their story and adapt their strategy to remain in business.
The social and environmental imbalances are essential for strategic inclusion in business strategy.
When looking at water, the issues are even far greater then we can imagine. By 2030 overpopulated regions in China and India will not be able to provide clean water to 30 to 80% of their population in those regions.
Relative to the energy sector, we are facing a much tougher situation.
– Conservation and energy efficiency are not sufficiently to get our carbon footprint down
– Current RE-mix use is not enough to bring down the CO2 level from 400 to 300
– Reducing energy intensity (e.g.: China’s commitment 40% by 2020 and a reduction to growth expectation)
The material footprint of our consumer world is an embarrassment!
To support the lifestyle of an average person (US) it takes about 1MT of earth materials
95% of what we consume is wasted in the production process and in the end the product itself will get wasted as well.
We need to get away from the industrial linear economy to a circular economy – We need to look at how nature works. There is no waste in nature.
We need to generate value and reuse everything we take from Mother Nature
Most companies look first at Cost & risk reduction and process efficiency (energy, waste, …) to enable improved shareholder value
Next came – or is in process of realization – Reputation and Legitimacy: re-branding (greening the economy), CSR and sustainability reporting
But there is more we can do and we need to look at tomorrow – the future and the sustainability of our businesses, through:
Innovation and Repositioning:
– Innovators don’t always have a full business plan ready. They are driven by passion and know there is a business opportunity down the line
– To make progress companies and their leaders need to join together in collaboration
– spearhead the technology and bring to market with a long-term profitability strategy
Growth push and Trajectory:
– Collaborative Competition: competition = (from Latin) striving together
– Being involved and at the forefront guarantees companies for long term sustainability / existence (competitive market share)
– Think more long-term to be and remain competitive
We will either ALL make it or NONE of us will make it into the next century!
We will not just have to collaborate amongst competitors and industries, but also across borders.
End the use of fossil-based industry and consumer market!
To achieve the goals, we need to be or have an:
– Open mind
– Open heart
– Open will
by Resilience.org
Building a world of resilient communities
The current focus of environmentalism leaves little hope of successfully defeating the ecologically destructive political, economic, and cultural forces that undermine the very foundations of life. It will require a dramatic reboot if the movement is going to reverse Earth’s rapid transformation and help create a truly sustainable future—or at least help humanity get through the ugly ecological transition that most likely lies ahead.
Are Today’s Environmental Organizations Succeeding?
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-05-06/building-an-enduring-environmental-movement
Many campaigns focus on treating environmental problems rather than addressing their roots, and they typically do so in ways that fail to build an alternative vision for a species not in a permanent state of conflict with the planet.
What is more, most environmental organizations, including Worldwatch Institute, receive funding from affluent donors, foundations, and corporations that depend on a growing economy to keep their endowments robust enough to continue their philanthropy. Ironically, if environmental groups actually succeed in building a sustainable, equitable, steadystate economy, there is a good chance that their donors’ philanthropic giving would shrink as wealth is better distributed and as stock markets stop growing. And if environmentalists fail in their mission, there’s also a good chance the economy will contract: a 2012 report by DARA International projects that gross domestic product worldwide will shrink 3.2 percent a year by 2030 if climate change and air pollution are not dealt with. A shrinking economy is rarely a boon to philanthropy.
Getting from Vision to Reality!
The odds are that the state of the world is going to get really bad—and much sooner than we think. Reports about the fallout from climate change alone make it clear that the twenty-first century is unlikely to follow a linear path of more growth, more progress, more “development.” There are probably going to be major political, social, and economic disruptions, a flood of failing states, the dislocation of millions of people. Will people in environmental organizations simply close their doors as things unravel, as their funding dries up, and turn instead to simply surviving—taking any job still available in order to feed their families? Who will serve as a voice for Earth? Who will help steer us through this historically unique global ecological transition? Will it be fundamentalist religious institutions that read the unraveling ecosystems as signs of the end times? Or authoritarian governments that offer security in exchange for the last remnants of freedom?
Let us hope that centuries from now an ecocentric civilization — celebrating its nurturing niche on a once-again flourishing planet—tells stories of the bold individuals and communities that changed humanity’s path in such a glorious way.
Jeremy Rifkin on global issues and the future of our planet!
“This is not a financial crisis or a banks crisis or a deregulated market crisis … that are just the results of the real problem: the delusional debt-based culture of America is the underlying problem and has global impact on production, consumption and welfare. The American consumption behaviour may never come back as the 3rd industrial revolution is on life-support!”
We are going through 3 crises which are feeding from each other:
“We may experience a potential demise of our species in 30, 40 years or within a century at the most … and we are really asleep, all across the world!”
Industrial revolutions have been marked through the combination of improvements in knowledge and technology in energy and enhanced means of communication.
We are at the stage where both components are ready for the 3rd industrial revolution:
“We continue to underestimate the speed of climate change, because we continue to mis-acknowledge the aftermath of what is happening today and that triggers the next stage. We have to radically change civilization!” – Jeremy Rifkin
The third industrial revolution has to be based on 4 pillars:
To make this 3rd industrial revolution happen, we need to take the burocratic red tape off, stop investing in stuck 2nd revolution industries and enable financial incentives which stimulate the direction.
“We need to move from geopolitics to biosphere politics, through global consciousness, involving and engaging true global humanity as we are all interdependent and connected, creating an emphatic civilization!” – Jeremy Rifkin
The ReSolutions Program helps you ReDream, ReThink and ReCreate your life! #CAPixAsia #Econologics #ecoNable
– Melanie Hayden-Sparks
What you are meant to be, is defined by:
Most of us live our lives in various states of oblivion or denial with blinders on or blind spots. Much like driving a vehicle, if you don’t pay attention to your blind spots, you can get into trouble.
The 10 Things You Should Know About Yourself!
1. What motivates you?
2. What distracts you or what do you avoid doing?
3. What do you love to do?
4. What is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
5. What are your values and beliefs?
6. Who adds to your life? And what to they add?
7. What are your fears? And why? What do you do to avoid dealing with it?
8. What are you most grateful for and why?
9. Are you making progress in the areas you want to improve?
10. What do you want your legacy to be?
http://www.beneaththecover.com/2010/12/14/the-10-things-you-should-know-about-yourself/
Ask some of the people closest to you how they would answer these questions about you. You may be pleasantly surprised by the answers, especially since most people see us better than how we see ourselves.
The passion test
The dominant systems of education are based on three “assumptions” that are exactly opposite to how human lives are actually lived.
~ Ken Robinson
1) they promote standardization and a narrow view of intelligence when human talents are diverse and personal.
2) they promote compliance when cultural progress and achievement depend on the cultivation of imagination and creativity.
3) they are linear and rigid when the course of each human life, including yours, is organic and largely unpredictable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sir-ken-robinson/do-schools-kill-creativity_b_2252942.html
“People and organizations everywhere can see that current systems of education are failing to meet the challenges we now all face and they’re working furiously to create alternatives.” – Sir Ken Andy Robinson
Note:
These are definitely the relevant basics of where our generation is failing to deal with resilience in our current society – political, social and economical. These principals need urgent change in our education of the young and future generations, to overcome our defects on dealing with and avoiding the chaos we have created in our world.
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This year has been full of great accomplishment, new ventures, surprises, sacrifices and happiness.
During this season of celebration and for the coming new year I wish you, your family and your connected circles a better and sustainable year for our surroundings and future generations,
where all your goals become achievable with an amazing lasting happiness.
Take this Holidays Season to renew, re-energize and regenerate your ideas and goals.
Together with ecoNVERGE® we wish for an energizing 2013 and a progressive future for all!
Inspire ● Harmony ● Balance
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Which of life’s necessities are you choosing to focus your creative energies on?
What will be your mantra for 2013!
Which of life’s necessities are you choosing to focus your creative energies on?
What will be your mantra for 2013!
Humanity spends billions every year designing, developing, and marketing new things. The question I have is, are we directing those efforts appropriately?
Research suggests that beyond a certain point consumption does not increase happiness. So why are we spending so much time creating new things for those of us who already have so much?
The steady increase in new forms of consumption based on a ‘shared economy’ might indicate that many people—especially younger people—are turning away from materialism. Coincidentally, the steady increase in graduates choosing to pursue careers in social entrepreneurship might indicate a search for alternative forms of self-realization.
Most of the greatest challenges that face our species today are not ones that reside at the peak of Maslow’s hierarchy. Instead, they concern life’s most basic needs:
+ How might we create a sustainable balance between the needs of 9 billion people and the productive capacity of the planet?
+ Where will sustainable supplies of energy, food, and water come from in the future?
+ How might we design our cities to be safe, productive, and sustainable places for us to inhabit?
+ How might we conquer the ravages of chronic diseases that threaten to reverse the steady increase in human lifespan?
+ How might we design systems to support graceful aging and dignified death?
+ How might we feed, clothe, educate, and give shelter to the more than 3 billion people who live on less than $2.50 a day?
The list goes on, and yet we are dedicating a tiny proportion of our creative efforts to these challenges. What is especially confounding is that locked up in every one of these challenges is the potential for vast amounts of economic wealth. Never has ‘doing well by doing good’ shown such promise as it does today.
So, my big idea for 2013 is that we go back to basics and direct our creative efforts toward designing the necessities of life.
Which of life’s necessities are you choosing to focus your creative energies on?
Today, people all over the world bring out their smile as we celebrate something unique in our lifetime.
“Use your smile to change the world.
Don’t let the world change your smile ツ
From Shareholder to Stakeholder Economics!
An econological responsible and sustainable look at life, environment and humanity.”
ecoNVERGE® – Inspire Harmony Balance
Inspire one – 1x = X1– motivate many!
Be part of sharing your smile around the world!
It is a little attention bringing joy and happiness to all of us.
According to Chinese numerology, one is a yang number ruled by the sun and represents independence and individualism. Two is a yin number ruled by the moon and represents symmetry and balance. Combined, the number 12 brings harmony to the yin and the yang.
12 months in a year.
12 hours on a clock face.
12 inches in a foot.
12 strikes to bowl a perfect game.
12 people have walked on the moon.
12 face cards in a deck.
12 days of Christmas.
12 apostles of Jesus.
12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
12 jurors in felony trials.
12 pairs of ribs in most humans.
Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” – Albert Einstein
A group of experts warns inevitable and simultaneous implosion of energy, food, water and money systems!
Former World Bank economist expects total collapse civilization!
This article has been adapted and translated from the original publication by a Dutch paper – Xander News (the Other News)
http://xandernieuws.punt.nl/?id=662683&r=1&tbl_archief=&
According to a group of experts, the main causes of the inevitable collapse in the coming years are the politicians, who for years have borrowed too much money and spent. The ceiling has been reached!
It is no longer the single conspiracy and doomsayers who say that the current crisis will never be resolved and that entire Western civilization will collapse.
Richard Duncan, former financial specialist at the World Bank Chief Economist ar Blackhorse Asset Management, told CNBC to see a “death spiral” which will result in a very severe depression which our civilization cannot survive.
Other financial, economic and political experts draw the same apocalyptic conclusions. Duncan spoke in particular about the United States, but the collapse in Europe will be at least of the same magnitude and misery. The official U.S. national debt at $16 trillion has become untenable.
According to Laurence Koktlikoff, once a member of President Reagan’s economic advisory council, mentioned that the actual debt and all financial obligations to the health and social security add another staggering $211 billion.
Simultaneous implosion of money, food, water and energy
A group of scientists, economists and geopolitical analysts see not only a financial and economic collapse coming, but also a social, technological and social. One of them, Chris Martenson, former vice president of a Fortune-300 company, explains that “we have a similar pattern in our debt, total credit and money supply which ensures that they will collapse. This pattern is almost the same as in any pyramid scheme, one that quickly escalates exponentially before it collapses. The main perpetrators are the governments of this world.”
“The fact that this pattern is not limited to the economy is really worrying. We found namely catastrophic same pattern in our energy, food and water. These systems can all simultaneously implode: food, water, energy and money. Everything. ”
Pyramid Game in every critical system
Another member of the team, Keith Fitz-Gerald, head of the eponymous group, notes: “a dangerous countdown that quickly runs towards the zero. And if that happens, the ensuing chaos will crush the Americans.”
Dr. Kent Moors, energy adviser to 16 different governments of the world and a member of two task forces of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agrees with his colleagues: “The most frightening is that in virtually every critical system of our society and way of life exactly the same pattern can be seen.”
“This pattern is hard to recognize, unless you understand how a catastrophe as this one gets going. First, it is virtually impossible to detect. Everything seems to be going well, as in every pyramid scheme. The virus grows treacherous quickly and doubles again and again, with ever shorter intervals, until it reached an unsustainable level. And then the system collapses.”
The first doubling took place according to Martenson between the 40s and the 70s. The second doubling took much less time, which is only 7 years (the period 1970-1977). This was also true for the third doubling. The fourth took only 5 years to complete, and then it happened two more times. “In the early 40s, the total credit was about 158% of our GNP, in 2011 it was 357%.”
Savings, pensions wiped
Fitz-Gerald highlights that risky derivatives in the financial system are 20 times higher than the total GNP of the world.
“That is unsustainable and impossible to resolve in an orderly manner. The people can better forget about the guarantees by the government for their (savings) accounts. They give a false sense of security. This also applies to pensions, which may at any time be suspended. A collapse will wipe out all pensions. Social security and health insurance are still kept alive but are already bankrupt. ”
In two years the U.S. government will have no more money for the in many places already crumbling infrastructure. Some cities, such as Trenton, New Jersey had to lay off a third of their police because of budgetary reasons.
Colorado Springs had to turn off a third of the streetlights, slash garbage collection with a third and same for deleting bus routes … all for same reasons.
Skyrocketing inflation
After a period of deflation we will end up with massive inflation in the short term. An average American household will soon need $ 150,000 annually to pay for the basic necessities only, while 52% of Americans now can barely make ends meet.
“Before the economy will become dangerously unstable, people will have to start making preparations for their investments, savings and personal finance” warns Fitz-Gerald.
Europe collapsed even faster
According to opinion polls, 61% of Americans feel that there is indeed a catastrophe in the make. Only 15% say to be prepared for this. Considering that the collapse in Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and most other European countries runs even faster than in the United States, it is high time that we face the reality that our “way of life” over the next years will drastically and permanently change, and … certainly not for the better.
Note by ecoNVERGE:
One can wonder who is blaming who! Apparently the ones responsible for the current chaos are the ones that lift up their arms to say ‘it wasn’t me!’ A lot of blame is put on the governments, but we believe the same can be said about the ‘leaders’ of the giant multinationals who are continuing to strike money without conscious and have and continue to throw people on the street with the ten thousands. Where is the value for humanity! Have we really gone insane! – Albert Einstein was right and he didn’t know how human society would degrade itself to ZERO!
Thanks for sharing your comments, thoughts, arguments and anything which can help us to avoid and/or recover from – regenerate life after – the unavoidable collapse of our economic and social society as we have known it.
You may deny the facts but make it justified! More essentially, how can we contribute to a better and more humane society, as individuals, families, communities and wider national, regional or global groups and movements.
You can follow the discussion at:
@ ECONOLOGICS – Incisive Knowledge Converged (FB Group)
Interactive CoP/Think-Tank around humane economics (germane progressive economics), human values and ecologically explored resources, maintaining balance between earth, people and progress – Sustainable Balance in Our Social & Economic Circle of Life!
Inspire one – 1x = X1 – motivate many! WE are Unlimited!
www.facebook.com/groups/econologics/
Direct link to post: www.facebook.com/groups/econologics/permalink/485406588165853/
@ ecoNVERGE – Econological SUSTAINABLE ValueChain SOLUTIONS (LI Group)
Interactive CoP/Think-Tank around Public & Corporate Sustainability, Incisive Knowledge Converged© – Ecologically Inspired, Sustainable Disseminated
Sustainable Balance in Our Social & Economic Circle of Life! WE are Unlimited!
ENGAGE DYNAMIC CAPACITY – “Inspire Innovation! Embrace Change!”
http://t.co/ieIiVusH
Direct link to post: http://lnkd.in/FxPtXX
Thanks for sharing your part of the CHANGE! WE are Unlimited!
See on Scoop.it – ecoNVERGE® – Inspire • Harmony • Balance
[Economic & Social Reform]: The Big Shift: Challenge and Opportunity for Women! #ecoNVERGE #ecoNable #ecoViVaCity #ecosTrEAMs
– John Hagel, Deloitte Center of the Edge at TEDxBayArea Women
While advanced technology (ICT in particular) will continue to improve our lives, but at the same time the industry is continuing to face a collapse and sustained erosion of Return on Assets. John clearly identifies this as a global phenomena. This indicates a clear motivation and need to innovation, but at the same time there is no reward for those involved to remain the commitment in any respect.
So what John Hagel suggests:
“The future of business belongs to the feminine archetype. Those that adopt the feminine archetype, male or female, are going to be the ones to create that wealth and enjoy the success of this new world.” A business model based on the feminine archetype is about relationships, not transactions. According to Hagel, the masculine archetype that dominated 20th century business was strictly competitive, not collaborative, and a zero-sum game. The masculine projects a strong image at all costs. In contrast, the feminine allows for emotion, intuition, and vulnerability. Hagel says it is not possible to establish trust without allowing for this vulnerability. The result is greater knowledge flows and an environment where more people can participate. With this “big shift”, our world becomes a smaller, more connected place–a global phenomenon for more wealth.
Note by ecoNVERGE:
We fully underwrite this viewpoint and like to extend to social, political and financial models as part of the New Socio-Poli-Economic model we are seeking!
John Hagel clearly indicates that we need a fundamental shift in mindset related to competition and ownership of knowledge. The resolution is to participate in enriching knowledge flows with our own tacit knowledge through open but trusted environment, scaled to a massive scale. The current masculine archetype does not enable such shift in knowledge sharing.
See on www.youtube.com
Special thanks to all of our members from our communities and groups on LinkedIn and Facebook
#ecoNable #ecosTrEAMs #ecoViVaCity #ecoNVERGE #Econologics #marketingVILLAGE
and our followers on Twitter, Google+ and various blogs #knowledgEnabler and #knowledgEvolution
Thanks all for the support endorsed in the past couple of months. It has been a steep growth and learning curve.
Thanks to Richard Blaquiere for his inspiration.
The ecoNVERGE team and group of companies.
A lattice organization structure of partnerships.
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CoP/Think-Tanks brought to you by ecoNVERGE®:
(to distinct between commercial initiatives and communities follow the Pages pre-ambled with “@”)
@ eco-ViVaCity – ecologically balanced living!
“Enjoy balanced lifestyle!”
@ eco-sTrEAMs – innovative future in the make!
“Buckle-up & enjoy the ride!”
@ eco-Nable – facilitate sustainable growth!
“Advance our singular life in balance & harmony!”
@ marketingVILLAGE™ – your world, our village!
“Inspiring the Connected Generation!”
@ ecoNVERGE – Econological SUSTAINABLE ValueChain SOLUTIONS!
ENGAGE DYNAMIC CAPACITY – “Inspire Innovation! Embrace Change!” (LinkedIn Groups)
@ ECONOLOGICS – Incisive Knowledge Converged!
Inspire one – 1x = X1 – motivate many! WE are Unlimited! (Facebook Groups)
ecoNVERGE® Projects & Initiatives:
– 111 WhereLife’s@ – green art, styling & fashion (a ViVaTicA creation)
– Fruit4Thought® – Passion for Fruit! Fruit with Passion! (a ViVaTicA creation)
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– DSEU Belgium – Social Marketing for Europe’s SMEs (Partner with Digital Sunrise Europe Initiative)
ecoNVERGE® Innovation Partner & Joint Ventures:
– PORT[expertise] – Managing Port, Maritime & Industrial Infrastructure Logistics & Total ValueChain Solutions (a CAPix-Asia Partner)
– s-Technology / cad-dienstleistungen – your experts for 2D, 3D CAD design! (a CAPix-Asia Partner)
– BLOC Inc. & B³ Corp. – Prefab Design & Construction, ModularImpermanent Building System. (a ViVaTicA Partner)
ecoNVERGE® (Community) Partnerships:
– Paradise Travel & Tours – Travel, Resorts & eco-Tourism (a ViVaTicA Partner)
– Paradise Harley Tours – Pure Harley Experience in Asia – Sight-seeing & eco-Adventure (a ViVaTicA Partner)
– PHILIPP INNO – BLOC Icon – Architechnopreneur – Creative Design and Business Innovations Consultancy (a ViVaTicA Partner)
– Saskia Claeys Photography – Logo Development & Branding (an ecoNVERGE, ViVaTicA & MV Partner)
– Photographed by JUN REYNALES – Photographer, photojournalist (a ViVaTicA & MV Partner)
– Sol Fil – Solar Ovens & More for Ecological Cooking! (a Marketing Village Partner)
– Le VISION – Exclusive Event Management (a Marketing Village Partner)
Inspire, cultivate, assimilate, facilitate & engage dynamic capacity and sustainable growth!
Strengthening, connecting, mobilizing and inspiring people, resources and tools to enhance leadership, innovation, community values, voice and power for a sustainable balance in social & economic life.
We change the way we LIVE! – We change the way of LIFE!
Assimilate sustainable growth! Join our CoPs / Think-Tanks.
Be part of the CHANGE! – PARTICIPATE your change!
ecoNVERGE®
Inspire ● Harmony ● Balance
| Inspire one – 1x = X1 – motivate many! WE are Unlimited!
| Interactive Community Building & Econological Lattice Building
| INCISIVE Knowledge Converged© – Ecologically Inspired, Sustainable Disseminated.
Realizing Sustainable Balance in Our Social and Economic Circle of Life! – WE are Unlimited!
KnowledgEvolution 
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