Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Towards a Golden Age? A Wisdom based Global Economy
http://www.mi2g.com/cgi/mi2g/frameset.php?pageid=http%3A//www.mi2g.com/cgi/mi2g/press/230508.php
London, UK - 23rd May 2008, 11:03 GMT
Dear ATCA Open & Philanthropia Friends
[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]
The response to the ATCA briefing "The Super Inflation Freeze -- Abrupt Financial Climate Change?" from amongst the distinguished members, luminaries and friends of ATCA and The Philanthropia has been overwhelmingly positive and extremely impressive. The executive summary of the points made, with intra- and extra-polation by the ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) as well as the mi2g Intelligence Unit, is as follows:
1. The synchronised combination of the Fuel, Food and Finance crises -- 3Fs -- is accelerating disruptive change across the world. This disruptive change is amplified by anytime, anywhere communications and is bringing about a metamorphosis in humanity's approach towards each other and the efficient management of key resources including human talent, skill-sets, energy, raw materials and waste.
2. The age of ignorance is coming to an end as humanity realises that every action has a reaction and all production, distribution and consumption has an externalised and internalised cost associated with it. Not all costs can be represented in profit and loss terms immediately but become evident in quality-of-life and financial terms over decades. The consequences are asymmetrically reversible. It may take a few years to cut down a forest to grow food for fuel and decades to grow it back.
3. The 3Fs and their consequence, super inflation, is the result of the mismanagement of expectations. The present socio-economic trajectory, which is ultimately incapable of sustaining six to seven billion people on the planet at median living standards of the West, is going to be drastically modified as false expectations are confronted and replaced with entirely new and holistic ones.
4. Asymmetric threats are multiplying and so are asymmetric solutions given the ingenuity of humanity for re-invention and innovation when pushed into a corner. From linear processes, which are essentially about fragmented production, consumption and waste, we are evolving towards non-linear and circular processes that have pervasive energy efficiency and holistic recycling as well as recyclability at their design core. Expect non-linear asymmetric solutions -- highly imaginative, inventive and innovative 'killer' applications -- in the area of group thinking, incentivisation models, continuous education and training paradigms, new science, radical management philosophies, focus on ultra energy efficiency, alternative sources of energy, drastic waste minimisation, total waste processing and pervasive recycling. Much of the new production and consumption methodologies are going to focus on utilising recycled and recyclable materials with extremely high energy efficiency as opposed to virgin raw materials and large quantities of energy and natural resources -- water, air and land -- generating excessive waste. There will be increased reliance on local sourcing as the 3Fs bite.
5. The number of asymmetric solutions deployed collectively in dealing with the 3Fs will become the 'gold measure' of resilience for that individual, family, community, organisation, corporation, region and nation state. Expect taxation to evolve dynamically to act as a penalty on laggards, who do not adopt the 'gold measures' swiftly.
6. The boundaries of the sovereign nation state are being superseded by trans-national entities -- corporations, NGOs, movements and ideologies -- and the sovereign individual in many asymmetric ways as they exploit arbitrage opportunities. The boundary-less environment is creating a globally inter-dependent matrix. The 3Fs are propelling humanity towards longevity and sustainability based on holistic thinking and collective good. This disruptive change will have extremely beneficial long term consequences for humanity and despite the short term pain, it may usher in a Golden Age of individual and global transformation. This Golden Age will be characterised by a Wisdom based Global Economy.
7. The characteristics of the Golden Age will be accelerated enlightenment, renaissance and reinvention of the individual's thinking, societal group think and the redesign of linear industrial age systems and support mechanisms towards non-linear and circular ones by corporations, organisations and governments. In the recent past, the West -- Europe and North America -- have had a huge lead and capacity to reinvent. Faced with the 3Fs, which are affecting poorer nations the most, Asia, South America and Africa are also going to be sources of asymmetric solutions over the coming years. Given their large-scale demographics, China and India, are going to be emerging leaders in finding global asymmetric solutions for the 3Fs. Japan's fantastic lead in energy efficiency will be copied, matched and eventually surpassed across many parts of the world, lowering global energy demand substantially.
8. Traditional and knee jerk responses from established governance organisations and regulatory institutions are not going to necessarily work and may indeed exacerbate the effects of the 3Fs. The modern solidarity society, ie, the nation state dependent society, which evolved in Europe and North America especially after the second world war is going to be severely tested by the 3Fs. On the present trajectory, the support mechanisms are capable of bankrupting many nation states. In the last two decades or so, those arcane systems have survived on the back of Chinese and Indian export of deflation and a relatively low cost of energy. As the 3Fs and super inflation remove the crutches, there will have to be socially and politically acceptable reformation. The model which will evolve will have non-linear asymmetric characteristics and point towards sustainability as measured against the 3Fs.
9. The step-by-step revolution has just begun and it has a long way to go as humanity realises its full potential by integrating the physical, intellectual and spiritual dimensions to build a non-linear and circular economic model that produces near zero waste and consumes responsibly whilst being conscious of the consequences to the environment and upon itself. The concept that the environment, ie, the habitat and humanity are not separate from each other and are essentially one is going to gain ground as we seek to find asymmetric solutions for the 3Fs. What we do to others we do unto ourselves. With the elimination of duality, and confrontation of one-ness, how easy will it be to wage war with mutual assured damage and destruction? There is also the wisdom of another great spiritual poet -- Saadi -- to be considered:
"The human family is one body with many parts
Creations arising from one unseen essence
Any harm to any part summons an awakening
a dis-ease and a healing response from all parts
Those who fail to feel the pain of others cannot be called truly human."
10. The Golden Age's triumph will be the delivery of individual, societal and world harmony albeit with massive hurdles along the way, initiated as an extreme metamorphosis by the 3Fs.
[ENDS]
To reflect further on this, please click here and read views as well as respond directly within the online forum.
We welcome your thoughts, observations and views. Thank you.
Best wishes
DK Matai, Chairman, Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance (ATCA) & The Philanthropia
Open ATCA, IntentBlog, Holistic Quantum Relativity Group
LinkedIn, Facebook, Ecademy, Xing, Spock, A&B Blog & QDOS
ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to resolve complex global challenges through collective Socratic dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence, ATCA addresses asymmetric threats and social opportunities arising from climate chaos and the environment; radical poverty and microfinance; geo-politics and energy; organised crime & extremism; advanced technologies -- bio, info, nano, robo & AI; demographic skews and resource shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; as well as transhumanism and ethics. Present membership of ATCA is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members from over 120 countries: including 1,000 Parliamentarians; 1,500 Chairmen and CEOs of corporations; 1,000 Heads of NGOs; 750 Directors at Academic Centres of Excellence; 500 Inventors and Original thinkers; as well as 250 Editors-in-Chief of major media.
The Philanthropia, founded in 2005, brings together over 1,000 leading individual and private philanthropists, family offices, foundations, private banks, non-governmental organisations and specialist advisors to address complex global challenges such as countering climate chaos, reducing radical poverty and developing global leadership for the younger generation through the appliance of science and technology, leveraging acumen and finance, as well as encouraging collaboration with a strong commitment to ethics. Philanthropia emphasises multi-faith spiritual values: introspection, healthy living and ecology. Philanthropia Targets: Countering climate chaos and carbon neutrality; Eliminating radical poverty -- through micro-credit schemes, empowerment of women and more responsible capitalism; Leadership for the Younger Generation; and Corporate and social responsibility.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Environmental Tips, Sustainable Solutions
From Global Stewards: http://www.globalstewards.org/index.htm
Welcome
Global Stewards provides environmental tips for sustainable living and information about exciting sustainable solutions that are speeding the shift toward a sustainable way of life.
| Environmental Tips | Sustainable Solutions |
ecotopics
- Environmental Tips for Individuals
- Sustainable Solutions
- Tips on Alternative Transportation and Improving Fuel Efficiency
- Reducing Personal and Business Junk Mail
- Pack a Waste-Free Lunch
- Online Fair Trade Shops
- Calendar of Global Environmental Events
- Current Environmental Issues and News
- Tips for Green Hotels
- Information on Biodiesel
- All ecotopics
Living in gratitude instead of desire
Click the image above for a larger version
This could be totally wrong, but I’m guessing that the decline of religious life in our culture has brought with it a decline in gratitude. Not that I am laying some sort of a religious trip on everyone—I am the first to cop to not maintaining an attitude of thankfulness.
But I do feel as though we (and I include me) have come to worship desire. Here in the United States, I sometimes despair that our state religion is consumption and our main prayer is for more.
I’m not even religious, but I sense from people I’ve known who take the spiritual aspects of their religions to heart an emphasis on being grateful for what God or the Universe or the Oneness has given them rather than on what they don’t have. I admire that. I’d like to have more of that in myself, because I, too, often find that my prayer, if I’m not careful, is for more.
Here is what I think: that being grateful for what I have makes me want less. Wanting less makes me consume less. Consuming less makes me treat the planet more kindly. The equation goes, therefore, gratitude equals kindness.
And also, it turns out, gratitude equals happiness. According to the relatively new field of positive psychology (read an article about it in Time here), one way to cultivate happiness is to keep a
“gratitude journal, a diary in which subjects write down things for which they are thankful. [Researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky] has found that taking the time to conscientiously count their blessings once a week significantly increased subjects' overall satisfaction with life over a period of six weeks, whereas a control group that did not keep journals had no such gain.”
Notice how the blurb at the top of this post (courtesy of Time Magazine via Authentic Happiness, by the way), doesn’t mention anything about getting more stuff to make us happy? Instead, among other things, it gratitude at the top of the list (and I’m not suggesting this for the underprivileged or the poverty stricken). So by my reckoning, cultivating gratitude is another case of happier people, happier planet.
Green roofs and walls, a brilliant idea
http://www.elrst.com/2007/11/02/green-roofs-and-walls-a-brilliant-idea/
On Friday, November 2nd, 2007 | in Tags: Climate change, Sustainable development
Some ideas are very promising to help us in mitigating climate change and among them are green roofs and walls.
Planting grass or trees like in Manhattan (cf. picture) on top of buildings have many advantages as it decreases the air pollution, the local temperature of cities and greenhouse gases emissions and so on.
In this article I will review the various specificities of green roofs and walls and what they can bring to large and medium sized cities.
There are numerous advantages to such roofs as they :
- Improve the insulation of the building in an important way, indeed to livingroofs.org : “Green roofs have a positive effect in terms of thermal insulation through their ability to cool buildings and insulate them during the winter.”
- Absorb the carbon dioxide present in the air and generate oxygen thanks to photosynthesis, . Various air pollutants are also absorbed. To livingroofs.org : “Green roofs reduce the heat island effect, which is the main cause of ozone production ; Plant roofs remove heavy metals, airborne particles and volatile organic compounds.”
Decrease the temperature within cities.“Roof areas are a significant part of urban hard surfaces. Plants on green surfaces absorb heat and then use it through evapotranspiration. Green roofs therefore would play an important role in reducing urban temperatures, and subsequent improvements in air pollution/smog, as associated with the albedo effect.”
- Absorb the excess water as “Green roofs store rainwater in the plants and growing mediums and evaporate water into the atmosphere. The amount of water that is stored on a green roof and evaporated back is dependent on the growing medium, its depth and the type of plants used. In summer green roofs can retain 70-80% of rainfall and in winter they retain between 25-40%.”
On top of all these advantages, green roofs can be combined with solar thermal or photovoltaic panels so roofs can still be used to generate hot water or electricity.
Green walls also exists and their advantages are similar to those of green roofs.
In France such a concept is very seldom seen. However, the train station of Perrache in Lyon installed last month 200 square meters of green walls to decrease the air pollution from its parking lot.
To infer this article, I would like to state that albeit the sources I found gave many advantages on such roofs, I found no reliable data on the costs. The article on Wikipedia mentions a price of 15 to 35 USD per square foot but no source is given.
Further reading :
- For more data on this subject, you can consult the website www.livingroofs.org which is an “Independent UK Resource For Green Roof Information”.
- For data regarding green roofs in the United States and Canada, one can have a look at www.greenroofs.com. According to this website, there are currently 639 projects due to create up to 444,623,650 ft² of green roofs ( 445 km²).
- The time for green roofs, an IHT article by Elisabeth Rosenthal. (see also the article in the Business of green blog)
- Time to Mow the Roof ; from the green piece blog.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
APO ebooks on Green Productivity
Greening on the Go: A Pocket Guide to Green Productivity
©APO ISBN: 92-833-70457
Based on the original Train the Trainer Manual for Green Productivity. Lynn Johannson of Canada was commissioned by the APO to produce this pocket guide as a user friendly tool.
Click here to download whole book. (8Mb)
APO Handbook on Green Productivity
©APO, 2nd Printing, ISBN: 92-833-7046-5
The content for this handbook originated in the Asian Productivity Organization's (APO) Training Manual on Green Productivity as the Manual for 5-Day Training Program.
The APO developed Green Productivity (GP) as a strategy to leverage the power of productivity in order to improve the quality of our environment. GP can foster the creative exchange between people to:
- achieve a better quality of life for all,
- support social justice and fairness for citizenry, and
- enhance prosperity for their enterprises.
Click here to download the whole book. (7.6Mb)
Eco-Products Directory 2008: For Sustainable Production and Consumption
Eco-Products Directory 2008: For Sustainable Production and Consumption
(c) Asian Productivity Organization, 2008
ISBN: 92-833-7066-X
Click here to download the whole book. (78.6Mb)
| Download book parts in PDF format below. | |
| Cover | |
| Table of Contents | |
| PART I | |
| Foreword | |
| Background | |
| Dear Readers | |
| 1 | Main news and topics related to the environment |
| 2 | Rationale fro Eco-products Directory 2008 including related products (1) Food products (2) Resource and recycling (3) Energy (4) Chemical substance (5) Finance and insurance |
| 3 | Products listed in the Eco-products Directory 2008 |
| 4 | Understanding for eco-products |
| 5 | Products data display in the Eco-products Directory 2008 |
| PART II. Database | |
| • Eco-materials | |
| • Eco-components | |
| • Eco-products | |
| • Eco-services | |
| Company List | |
| Members List | |
| PR space for environmental programs | |
| Back Cover | |
e-Learning Course on Green Productivity & Environment Management System (ISO14001)
e-Learning Course on Green Productivity & Environment Management System (ISO14001)
 | To watch the video clips provided below, please click the icon at left to download and install the free Real Player. |
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Our Home - The Planet Earth
A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne
http://thesecret.tv/planet-earth/
Creator of The Secret
Every good thought, every good word, every good emotion, and every act of kindness, is lifting the vibration of your being to new heights. And as you begin to raise your vibration, a new life and a new world will reveal itself to you.
There is no limit to how high you can increase your vibration, because there is no limit to the good thoughts you can think, or the good words you can speak, or the acts of kindness that you can do. Other than transforming your own life through lifting your vibration, you lift others' lives too. The positive vibration of your energy emanates out like a stone thrown into water, touching our planet and every living thing on it. As you rise higher, you take the world with you.
The Secret Team has created a gift for you. This clip features our beautiful Planet Earth. As you experience this clip you will emit positive forces of energy across Planet Earth that will reach every single living thing on it. You will lift yourself, and as you lift yourself, you lift the entire world.
The magnificent music was composed and graciously gifted for this clip by composer Jo Blankenburg.
From The Secret to you, here is Planet Earth - our home.
May the joy be with you,
Rhonda Byrne
The Secret... bringing joy to billions
http://thesecret.tv/planet-earth/
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Open your Eyes to Blind Giving
Written on 4/29/2008 by Jodie Clements, of Yadaspeak.com.
Ever pondered the question of Karma?Ever wondered what your greater purpose on this earth is?
Ever questioned what can YOU do to make a difference, in order to affect someone else's life positively?
We all have. At one time or another in our lives, we have all contemplated these questions. Most of us however, just move past them, or get distracted by the dramas of our own lives until the next time we think about them - and then forget them all over again.
The thing is, you don't need to give big to have a huge effect.
Here's a list of 5 small things that you can do to positively affect the lives of the people that surround you daily, but whom you may not ordinarily notice.
- Take time to say good morning to elderly people. People in their golden years are often alone and craving human contact. The two seconds it takes to say good morning and smile can change their entire day.
- Talk to your cleaning lady. Your cleaning lady is a person. Take a moment to ask her how she is and listen when she answers. Tell her you think she's doing a wonderful job and that you really appreciate her. She'll be the most loyal cleaning lady you have ever had.
- Buy a homeless person a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Nothing more to add here. Even if they are sleeping, just leave it next to them. It will warm their heart, if not their belly.
- Tell an older woman she is beautiful. For many women, getting older means feeling that you are 'losing your looks'. This can be extremely distressing. Telling an older woman she looks stunningly beautiful can make her whole year. Do it and watch her smile.
- Make friends with someone less fortunate than you. This can be via volunteering or just simply spending time with someone you already know. The dividends on this kind of giving are infinite and you truly will make a difference.
Remember, the smallest things can have the biggest impact on the lives of others.
Be kind. Don't be blind. Give.
- Jodie
Be kind. Don't be blind. Give.
- Jodie
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