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Dave Finnigan

Jun 22, 2015
01:40

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Here is what I sent on 6/11/2015 to Laur Fisher, Project Manager of Climate CoLab as a critique of the approach that is being presented by MIT. She replied that she would be out of the office until July, but would read and absorb the comments on her return and would share them with her colleagues. I also expanded on this letter to Laur in my proposal that is now being considered as a possible semi-finalist in the contest entitled Shifting Attitudes and Behavior. Our proposal is Mobilizing for Climate Change Action https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/1301417/planId/1320127 MIT Climate CoLab Colleagues - With reference to the "Integrated Proposals," the approach you are asking us to take to get from here to a clean and green future is very mechanistic, but that is not how change has ever taken place. Ever. Certainly working in those sectors - Energy, Transportation, Industry, Buildings is important, but it is not nearly enough. We need a cultural change, and that only happens through changes in framing which must then be accepted and adopted by the majority of the members of a society. Then change takes place in energy, transportation, industry, buildings, education, religion, entertainment, retail, farming, water infrastructure, information transfer, banking and finance, politics, waste management, etc. You are asking us to make a plan that puts the cart before the horse. Changing buildings does not change the occupants and you cannot get those buildings changed until the occupants change. In the best of situations the two go hand in hand. You need to always start with education and with attitudes of people, yet those sectors are not included at all in your framework. Let's look at the most successful transformations of the past few millennia. There is no doubt that these would include the rise of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and the other major religions, the adoption of universal suffrage and universal free education, the rise of capitalism, the growth of the middle class, the reach of the entertainment sector including television, and most recently the spread of the internet and cell phone use. Even the rise of Nazism and Communism in the period after the First World War was at heart a shift in consciousness and a transformation of how people felt about themselves and their relation to one another and to the state. That is what needs to change and the few sectors you list will then transform right along with everything else. What you have listed are not the prime movers. They are the secondary movers. Prime movers are internal to people - attitudes and motivations. Here is how change took place over the past 2,000 years in the Christian parts of the World. Islam and other religions have almost identical stories to tell. This is where we should be looking for our framing. Without changing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of individual citizens it really does not matter if you have a great plan for Energy, Transportation, Industry, and Buildings, nothing will change until and unless the story changes. People need to value the new reality and strive toward it's completion. This is going to kick you right out of your comfort zones, but the path you have laid out does not lead to the destination we all desire. Let me say right up front that I am an atheist, so I am not asking you to do anything religious, but I want you to pay attention to how transformation, like the one we all need to make, really takes place. I looked at religion as a model and suggest we all do that now as well, just as an exercise to get ready to make a truly comprehensive plan. How the apostles did it • Music telling a story in the local language and stressing common values; • A compelling hero story (The life of Christ); • An idealized distant future (The glorious afterlife); • An idealized near term future (a community of like-minded believers, dignity and hope for all, mutual social support, respect, structure); • A pledge (creed); • Rituals; • It was provable according to them because they had the infallible Bible; • They were persecuted from outside; • Anyone could become a hero like the Biblical predecessors; • People were able to easily self-define as part of the “in-group”; • No barriers to entry for anyone; • Different “brands” all fit under one umbrella; • Traveling Apostles to carry the message; • Emphasized the wisdom of self, building up individual power as opposed to state power; • A model community as a template for others to follow; • Witnessing in front of the congregation and getting reaffirmed for that; • A strong moral or value code at the core. How the Climate Change Movement might do it • Music - Sing for the Climate and other environmental music - teach it in schools have contests to write music about the clean and green future and how to get there; • Compelling hero stories (Felix Finkbeiner, Wangari Maathai, Rachel Carson). Help make them part of popular culture. Get the TV networks behind this idea; • An idealized distant future (The clean/green future we can all envision - We need a book and movie that shows how it can be - not a disaster movie); • An idealized near term future so we see how we can get there (a community of like-minded co-workers, dignity and hope for all, mutual social support, respect); • A pledge to be a good climate citizen that everyone learns just like we all learned the pledge to the flag; • Rituals like marches and protests and maybe a secret "salute" to show you are on the side of nature; • It is provable according to us because we have infallible Science; • It is presented as core curriculum in schools at every level, with new lesson plans that integrate the clean and green future into every subject at every grade; • We may become persecuted from outside (if we are lucky) and that allows us to have our martyrs who further add to the mystique; • Anyone could become a hero like Felix Finkbeiner; • People are able to easily self-define as part of our “in-group” (everyone is welcome); • No barriers to entry for anyone; • Different “brands” all fit under one umbrella (eliminate the silos between environmental groups and university departments); • Traveling Presenters who are trained to carry the message (Al Gore's 6,500 trainees repurposed for positive and uplifting messages???); • Emphasize the wisdom of self, building up individual power as opposed to state power; • A model program as a template for others to follow (See checklist attached here); • A model community somewhere in the World that is way ahead of the rest of us (Denmark? Finland?) • Kids make presentations in front of parents & families make presentations for other families community by community around the World - a peoples' movement; • A strong moral or value code at the core. (We love the Earth and will fight for a clean and green future.) As far as your rubric is concerned, please add changing consumer attitudes and enhancing community and school-based education and agriculture and information management including entertainment and news, and religion and banking and finance as mandatory "sectors" to be included in any comprehensive proposal. An integrated proposal that does not include these sectors is not truly integrated. You need to bring to the table religious leaders, media and entertainers, authors, farmers, politicians, bankers, etc. In my experience, change does not generally start from the top down, but usually starts from the bottom up. And it really needs to eventually move in both directions to be effective. Even if you can somehow get energy suppliers to move from fossil fuels to renewables, and get the transportation sector to build energy efficient public transport systems, and get industry at the top level to agree to move toward renewables, and get commercial buildings to start the process of retrofitting, unless you have the people behind you, these efforts are doomed to failure. Please don't claim to be comprehensive when your plan is simply a short list of outcomes that will happen once the transformation is under way. I am available to discuss this larger "real world" vision of a comprehensive plan. Dave Finnigan Founding Director http://www.climatechangeiselementary.org "A program for Parents, Teachers, and Students to create a clean and green future together." Celebration, FL 34747

Dave Finnigan

Jun 22, 2015
06:43

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Here is a recent joint report from UC Berkeley (one of my Alma Mater) and Stanford on how to get us to 100% renewable by 2050 state by state. I suggest we incorporate this project into our own work. http://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/USStatesWWS.pdf

B W

Jun 23, 2015
10:14

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Thank you so much but I believe a 2050 target is not aggressive enough. I think we need to include COP21 as well. Some regions are even skipping fossil fuel use and going straight into renewables. Although redesigning infrastructure seems like a massive undertaking, if we don't limit warming to below 1.5°C, as mentioned in the infographic, we face an estimated 20-30% biodiversity loss. Do we target corporations that are contributing to accelerated climate change and suggest they change their business model towards bioremediation? Thank you for all your input and my best to you and all in the ClimateCoLab community!

B W

Jun 25, 2015
04:07

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I cannot select Energy Island as a value for the energy sector. Is anyone else experiencing issues in connecting appropriate proposals? Thank you in advance.

Annalyn Bachmann

Jun 29, 2015
10:38

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Hello, I will pass your message along to our developers, and hopefully we can have this issue resolved as soon as possible. Thank you, Annalyn Bachmann Visiting Student with the Climate CoLab

William Freimuth

Jul 15, 2015
09:27

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Denial remains as the foremost hurdle to effective and urgent action. I have a Plan to overcome this inertia. Once Public opinion fully understands the Problem the actions that can Solve it will cascade. To whom should I first submit my 'Big' idea?

B W

Jul 17, 2015
01:28

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Shifting attitudes and behavior seems like the proposal area would work for you William. Or if you would like to join the team, I am sure we can integrate your ideas.

Catie Ferrara

Jul 17, 2015
07:33

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Hello! This looks like an interesting plan, and I'm looking forward to reviewing it after the first deadline, July 18. If possible, I recommend you try addressing the "Proposals Included in your Plan" question by exploring sector-based proposals from Climate CoLab's past contests, stored here: https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans. There are dozens of proposals, and you may find some creative and well-developed ideas that fit with and expand your own. Please provide links to those you reference. Best of luck! Catie Ferrara Climate CoLab Fellow

Renee Gratton

Jul 18, 2015
11:46

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Thank you for including my proposal in yours. My thoughts, which I hope you will find constructive, is that although I know where you're headed because I share your thoughts, and you may already be ahead of me, I feel you need to work on the vision and plan critical elements I would suggest to look at basic ones like UBC http://sustain.ubc.ca/campus-initiatives/climate-energy/climate-action-plan country ones like the EU the EU Climate Action Plan http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/2030/index_en.htm or even the presidential Climate Action Plan as a template as that is the section you are under and use that as a starting point. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/president27sclimateactionplan.pdf Have a look at the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals But it's important to have that vision statement coherent, otherwise it's like Monopoly and you can't engage to get our of the starting gate here is another reference to help you put it together more clearly http://www.climatejust.org.uk/messages/building-resilience-through-adaptation-planning hope this helps Renée

Dave Finnigan

Jul 19, 2015
01:42

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Team - bloodwaterblonde is to be congratulated. She is our Team Leader and the "owner" of the overall idea. She created the basic graphic framework into which we have inserted our thoughts. If we make it to the next round I suggest we get together in a Google Hangout or other forum to discuss how we can incorporate the suggestions made by reneegratton and catiegf (and by the judges) to make our proposal clearer, more comprehensive and more realistic in terms of implementation. We really are in need of a central organizing theme onto which we can hang our many thoughts. I look forward to further work on this project after the review period. Dave Finnigan

B W

Jul 19, 2015
04:31

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Dave and all, Many thanks for the additional (and quite substantive) contributions. I sincerely apprecaite all the feedback, input, and collaboration. A Google Hangout or other online group meeting sounds like a very good step forward. I am immensely looking forward to polishing our proposal and all my best to all of you! Brittney

Joe Nyangon

Aug 10, 2015
07:56

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Thank you for submitting your proposal to this Climate CoLab contest. Because you had submitted it before July 18, the contest Judges were able to review your proposal and provide you with some feedback, which we have included below. Please note that these comments refer to the content of this proposal as it was provided on July 18. We hope that you will use it to further develop your work before the August 31 deadline. On August 31 at midnight Eastern Time, your proposal will be locked and considered in final form. The Judges will then select which proposals will continue to the Finalists round. Finalists are eligible for the contest’s Judges Choice award, as well as for public voting to select the contest’s Popular Choice award. The Winners will receive a special invitation to attend selected sessions at MIT’s SOLVE conference and showcase their work before key constituents in a workshop the next day. A few select Climate CoLab winners will join distinguished SOLVE attendees in a highly collaborative problem-solving session. In addition, if your plan is included in one or more winning global plans, you will receive Climate CoLab Points (see https://www.climatecolab.org/resources/-/wiki/Main/Climate+CoLab+Points), and the top point-earners will receive shares of a cash prize of $10,000. Thank you for your great work and good luck! - 2015 Climate CoLab Judges and Fellows *** Judges' Feedback (1) Kate Gordon There is no question that, if enacted, this proposal -- which appears to include every sector of the economy as well as a mass PR campaign on climate -- would have a significant impact. I applaud the authors for their clear passion on the subject of climate change and their bold approach. However, the proposal has some drawbacks. The first is that it is not clearly stated. I was not clear at all on what was actually being proposed until about halfway through the document, when I started to understand that the proposal is extremely broad and includes elements of energy, transportation, and agriculture reform, as well as a communications strategy. The proposal would benefit from a simple statement at the beginning of what exactly is being envisioned, before jumping into the language about why it’s such a good proposal. I could not, after reading this several times, actually explain to another person exactly what this proposal entails or how the authors would go about making it happen. Second, there seems to be a conflict between the technology and policy solutions presented here, which are at a massive scale (e.g. transforming the entire industrial agricultural system; replacing fossil fuel energy with ocean energy; etc.), and the communications strategy, which is citizen-focused and bottom-up. How do the authors reconcile the fact that in a democratic system with broad citizen engagement, it is nearly impossible to settle on just one solution to a problem, much less a solution as centralized and top-down as those recommended here? In addition, how do the authors reconcile the fact that we have an entirely built-out infrastructure and economy today that would need massive transformation to achieve these goals, and that this transformation at this speed and scale is not in the current interests of most of the people--even the citizens -- they want to convince? The upshot is that while the proposal is bold and would certainly have the result of reducing emissions, it needs to be much more clearly written and explained, including addressing the actual feasibility of achieving these goals (costs, benefits, steps toward implementation), to resonate with most audiences. (2) Jonathan Pershing: Feasibility. It is not at all clear what is intended by this proposal. It lists a host of actions, covering virtually all sectors, to reduce emissions. But it is unclear how they're individually to be implemented, or what synergies maybe achieved by undertaking all simultaneously. While it is certainly true that a solution to climate change will require action in all the areas described, the proposal does not offer much specificity as to how this synthetic vision is to be achieved. Novelty. The general issue of holistic sustainability has long been a staple of the literature. In that sense this is not really new. This is somewhat different in that it suggests a process of building on prior Co-Lab proposals and combining them for a more comprehensive vision. That is good..... But the material provided does not explain how they are to be linked. Impact on climate change. It is clear that a larger and more comprehensive effort will yield a bigger climate impact. But the proposal does not make clear how it will be implemented, and it is this very hard to judge the specific effects of the policies. Presentation quality. Reads more likes manifesto laying out the urgency of action than a discrete and coherent proposal framing the roadmap for action, and how that roadmap might be implemented. (Additional) Comments from Climate CoLab Fellow Joseph Nyangon: In addition to the judges' feedback provided above, I find this proposal and bold and would certainly have the result of reduced emissions. A key likely immediate benefit of the project is the potential to replace burning of fossil fuels with safe, reliable and less-carbon-emitting alternative sources of energy. However, there are so many ideas and themes presented in this proposal which conflate issues rather than building and supporting the core technical and theoretical backdrop it purports to accentuate. Moreover, rather than advancing a “mega project development approach” (which as currently offered only ends up conflicting the technology and policy solutions presented), this proposal would benefit considerably by emphasizing a bottom-up led approach; as an effective response to the Cartesian dualism that underpins modern lifestyle which continue to create an ecological contradiction between humans and environmental well-being (as well as climate change contradictions). Consequently, as productive capacities of nature, space, and labor are diminished over time, capitalism gently responds to these realities by finding new fields for exploitation, thereby staving off these paradoxes; for instance dwindling oil reserves are replaced by new shale boom produced by hydrofracking. That said, there is room for the author to address these contradictions and enhance the quality of the proposal by emphasizing a more decentralized, less capital intensive, and bottom-up driven solutions. The author might also look to other Climate CoLab proposals (for example Adaptation, and Shifting Attitudes & Behavior) as well as review recent publications on urban city planning, technological innovation, and environmental economics focusing on the U.S. region, to make this plan more competitive and realistic.

Chad Knutsen

Aug 28, 2015
12:43

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Thank you for adding me to this team, it's an honor to be collaborating with such an outstanding group of minds. I'm currently in the midst of a wild romp through Europe investigating hemp buildings and techniques etc. from Rome to Scandinavia, so my wifi access is spotty at best. So I will include some thoughts here, lest I miss the August 31st deadline for inclusions, should you all feel they merit including. Energy: utilizing transparent photovoltaic materials as an adjunct to, or replacement of traditional glass windows could significantly improve our ability to passively generate energy for the grid. Also, a group I am partnered with is developing a wind redirection power generator, that is just as efficient as those large 100 foot tall towers, but is only approx 6' tall, x 6' wide. These could be produced for around 1-5k depending on the size, and application. Technically it's a fluid redirection generator, as it works equally well for taking advantage of oceanic currents and rivers and city water pipes etc, as it is at using wind. Food production: Utilizing new technologies such as the Hurricane Comminution Reactor (referenced in the Hempcrete/3d printing proposal, alongside a few others such as IR wind tunnels, CT coating and electrolyzed water, we can safely, and efficiently up cycle much of the massive waste from food production (peels left over from juicing, funny shaped veggies that are thrown out simply because they are less visually attractive on the shelf etc) can be up-cycled into high quality, highly nutritious food ingredients to supplement the worlds food supply. (Info on these technologies shall be posted to the comments section if I am unable to fit it all in here.) we are currently in talks with some major juice producers about collaborating on this project. We will be launching a crowdfunding campaign in September to supplement the funds we have already raised through private investments. As for international shipping, especially by sea. The same Hurricane Comminution Reactor can micronize coal, and our Particle separator technology can remove the impurities (sulfur, Mercury etc), at a very high speed, and using very low energy. Allowing us to produce a colloidal coal slurry (50% micronized coal, 50% water) that outperforms the diesels currently being used for this application, and burns as a 98-99% clean fuel. I will chime In as much as I can over the next few days, but this is just a few things that myself and my team can bring to the table, and are actively pursuing with gusto. Keep up the good work mates, I look forward to further communications betwixt us. Chad K

William Freimuth

Aug 28, 2015
01:13

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Team. Had a wonderful chat with Dave Finnigan this morning. Will be including my 'big idea' of Overcoming the Inertia of Denial. Thanks for the invite. Will be updating as deadline approaches. Any thoughts are cherished.

Jan Kunnas

Aug 29, 2015
06:10

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I hope that someone could address this in the plan before the deadline: 14. “No Foam Zone”: A short explanation why banning consumer foam packaging from an climate perspective is needed.

Jan Kunnas

Aug 30, 2015
07:56

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I would like to include the thought that the proposal is divided into several parts making it possible to everyone to find some action of size suitable for them. Thus the enormousness of the total task does not become an excuse for inaction. By showing even a small example, the can thus influence their neighbors and relatives causing a snowball effect by their own example. But there is no free space to add anything more.

Furthermore, my suggested competition to find small examples that everyone can do could help to find even more examples to suit everyones tastes and possibilities.

Finally, someone with an overview of the whole proposal should urgently fill in the evaluation tab explaining the changes done taking the judges comments into account.


Chad Knutsen

Aug 31, 2015
07:00

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not sure why someone has repeatedly removed my inclusion of the sentence in the co2 sequestration section RE: cultivating industrial hemp, and left only bamboo in its place...

It is already legal in a number of states, and more and more are waking up every day to the FACT that it is one of the most effective crops on earth for sequestering co2. 

If its a question of legality, well, as I mentioned, its not illegal in a number of states already, and more states are opening the way for its cultivation each day. 

If there is any confusion about hemp being a narcotic...I must implore you to do some research and discover that one would need to smoke a damned telephone pole worth of the stuff to get "high" and at that point, all one would feel is a severe headache, shortness of breath, and likely asphyxiation from the sheer volume of smoke required to deliver a tiny .02% thc into the bloodstream...

Unfortunately these removals were made last minute and are now un-fixable.



 


Chad Knutsen

Aug 31, 2015
07:26

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ah, looks like I was indeed able to re-add the words industrial hemp, hopefully it sticks this time...


Alison Halderman

Aug 31, 2015
12:08

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A lot of work and yes, I am supporting. I'd also like to join your conversation after the contest (found it late). Specifically have a replicable template project, like conversation cafes idea, titled Writers for a Sustainable Future (blogspot, also Facebook group being created) that encourages local community envisioning as well as encouraging, collecting and promoting ecofiction that has solutions.

Another project I'd love to get to, or see others run with, is a resource website for Regional Ambassadors......the instruction sheet for RA's is to take some simple fact/story/further resources sheets with you on an recreational outing, strike up conversations in parks, on buses, etc.....and have the details you might not remember with you to give to your conversation partner IF they are interested in the story you shared. I'm not suggesting pushing the conversation but just having a resource with you!

I know it is your last day...just trying to get connected and missed the Shifting Attitudes and Behavior contest....get kicked off this site a lot before done....sending   Alison Halderman, Oregon


Jan Kunnas

Aug 31, 2015
03:45

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Hi Alison,

Sounds interesting. If you missed all suitable open contests for your ideas, I  suggest you use the 2015 Proposal Workspace, which gives you 154 more days until Proposal creation ends.

 


Dave Finnigan

Aug 31, 2015
03:19

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Response to comments:

Reneegratton - All your ideas have been included in references.  Thanks.

Chadith - I assume the difficulty in getting new words to post has been because I've had an edit going on at the same time and it only lets one of us edit at a time, or we are in excess of the character count in a box and rather than let us go over the system reverts to the previous format.  We are within one or two characters in every box.

alorenk - Please do plan to work with us if we make the next level or even if we do not.  This is so obviously the only way for the US to go that it is difficult to imagine not being asked to continue to develop this plan.  The work of CCL and others at the top needs to continue, but until and unless we get the people involved the movement will not take off.  I worked in Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and other East Asian countries in the 1960s and early 1970s on their Family Planning programs, and where we were successful it was because we worked  at the village level and where we failed it was because we tried to work at the national level.  Bubble up beats trickle down every time.  It is only once the people demand it that politicians will get on board.

Jan-k - Yeah - Sorry we ran out of space.  We can link your references to words in the text.  I wonder about filling out the Evaluation tab.  I thought that was for the CoLab to use to critique us.  I'll see what I can do, though.

Dave Finnigan


Jan Kunnas

Aug 31, 2015
04:20

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Hi Dave,

No need for being sorry, I just wanted to write my thoughts down somewhere. In the evaluation tab it is clearly said: "After you have integrated the Judges' feedback into your proposal, please write a short summary of the changes made in the discussion area below. This summary will serve as a guide for the selection of Finalists." 


Dave Finnigan

Sep 3, 2015
04:30

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TEAM -

What got left out of the proposal and why - Because the evaluation period has begun it is not possible to amend our proposal, but it is also impossible to stop noticing news about these 18 separate issues and how the overall plan could be improved by acting more aggressively and inclusively on them.  Because of character count limitations in the framework we also omitted certain issues that could have expanded our list far beyond 18 priority issues; and we could have added 18 additional issues like elimination of plastic drinking water bottles, which we neglected to mention but which would be a very important component of any plan and would not cost anything to enact.  Cost-free, low cost, or money making sub-projects are very much part of our own approach to solving this huge problem.  This all starts with individuals "waking up" to their role in creating a sustainable future through use of new media and through a campaign to get our personal contacts to "sign on" to our "bubble up" approach.  We need to get members of organizations and individuals to make list of things they promise to do and then help them to follow through on those lists. 

Promoting Legislation State by State - One issue to pay attention to is what those states with the most aggressive plans for carbon reduction have done and how they plan to proceed.  Then we will recommend that state level clean energy targets be established in order to catch up to the leader, which needless to say is California.   Here is an article that came out today in Mother Jones about the new and ambitious California efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy.  One component of our plan would be to use the MIT climate Conference "bully pulpit" to seek out plans like these and help citizens in other states to introduce equally ambitious legislation in their own states.  Again, this is not at all expensive, but can pay back states with economic growth and climate action going hand in hand.

Staying open to the wisdom of crowds - The judges need to look at our proposal at a point in time, but we see it as a dynamic and unfolding project, not a theoretical or academic exercise, but as the seed of a national plan that will be enacted by our team and by other people of good will, with lots of help from many intelligent and caring people.  That is why from among all 18 of the proposals for a US Climate Action Plan ours was the only one that would allow "anyone" to be a contributor, and we ended up with 11, where every other proposal asked for contribution from "team only".  That is how we can move forward from here, by embracing the "wisdom of crowds" and bringing all the good ideas to the table, no matter the source.  Many of us have been "on the outside" because we were not affiliated with any of the major universities or were not on staff at the major foundations, and this process has brought us "out of the woodwork" and has given us a platform to bring ideas to the top of the field.  That process can continue if we stay as open to those who are coming along as MIT's Climate CoLab process has been to us.  This is exactly the opposite of other organizations with which we have been affiliated which wanted us to follow their "cookie cutter" solutions which were designed by a strong-minded and well positioned individual or small team - cut off from any dissenting or modifying suggestions from below.  We don't need a "Climate Czar."  We need an open process where every idea can be weighed on its own merits, not evaluated by who came up with it.  MIT has begun to create such a process, and we need to see that it stays open and utterly democratic, so the best ideas can rise to the top.


Dave Finnigan

Sep 5, 2015
06:54

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It would be interesting to see how this proposal fits into the ideas for total restructuring of the existing economic system which will be proposed for exploration under The Next System http://thenextsystem.org.  Check out the video describing the process.   We agree that we must get out of our comfort zone.  We must push for what will work even if it is not comfortable.  We need to build a new system from the bottom up, neighborhood by neighborhood as we suggest in this proposal.  Here is what that web site says:

"TIME TO FACE THE DEPTH OF THE SYSTEMIC CRISIS"

"There are political-economic system models that deliver superior social, economic and ecological outcomes"

"It is time to explore genuine alternatives and new models—“the next system.” It is time to debate what it will take to move our country to a very different place, one where outcomes that are truly sustainable, equitable, and democratic are commonplace.  Let’s begin a real conversation—locally, nationally, and at all levels in between—on how to respond to the profound challenge of our time in history.  We need to think through and then build a new political economy that takes us beyond the current system that is failing all around us. Systemic problems require systemic solutions.  We must think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic difficulties facing the United States.  An extraordinary amount of experimentation is taking place in communities across the United States—and around the world. These sophisticated and thoughtful proposals for transformative change suggest that it is possible to build a new and better America.  Those of us signing this statement are committed to working towards these ends."


Dave Finnigan

Sep 7, 2015
02:33

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Space limitations kept our list of steps we plan to undertake in our comprehensive plan for the US to 18.  We are asking everyone to add their favorite steps that we have omitted, which are low in cost or free or make money.  I personally would like to add

19.  Plastic waste - Ban reusable plastic water bottles and plastic bags.  This is of no cost and could have tremendous impact both for the petro-chemical resources, energy and water saved and for the psychological impact of telling people -- "We are serious about this."  Find a way to make money by "mining" the plastic already in mid-ocean gyres and in land fills.

20.  Divestment and Voting to leave resources in the ground - Again there is no cost.  These two campaigns are parallel, to get investors to switch from fossil fuels to renewables, and to get those investors who do not switch to vote their shares to get energy companies to switch to renewables.  

21.  Community composting - Every community could have a biodigester that is fed by all the organic waste from that community with the out put of energy in the form of biogas, and organic fertilizer.  There is a start-up cost, but the output is extremely valuable and could pay back the investment over a number of years.


Jan Kunnas

Sep 7, 2015
02:20

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Dear Dave,

By banning "reusable plastic water bottles" I guess you actually mean a Bottled water ban to which your link refers. A reusable water bottle filled with tap water, which is usually of superior quality compared to bottled water, makes perfect sense. Changing to for example an aluminum bottle would not create any environmental benefits, likely the other way round.

 


Dave Finnigan

Sep 7, 2015
04:16

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Jan-k - Right, I mean a Bottled water ban.  Thanks

 


Dave Finnigan

Sep 7, 2015
05:12

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22.  We endorse the conduct of a feasibility study and pilot programs for a global digital currency rewards system currently described as Global 4C, Complementary Currencies for Climate Change.  As I understand it, the plan is to create a new world digital currency that rewards greenhouse gas reduction and sequestration using payments from a system of taxation for greenhouse gas production, so that the two are in balance.  Good idea, not expensive and could be a game changer.  Every time you take a step to decrease your carbon "footprint" you get rewarded, and conversely, whenever any institution adds carbon to the atmosphere they pay into the system.


Dave Finnigan

Sep 8, 2015
09:13

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After discussion with Delton Chen Ph.D. who devised the Global 4C plan I offer his revision of the previous Comment:

22. We endorse the conduct of a feasibility study and pilot programs for a global digital currency rewards system currently described as Global 4C, Complementary Currencies for Climate Change http://www.global4c.org. The plan is to create an administrative system over the internet to manage a new stateless world currency that rewards all types of greenhouse emissions reductions and sequestration with digital issuance of the currency - called 'Global 4C' or 'Global Foresee'. The administration of the new world currency would be developed by a consortium of NGO's, institutions, and firms.

The first stage of Global 4C is to establish a social and environmental movement to meet the macro-economic challenges of climate change and long term sustainability. The first stage will need to attract about 10-100 million individuals to purchase some Global 4C digital currency. WIth sufficient support, the Global 4C currency system would then be presented to the United Nations for registration in ISO4217 standards as an official stateless world currency - called the 'Solar Dollar'.

The Solar Dollar, may then be presented to central bankers and political leaders to discuss and negotiate a globally coordinated monetary protocol that can raise the Solar Dollars price over the coming decades to decarbonise the global economy. Financing can be managed with Quantitative Easing (QE) so as to avoid new taxes on individuals or firms and to peacefully manage any required economic de-growth. Solar Dollar will create a global price signal (i.e. as a subsidy or reward for mitigation) and would complement the price signals created by various carbon taxes and cap-and-trade schemes.

The Solar Dollar can address the fundamental limitations of capitalism, including lack of sustainability, blunt GDP metrics, unregulated growth, and it would also circumvent most of the political system that is the root cause of policy delay.