A new kind of Seven Wonders that we can create

By GUY DAUNCEY Special to Times Colonist, August 2, 2009

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Link to the Times Colonist article

The new century is only nine years old and already our prospects for the future can seem like a montage of hopelessness and despair.

But enough already! The human spirit is perennially strong and our global immune system is fighting back by creating new thought forms to fight the virus of negativity.

In previous centuries, we replaced ignorance with widespread literacy. We opened new horizons through science, technology and exploration. We ended slavery, created democracy and overthrew fascism. We organized labour, liberated women and won civil rights for all.

What might we achieve in this century? Here are seven possibilities that are totally within our reach if we have the vision and courage of our ancestors.

First wonder: 100 per cent renewable energy. Energy efficiency, solar power -- photovoltaic and thermal -- in the world's deserts, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave, hydropower and bioenergy offer us far more energy than we need, and once we have made the shift, this energy will be available forever. No more wars over oil. No more air pollution. And much less climate chaos.

Second wonder: A global economy that respects nature. In Canada's last federal election, if only those younger than 25 had voted, the Green Party would now be running the country. There is a growing recognition that we can no longer treat Earth's myriad ecosystems as "negative externalities," following the blind stupidity of mainstream economics.

If our younger people have their way, this century will see a sweeping green revolution that uses legislation, green taxation and global treaties to liberate nature from oppression.

Third wonder: The end of poverty. Muhammad Yunus, who created the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, has shown how microlending can lift the world's poorest out of poverty, while Peru's Hernando de Soto has demonstrated how granting legal title can enable them to turn their assets into liquid capital and participate with their enterprise.

This will take a prolonged effort, but the dream that future generations will have to visit a museum to learn what poverty was is still very much alive.

Fourth wonder: The end of war. This is not a fantasy. By removing oil from the equation of global conflict, we remove the major cause of war.

The second major cause -- nationalism -- is already dying, as more and more people find a solid identity as citizens of our shared planet, rather than of their nation alone.

Global peacemaking, peacekeeping and conflict resolution are expanding their reach every year. After millennia of bloodshed, we can finally eliminate war.

Fifth wonder: The end of cruelty to animals. This may be the hardest wonder to achieve, yet all that's needed is widespread understanding of the atrocious ways we treat animals in factory farms, puppy mills, veal crates, bear bile cages and so on.

We already know from our love of pets that the bond with animals can be enormously strong. With persistence, we can end the suffering we cause.

Sixth wonder: World government. Can any advanced planet operate without world government? It is only the dying embers of national pride that prevent us from embracing workable global treaties and a democratically elected global assembly. Future generations will wonder what the fuss was all about.

Seventh wonder: One spirituality. When the world's religions were created, it was out of a realization that one supreme God would end the bloodshed between followers of rival tribal gods.

Today, the same thing is happening as more and more people realize that they can draw on the deep spirituality of any religion without embracing its fundamentalist trappings. Science itself is on the verge of a breakthrough to a unified field theory that will merge matter and consciousness.

The only things that hold us distant from these wonders are negativity and hopelessness, the sad pillars of tired minds.

We ourselves could be the eighth wonder of the 21st century, if we co-operate with others to realize the dream.

Guy Dauncey is president of the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association and the publisher of EcoNews. He is giving the fifth annual Robert and Birgit Bateman Lecture at Royal Roads University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in The Mews.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Gabriola sustainability plan underway

Flying Shingle, Thursday, May 21 2009

The concept of “sustainability, Gabriola style” was probed at a community meeting May 9 at the Haven.

Some 35 people began work on a sustainability plan for the island by first defining the term, then generating topics for small group discussion, and reporting on these deliberations.

The meeting focused on housing, seniors’ care, local currencies, food, water, energy, health and recreation.

Community currency systems

Reporting for this group, Tsiporah Grignon said there is lots of information online about Local Exchange Trading System (LETS) but thought that it will “take the circumstantial necessity of a money system that no longer works to force us to create our local system”. Until then it is good to know alternative systems do exist, she said. Another member said that local business is impacted by such things as housing and transportation, and that there are a wide variety of issues for sustainable local businesses.

Muti-level seniors care and housing

The population on Gabriola is aging and requires more services, Pat Maloney reported. The group also noted the large seasonal population on the island. They said seniors who want to stay in their homes are paying more for the help they need because of the lack of affordable housing. Good multi-level seniors’ housing is needed as well as all forms of housing for lower income residents, they said and proposed a number of possibilities.

Recreation/Health quality

Teresa Beers said recreation must be respectful of the whole community and the land, so that all can live and play together without negative impacts.

The group noted that mental, physical, and spiritual health are all inter-connected, and that whatever we do regarding our health impacts everyone else. Health includes our whole ecology they said.

They said their priorities are: to respect and take responsibility for the sanctity of all living things, education about what healthy living means on Gabriola, and working with other groups to come up with ideas for recreation for all ages and abilities.

Community resiliency and well-being

Sandra Thomson said her group defined their topic as the ability to thrive as a community during times of uncertainty. They thought this is dependent on trust in relationships and an understanding of equity such that “your hunger and thirst are equally important to mine”.

They noted that there are many organisations on Gabriola that can support these aims and that connections between the groups are needed. They suggested that a community inventory of both hard skills (gardening, carpentry, etc.) and soft skills (mentoring, facilitation) be done, and noted that there are already a number of such resources in the community.

The group envisioned a community in which the economy is based on reciprocity and “sharing and generosity are in our DNA”.

Food

Land suitable for agriculture – such as large back yards suitable for gardening needs to be identified, reported Eric Veale. A streamlined policy regarding farm gate sales and local food production should be encouraged, and a community farm plan that identifies barriers to local food production should be made, he said.

Veale added that a Gabriola logo, such as “Simply Gabriola” should be created, and that young people should also be encouraged to get into agriculture.

Water

Melanie Mamoser said their group wanted to build on the groundwork already done on this issue by doing public education about water quantity and quality. They suggested that there should be more signage about water conservation, that wetlands be reconstructed to raise the water tables, and that the community lobby not to have ditches “that funnel all of the water off the island”.

As both Gabriola papers were present they were asked to run regular summer notices asking people to conserve water.

Energy

Bob McKechnie said that what is needed is someone to take on the task of organising a good energy audit to see what sources of energy are on the island and how the energy gets used. Also needed are education workshops for the community, the group said.

Next Steps

Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley said that the community sustainability organising group is hoping to set up a website so that community members can continue this conversation. “We are trying to knit together the efforts of many groups and individuals on the island”, she said, noting that the process is just starting.

Asked how people who are not online can contribute to the work, Farley said that for now people could pass their ideas on to the organising committee. She said there would be more meetings but that eventually each working group should become self-sustaining in working on their issues and that it will eventually only be necessary for the whole group to meet once or twice a year to report in.

Sustainability Gabriola-Style

Submitted by Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley, Gabriola Sounder, Monday, May 18 2009

Thirty people attended Saturday’s inaugural Gabriola Sustainability meeting at the Haven, in an open style session with participants self-selecting topics for discussion.

The group began the process of defining sustainability from a Gabriola perspective and topic discussions were recorded on themes such as: energy; community resiliency and well-being; recreation and health quality; agricultural land and food security; water; sustainable community economics: community currency; and, housing and multi-level seniors’ care facility.

Other topics proposed but not yet explored are: transportation; waste and recycling; youth; safety and security; art and culture; and, protecting and sustaining ecological systems.

The next steps will include building on the initial discussions, finding people interested in tackling topics not yet addressed and creating a website where everything can reside. The website has enormous potential for profiling the work currently underway, linking all interested organizations and groups, and providing opportunities for all Gabriolans to comment and provide input into what actions we can take to achieve and maintain sustainability. 

This is a grassroots voluntary effort and all are welcome to participate. If you are interested in learning more and/or in being involved please contact communitysustainabilityplan@gmail.com.

Definitions of Sustainability

The following phrases and concepts were generated as part of an inaugural discussion on what sustainability means for Gabriolans:

• A community that is interdependent, diverse, inclusive, equitable, balanced and reliant
• A community in which all are connected and all participate, living within our ecological carrying capacity
• Re-gear the economy to serve its original purpose – the common good – incorporating all ecological and social considerations
• We want to sustain food, water, housing, air, wildlife, health, culture, spirituality, intact ecological systems
• Be the balance of the carrying capacity of a healthy, mindful society and the environment
• Rather than planning for today, plan for seven generations from now
• People taking care of each other and taking care of the environment in which we live
• Spirituality/community
• Responsibility not just to the individual but to the greater environment
• Considering the cumulative impact of our actions
• Balance
• Making the best use of our resources to achieve the longest term benefit for the most people
• Treat all resources as a precious gift
• A sustainable community requires cohesion and diversity
• An ability and willingness to meet your needs within the community
• A complete community where people can live, work and play
• Has mechanisms built in to build relationships and support cohesion
• Inter-generational relationships

To sustain a thriving and diverse quality of life a plan would need to include discussion on: education issues/options; management of the environment, forest and water; food security; local based governance that includes diversity of values and sustains flexibility into the future.