IMPLEMENTING THE DECLARATION OF THE  60TH ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

ADMIN & EDITORS

CHAPTERS & WORKING GRPS

WELCOME

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                                                Leveraging Global Unity:

How WE Can Cope With the Climate Change Crisis

The topics listed below were originally conceived as “further work in developing the Tipping Points Chapter.”  But we now recommend that they be developed as a separate chapter which goes beyond exploring the concepts of “tipping points,” “leverage,” and how “we” are a potential tipping point.

The purpose of this proposed chapter would be to move beyond the general to the specifics of how we can cope with the climate change crisis. A rough list of topics we could cover includes:

A.  General overview

    1). the possibility of expanding our readers’ worldview, including their (and our) paradigms of

           a) who "WE" are,

           b) our environment and our relationship with it,

           c) how WE can take effective, appropriate action (so that well-intentioned actions are

               actually helpful, and do not make our situation worse or create serious new problems);

    2). how such paradigm shifts might be brought into being on a global scale, including involving

         a sufficient number of people in areas that include:

a)       their views of Earth, our environment and our relationship with it and each other

b)       their willingness to collaborate in education and mobilization actions that result in reordering societal priorities in the direction of sustainability

    3). ways in which such shifts might in fact contribute to coping with the crisis;

    4). plans for evoking such shifts on a global scale; and

    5). plans for facilitating collaborative action on a global scale (including reports on action

         already taken, plans for future action, and plans for follow-on as our future emerges).

B.      Building on ideas in our Tipping Points Chapter, including recognizing that to succeed, our

 tipping point strategy will need to be:

• Practical – it must focus on reversing climate change substantially and bring us back from the brink of catastrophe; global emissions must not exceed what we (the living system of Earth) can tolerate.
• Simple – it must be easily accomplishable and replicable.
• Desirable — it must confer immediate advantages to individuals over and above what they are presently experiencing. As noted by Sharon Astyk, even sacrifice can be experienced positively, e.g. the enhanced sense of community during World War II.

[AB1] To attract and stick, our tipping point strategy will need to confer greater enjoyment of life or other advantages to individuals, and it must do so in an era of severe population pressure on multiple, essential, but steeply declining natural resources and an epochal transition in energy reliance.

As noted in the Tipping Points Chapter, part of the challenge in crafting the Bali agreement was that some States felt that other States had reaped the benefits of industrialization at the expense of the global commons and therefore a debt was owed. We recognize that there is a tendency to equate a higher standard of living with greater consumption of non-renewable natural resources, and therefore for developing nations to try to match the speeds with industrialized nations in spending down one-time natural capital. That fallacy is discredited by any glance at a world map of relative happiness. On such a map, the “standard of well-being” in Bhutan is above that of Canada , and Malaysia is above the USA .  And, therefore, an important element in the strategy for change will involve changing the view that equates “a higher standard of living with greater consumption of non-renewable natural resources.”  In our proposed chapter, we would explore elements that could be explored in this changed worldview (particularly from a series of documents from United Nations agencies relating to Third World demands for a “New International Economic Order).

C.      Calling attention to organizations which already exist that have extraordinarily large reach

      (and websites to which we can refer people), including:

http://www.wecansolveit    Al Gore’s group [which emerged out of his “Inconvenient Truth”]                                                               http://www.wiserearth        [Rick knows the initiator – more than 100,000 organizations]                                            http://www.wetheworld.org [Rick’s site, including reference to his Global Unity Calendar]  

http://www.2020fund.org  [a program developed by Deborah Stern of our group, which has

     involved collaboration with Rick Ulfik (another group member)]           

These networks, networks of networks (meta-networks), and networks of meta-networks (mega-networks) are potential channels for flow of information, action planning, coordination, and collaboration that could become tipping points that meet the criteria identified above by Gladwell.

D. Results from Erica Peng’s research on business could guide work with the business community which could be an major leverage point with the functioning of our global system.

E. We could link to the “Attitude Change” and “Tipping Points” Chapters in the Report which include concepts that can help increase leverage.

F. I expect there are other connections –- such as those suggested by Saul, Deborah (re Jane Cull plus other material at her 2020 fund web site), and Larry –- with potential for increasing leverage.

Closing Note to Tipping Points Chapter Working Group:   Saul suggested raising a question that might help us coordinate our efforts and Deborah reinforced that idea by saying “perhaps you can 1) pose a question (or two), 2) ask for agreement on it from the group, with a deadline for response, 4) put a final question out there and ask people to respond with a deadline.”