Back to Nature #4: The Trouble with Green January 13, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Geo-politics, Human Ecology, Science and Rationaltiy , 2commentsThe Trouble with Green
“Here’s the point: you look out there, at the environment, and with your senses you can plainly see the wonderful, glorious, empirical world of nature. And of course you want to help save nature from destruction, not only because nature is beautiful, but because your own existence depends in many ways on a healthy environment. So you say, stop doing those things that are destroying nature! Stop polluting the oceans, stop dumping toxic wastes into our rivers, stop using fluorocarbons that create an ozone hole, stop burning carbon fuels that pollute the atmosphere and cause global warming- instead let us live in accord with nature, let us adopt energy-efficient production, use renewable resources, practice natural capitalism’ and in all ways honour Gaia. “Congratulations, you have just bought into the world of Flatland. And it is flatland that above all else is destroying Gaia. And thus your very efforts to save Gaia are destroying Gaia”.
-Ken Wilber, Boomeritis (2002)
Last week we looked at the story of the cultural and psychological evolution of human consciousness through the Spiral Dynamics model.
We stopped at Green- the environmental stage that has emerged as a significant cultural form in the last few decades in many western countries, influencing politics, social movements and heralding a New Age of transformation and care for all people and All Beings.
Green however, although representing much advancement in terms of ecological and social awareness over the previous stages of Blue and Orange, has failed to recognize that these earlier stages are necessary for the emergence of green in the first place. The Green belief of the dawning of a new Age of renewal and Global Consciousness cannot be realized because to reach Green requires a developmental process that must include and value all the stages and all their values in some way. (more…)
Back to Nature #3 The Evolution of Consciousness January 6, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Geo-politics, Human Ecology, Science and Rationaltiy , 1 comment so farThe Evolution of Consciousness
Part 1
In “Back to nature #2” I explored Deep Ecology and the idea that the response to the environmental problems we face should be to in some way “go back to nature” because “nature knows best”. I questioned this idea on the grounds that some versions imply an anthropocentric stance, projecting human feelings, consciousness and motives onto the non-human world in a way that seems more intended to fulfill our own psychological needs rather than actually healing our relationship with nature.
In this post, I want to explore an alternative: that rather than try to return to an earlier form of consciousness, that our consciousness itself – our way of understanding and relating to the world- is evolving.
What follows should be seen as a Story of the Evolution of consciousness. It is based on one particular model that has become popular in recent years- Spiral Dynamics, which I first came across in the writings of Ken Wilber. I do not endorse either the theory as a whole nor Wilber in particular, but see it as a tool that I think is worth consideration for anyone interested in the question: “Why aren’t more people interested in sustainabilty and protection of the environment?”
I am freely interpreting this version to make a story and adapting it . I am not claiming to attempt rigorous accuracy, but the basic idea does I feel have many different kinds of evidence to support it. The important thing is the implications such a view would have for seeking solutions to current global problems, and considering how it differs from the “return to nature” story.
In Spiral Dynamics, cultural “memes” or stage of development are colour coded, so I am referring to each stage with the same colours.
Enjoy reading it and make of it what you will. (more…)
Film Review- What a Way to Go November 4, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Environment, General, Geo-politics, Peak Oil , 4commentsFilm Review:
What a Way to Go- Life at the End of Empire
“If we knew all the facts, we’d have discarded the myth of the techno fix a long time ago. To my eye, our crisis, at its deepest levels, is a crisis not of technology, but of meaning and purpose… “Talking about this is the first step. Without this catastrophe is inevitable.”- Tim Bennett
What a Way to Go is a groundbreaking movie.
I watched this week for the first time with a few friends, most of whom have been watching Peak Oil films and discussing the issues around them for much of the past three years. (more…)
David Strahan- Interview at Cool Earth September 16, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Geo-politics, Peak Oil , add a commentDavid Strahan, author of The Last Oil Shock gave me this fascinating interview at the recent Cool Earth event in Dun Laoghaire
You’ve said that you believe Peak is still a few years off…
The narrowing envelope of forecasts is from about now to 2020; ASPO have 2010- there is a range.
Those who think we are there already- there is a lot of this on the Oil Drum- are going on the basis that crude oil and lease condensate production- the most tightly defined definition of oil- is marginally lower than July 2005- and total liquid production is actually lower than it was this time last year; and the reason that total production is lower than it was is that OPEC production is lower.
So the burning question I think is whether the OPEC reduction is voluntary or involuntary. You will find a lot of people on the Oil Drum assume that this must be involuntary. We do hear a lot of dark noises coming out of Saudi Arabia about the number of drilling rigs doing so-called “work-overs” on existing wells and It does seem there is difficulty at the northern end of Garwhar; but I’m not so sure the reduction is involuntary. (more…)
