Hi gav, I'm with you ... My (pesonal) focus is going to be different. All together now "we're all individuals !".
Unless the "backs-against-the-wall dig-for-victory" mentality appeals to more people as a call to action (different stories will appeal to different people) it doesn't have to be cast that way - as survival. You were right already, as I've already said, with sustainability rather than survival as the catchphrase. Everything in your survival list applies to the sustainable strategy, and the economic downturn is just one environmental variable on the road to that strategy. Only two points I would make on your list ... (1) We can't all literally garden for our own self-sufficiency - we all have different skills and "competitive advantages" ... which mean some of us really should sew clothes, make jam, build houses, etc while others dig. Basic evolutionary economics long before numbers or money clouded the issue. We should all "tend our own garden" in the figurative buddhist sense. (2) The issue missing is "governance" how with minimal interference on personal freedoms and actions we achieve value of common & public goods. I don't believe free-for-all anarchy will be the best solution. Spookily, my boss, in the (big profit-making) company I have just joined this month, has just handed me a book considered compulsory reading, all employees having been bought a copy by the CEO. "The Hot Topic" by Gabrielle Walker and David King of which ... Al Gore says "In a world full of misinformation The Hot Topic is a beacon of clarity" ... James Lovelock says "It should become the authoritative statement on [sustainability] for years to come." Regards Ian On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 12:42 AM, gav <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > hi there, > looks like we are in global economic freefall. > maybe we should start thinking about how to deal with the inevitable knock-on > effects now? > > key issues: food and water security, housing, health. > > 1. food and water > i don't think it is extreme to say that we all need to start cultivating the > earth. trees take a while to grow and bear fruit. best to start as soon as > possible. a permaculture approach seems ideal: integrated plantings (food > plants, pioneeer species, companions, legumes, natives, fibre species, > medicine species etc) are aesthetically preferable and synergistic. > > our water situation here is getting better. more rain and more water tanks > collecting rain water. a few good downfalls and your tank is full, giving you > tasty, fluoride and chlorine free water for you and your garden. > > the secondary benefit of getting into the earth is that you end up getting > back into the earth - a gaian embrace. no more alienation from the natural > world: we feel our integration within the superorganism and we can perceive > our sacred role within this gaian matrix, that of co-creator/steward. > > 2. housing > i think we may see a bit of a london effect - having to shove a lot of people > into each rental. this is good and bad like all things: good for parties, > networking; bad for privacy, serenity. i was technically homeless for most of > last year and a good friend of mine has been homeless for most of this year - > sleeping in backyards, parks etc. this sort of thing is not healthy and not > sustainable. > freeing up buildings for cheap/free housing.....how do we get there? > i don't know. passive resistance? open to suggestions. > > 3.health > this is where the good news come in. health indicators may well go up as we > start eating more locally and by necessity have a predominantly vego diet. > this will definitely be the case if we start to revivify the community - > creating a web of connections that amplify the creative power and happiness > of those connected. > > > so in a nutshell: integrated (ie permaculture) gardening and water tanks are > basic. also basic is a wartime ethos: we will have to start helping each > other: ave to pull together lad! co-operation. > the other key is internet for info, communication and co-ordination. > > remember may 68 changed france and the world, but it was the dreaming - the > prelude to manifestation. now we are becoming ready to realise this > dream....the green beautiful. > > graffiti from paris, 40 years ago: > > happiness is not something you can buy, you must steal it > how sad to love money > there is cop inside each of us, we must kill him > under the cobblestones the beach > happiness is a new idea > we will have good masters as soon as everyone is there own > to call into question the society you live in you must first be capable of > calling yourself into question > are you a consumer or a participant? > the liberation of humanity is all or nothing > those who lack imagination cannot imagine what is lacking > forget everything you have been taught; start by dreaming > when examined answer with questions > be realistic, demand the impossible > unbutton your mind as often as your fly. > > viva la (r)evolution > > > > > Make the switch to the world's best email. 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