On a macro scale ... on a micro scale ... how are we fairing on this beautiful planet of ours?   

 * ASSESS THE SITUATION RIGHT WHERE YOU LIVE *

Break it down: What does your daily life look like on the most basic, fundamental level?

                       

Want to find out who the major polluters are in your state or county? 

I highly recommend checking out The Right-To-Know Network. You can find them at http://www.rtknet.org/   

or try http://scorecard.goodguide.com/

"The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently."     Pema Chodron

 

 All around the world - rich or poor - we all have the same basic needs.

Everyone needs clean, healthy food, air and water.
We need clothes and shelter to protect us from the elements and keep us safe.
We all yearn for love, friends and meaningful work. 
And whether we realize it or not, we need to connect with nature.

If we're not getting these basics right, then literally everything else is messed up to one degree or another.                                                   Because it's all intertwined.                             

By building a world where every community has food, energy and water security we are laying the foundation for world peace.

   So let's have the courage to take a deeper look at our culture. What works and what doesn't?
   How can we change age old beliefs that put the needs of a few above the rest of humanity?

In these troubled times we must rethink our economic system, which is based on a belief in continual growth and profit. No system grows and grows without eventual collapse. We are still subject to the rise and fall of nature's seasons and cycles. Our desire for continual growth is fueled by raping the earth, digging ever deeper, burning more fossil fuels, and altering the climate. Rather than focusing on profits, corporations should exist to enhance the well being of all. If they have a healthy business model, they'll profit naturally.

Modern economies have been constructed to require growth, so that shrinkage causes defaults and layoffs; mere lack of growth is perceived as a serious problem requiring immediate application of economic stimulus.

There is no significant constituency within society advocating a deliberate, policy-led process of degrowth, while there are powerful interests seeking to maintain growth and to deny evidence that expansion is no longer feasible. Nevertheless, managed contraction would almost certainly yield better outcomes than chaotic collapse—for everyone, elites included.  Richard Heinberg

Our most basic, day-to-day lifestyle choices are our real world politics. What we eat, the miles we drive and fly, the things we buy - these all impact the planet to a greeter or lesser degree. Unfortunately, we're making choices that pollute the planet, and require the use of vast natural resource from our own lands, and from foreign lands that aren't ours to exploit.

                     But hey - please let me acknowledge here ...                                                                                                                                                    HOW VERY DIFFICULT IT IS TO SORT THIS OUT & MAKE GOOD INFORMED CHOICES !

 * Because we're born into an economic culture based primarily on profit and ruthless competition.

 * Everything has been super-sized - our homes, offices, stores, cars, roadways - everything.

 * As we've become increasingly urbanized, we've become divorced from nature and natural thinking. Now that most of us live in cities, this enormously complex, energy-sucking infrastructure seems normal to us.  

 * There's an unholy alliance of power mongers  - corporate - political - media & religious - who are perfectly happy to see us drifting away from nature, community & family ... making it that much easier to tweak and alter our personal and cultural values.

shopping is patriotic   *   greed is good   *   we wage war to bring peace 

An unprecedented amount of time, money and energy is pumped into turning us into unquestioning, complacent cogs in the wheel. From birth onward we are indoctrinated with the idea that we are here to buy the latest, greatest toys, cars and doodads.                       

Shop til you drop ... it's woven into every fiber of our culture.   

We are all, to one degree or another, enthralled and intertwined with this mega-super-high energy-entertainment-capitalist-consumer lifestyle.

So much of the media and advertising we're exposed to is a form of propaganda, designed to make us good little consumers ... good little citizens. And today, more than ever, it's delivered with a wink and a nod that appeals to our desire ....

                                                           .... to be COOL, to be HIP, to be on the CUTTING EDGE                       

And now, all these decades later, the knowledge of how to manipulate our unconscious minds has been well honed and perfected.

 

Fortunately, our awareness of the way media constantly shapes us, helps us to throw off our shackles.   

                                Unplug !  Divest Yourself from this Out of Control Juggernaut.

                                                      

Because really, what does it matter if you have the latest greatest smart phone, if your energy is drained by the toxic formaldehyde that's off-gassing from the carpets and furniture in your home and office ? So what if we're free to choose from a multitude of sugary treats, when their daily consumption leads to tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes.