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Transition Aotearoa - Are We Mongrel Enough?

In TT Lower Hutt the recent speaker was Dr David Lowe from Niwa who was part of the international panel that won a nobel prize for climate change. The guy was excellent and he had real mileage in terms of his track record and experience. He put the CC situation simply based on the accumulation of adverse effects. I asked him how long do we have before the earth's biosphere reaches a point of no return? He said, 10 years.

For me that was a wakeup call. We are facing possible annihilation in 10 years or sooner? Our little babies right now are in for some hard knocks in 10 years time or sooner. This threat is more severe than any terrorist threat or political donors yet Government is still playing silly buggers with the current saga around Winston Peters. National does not give one confidence. Gee where is the standard of leadership and behaviour to assure us when we have more pressing issues in the wind.

Maybe we should get a bit more mongrel and start to really go hard at this transition change work. I use the word mongrel because it is provocative. We have 10years possibly so we need to get moving. I know many of us here are middle-older generation who are nice, solid pillars of the community who are seeing the need for change. Might seem controversial but do we need to mobilise sleeper cells of commando gardeners? Or a Transition Aid Force that can go into a locality and rebuild a sustainable designed village or town or marae quickly and efficiently. Expand on different fronts. Build Individual skills. Collective effort. Bit similar in many ways to the War Effort when everyone got stuck in and did their bit. Except this time it could be a lot worse than WW2.

Just my thoughts. Be interested in what others think?

Hoe ano,
Hirini

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Permalink Reply by Hirini R on September 12, 2008 at 17:19
Thanks James for your comments and the quote from Derrick Jensen. I am just evoking the Toa energy here if you remember the Noa-Toa-Koa energy cycle from the Haka for Life seminar that Ruth and I taught on. The alchemy of energy. I believe we are in the clearing Noa state of cultivating a new way. Toa urgency will come when more crises happen. Floods, power cuts, earthquakes are warning signs that Mother Earth is saying " humans, sort your crap and recycle your thinking". Otherwise I am going to raise sea levels, sink a couple continents and put a freeze over everything.

I personally see both hard and soft, inner and outer approaches to making the transition. Both the individual transition and the collective TA effort. Each person has got to mix together their own formula for transitioning. Bit like choosing a meal from a smorgasbord of choices. Find what suits your taste.
Permalink Reply by Michael E on September 18, 2008 at 22:47
Annihilation? Im thinking more itl be starvation,sickness and illusions/delusions.

Wartime shows that an economy can do anything,and a government can fund it if it is politically 'positive' to do so -atleast for a short time. Note that the USA has essentially been at war since the end of WW2 - in a different,subtle manner. War on drugs, War on vietnam/Panama/Cuba/laos/camodia/Haiti/Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan.................

While I agree, I also see a large proportion of people who are quite happy to work hard to live/eat, and to play hard- either through drugs (legal mostly) or gaming or sports - etc.The bread and circus if you will.

If you think of this in terms of an information war, then a follow up to 'an inconvenient truth' is required. Note that Al Gores hyperbole puts some off 20metre sea rises in a few years etc- even if it is emotive. I thought that the tv series "wasted" was quite good,and shows that a bunch of small steps make a big difference. Kiwis seeing other kiwis achieving things also makes it self fulfilling. the dvd can be hired from dev-zone.org.

regards
Mike
Permalink Reply by Hirini R on September 19, 2008 at 11:20
Good points Mike. Part of me just says whatever will be will be. Let the cycles turn and nature takes it course. Everyone will have their own opinion what will eventuate. Yeah there will be areas of sickness and death. Like cancer spots. Dead earth. Bit like Rubbish dumps. Toxic rivers. Slums. Yet people still live and survive in this crap.

Kiwiland is unique in that we are an island. Enough resources to be self-sufficient. Perhaps this is where Maori iwi can really start leading the way. Iwi and marae still have the people networks to mobilise the green dream in the rural areas. This is one area of potential. A merger of Maori spirituality, pakeha pragmatism & green technologies to make a new Kiwi approach.

Cheers
H.
Permalink Reply by Andrew Salisbury on October 3, 2008 at 13:35
I also recently listened to Bruce Lipton - Cell biology "Wisdom of your cells", mixed his ideas of environment with some Montessori learning theory and a bit of money theory from Karl Marx (sighted in the Dom a few days ago). Still working on what is unfolding, but my guess is that we will alter rapidly when we cannot control our environment and when money stops being the sole trading commodity. I imaging that I will be radically altered by the "field" when the cash I have is meaningless and the land I 'own' is all that keeps the Big Bad Wolf out.

We are remarkable in our ability to alter our environment, and to use tools to survive any environment. I wonder if much of what we are talking about is the need to regard the place we live (in fact the whole spiritual, economic and social place too) as more important that our individual plans - at least put the emphasis onto balance.

We Are what we eat, what we think ... we are a product of the place we exist, but uniquely able to effect change on the place we live. We are talented and courageous ... and stupid and resistant. And, of course, with technology such as this, we can join in with others like minded without having to live in the same town.

Incidentally, have you read any Alfred Bester? He has a fascination with things Maori, and has a couple of SciFi novels out that envision a future where Maori are "on top".
Permalink Reply by Hirini R on October 4, 2008 at 15:56
Hi Andrew
Thanks for your comments. The meltdown of wall street and the US economy is the best thing for creating transition. This is the mongrel, the big bad wolf thats going to shock people. Make them wakeup. We have been chasing the wrong dream. More money, big car, house, silicon tits, botox and all the artificial marketing hype that just feeds the fat lazy pigfarm called capitalism. Now it is squealing for help. Kill it, chop it up and feed the hungry. Then get back to real earth based lifestyles. Also need a strong sense of humour and a pragmatic spirituality that can help people live through nightmare. Give them hope. Not turn on each other but help each other brave the pain.

I must check Alfred Bester? So he envisions a future where Maori are on top. Well my feel is that it is beyond Maori ethnicity now and we are all indigenous to the earth. All 6.7 billion humans right now. All 6.7 billion Maori right now. We must include all our earth whanau. The Wind people. Tree people. Fish people. Bird people. Four legged people. The eight leggeds. All our relatives here on Earth. Ancient story and SciFi happening in real time. Right now. Exciting times. I love it.

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