A statement
(I’m attending the Salzburg Global Seminar which was themed: ‘Arts, Technology and Making Sense of the Future’ and apparently former alumni have produced a ‘statement’ in the past. That doesn’t seem to be happening this time around so I thought I’d give it a go. Much of this relates to the wicked problem of global warming which was discussed at great length.)
In coming up with ideas on how to move from thought to action we:
- Should not treat the (in)actions of Western Nations which have a larger role in contributing to global warming in the same way as the (in)actions of nations which don’t.
- Should develop ideas about how to sell concepts of restraint in Western Nations to allow other nations to continue to improve their condition. (CFCs, plastic bags , veganism, disposable plastic, Marie Kondo are examples.)
- Should help Western Nations to move from an agenda of growth to an agenda of equity, balance and efficiency.
- Should champion technology-driven ideas that solve climate related issues and fund them well. Every 14 year old should aspire to become an environmental entrepreneur.
- Should help people be a prophet in their own land, it’s easier to grow a community of sustainable entrepreneurship if they are able to grow in your own back yard. Every town, city, nation, should champion it’s local environmental entrepreneurs, no matter how small.
- Should lobby governments to subsidise the retraining of workers who lost their jobs in traditional manufacturing for their talent to shift to jobs in the sustainability sector.
- Should lobby governments to police, fine and regulate industries which don’t actively manage their environmental waste nor offer mechanisms for their customers to reduce the waste produced by their products. Some industries should be allowed to die (won’t be the first time nor the last).
- Support efforts for waste management to be as local as possible.
- Should include ‘protection from impact of climate change’ in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, quality of life and economic indexes.
Want to add any to this list? Comment below!
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