Eight Necessary Transitions

The Necessary Revolution

We live in an economic, political and social cul-de-sac. We need to draw back, re-evaluate, rebuild, and re-establish to find a new direction for human activity on Earth.

We are destroying the Earth. Processes that will take more than 100 years to resolve themselves are already in motion. The economy is like a huge ship steaming into harbour at full speed. The ships master insists that the ship travels faster. (That we increase our Gross National Product.)

Either we slow the ship ourselves, or we follow orders and wait until the crash comes. Which option are you choosing?

Prof. James Gustave Speth says that to save the Planet we need to undertake EIGHT Transitions, each of which require us to adopt a completely new appreciation of what's important.

What are those EIGHT Transitions? Briefly
A stable and then a smaller world population. Stable lifestyles with a desirable future.	Using mostly environmentally benign technologies. Appropriate technology.
A new culture of "consciousness" is necessary. Open and transparent community.	Environmentally honest prices. Cap and trade, pollution taxes Taxing "bads" rather than "goods".
Knowledge and learning for everyone. Lifelong learning for all.	Consumption restricted to sustainable levels. Encourage local production - Minimise throughput of materials.
Excellence in government needs to be taken seriously. Effective democratic processes. Politicians that are like us. Fair selection of candidates. An electoral process not corrupted by excessive money.	Freedom from mass poverty. Equible sharing of resources. People need opportunity not just money.
How can we remember these issues so we can use this knowledge in our daily lives? I've arranged them in two columns, People issues on the left and Economic issues on the right. Four of each. Now you need to remember "two groups of four". People issues: Population; Consciousness; Knowledge; and Governance. Economic issues: Technology; Honest Prices; Consumption; Equality. These necessary changes are exactly what most of the world's politicians are trying to avoid. They pay lip service to some of the agenda, but they refuse to fund it. They promise to contol the excesses of the business agenda and then write weak law that they have no intention of enforcing. This lack of action is destroying our world, but it will be much worse for our grandchildren, that much is already guaranteed. What you can do is become informed. Think global - Act local. Be part of the change that's needed. Street Groups are an example of one of the new tools we can use to reduce our impact on the Earth.

Speth refers us to the Earth Charter

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Eight Necessary Transitions

The Necessary Revolution

What are those EIGHT Transitions? Briefly