Hurricane Harvey from a NASA photo taken by a satellite.
Dear Year 2192 & Year 2017:
Can our two years talk? Let’s use our imaginations.
The Iroquois Native Americans wisely advised us all to think ahead seven generations. As Hurricane Harvey attacks the Houston area in this year 2017, seven generations ahead (each generation is now about 25 years) would be the year 2192.
Wow, you in the year 2192, that is the 700th anniversary of the invasion of this continent by us Europeans. I hope someone is there to read this message? Perhaps if we here in the year 2017 are effective and ignite a global revolution, we can ensure there will be people alive in 2192.
Here in Eugene, brother Tony, worker Ian and love of my life Debra joined me for 2017 eclipse watching. Senior discount seating was available!
Over the years I have created a number of games that I mostly play in my own head. One of these has actually caught on a bit with some of my homecare workers: When you hear anyone, such as on the radio, say the word “normal” you howl. That is it. You can play!
On the right we made a party for watching the 2017 eclipse. My brother Tony chose the soundtrack.
Personally my current game that I play in my own head is named “4Truths.” All you need to do is provide four of your truths that you feel that if the world knew, it may save their bacon.
Here are my four truths:
What is the lag time between emitting carbon pollution, and hurting the environment? I have read that this is 40 years. In other words, a recent summer 2017 month was the hottest on record. The pollution that led to this was produced back when I was in college, and I graduated 1977.
Why is there this major lag time? My understanding from scientific articles and documentaries, is that the ocean absorbs a lot of our pollution. About 93% of greenhouse gasses are gobbled up by the sea, so that the impact of climate chaos is not immediately visible. The ocean stays all blue and consistent. Right? Not forever.
When is seven generations ahead? We often hear that phrase first put forth by Iroquois Native Americans. According to my search engine, the average generation is now about 25 years. That means that seven generations is about 175 years. From this year, 2017, that would be 2192, the 700th anniversary of the invasion of this continent by us Europeans. (We had tried before, such as with Viking settlements, but they did not last.)
So what if there are a few lags between pollution and climate crisis? There are more than four “lag times” before the year 2192. Big deal? Yes! Science has gone through a quiet revolution. Ask any reputable scientist, from physics to sociology. They will tell you that if anyone triggers enough positive feedback loops, chaos can result. Think of shooting off a gun despite warnings of a pending avalanche. When the snow starts to tumble, it may be too late.
What are your four truths?
I will be tweeting the short phrase #4Truths. Please post your tweet there, and/or here on my blog comment area. Thanks!
Buddhism has its “Four noble truths.” Let us hear yours!
Hope to see you there, if you know anyone in Eugene, please spread the word. Wherever you are, you may have some good feedback, please use the comment area below. As long as you are civil, all points of view are welcome.
Oregon Community Credit Union leader will become chair of Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce in January 2017.
The local alternative paper, Eugene Weekly, published my letter to the editor today, 12/15/16. At the end, please see a way you can email a peaceful, strong note to Mandy Jones.
Climate Crisis
The Native American Water Protectors’ victory over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) may seem remote, but there is a way this climate crisis issue is directly in front of me, and all Americans.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, based in Washington, D.C., is one of the main groups championing DAPL and the petrochemical-industry rape of Earth. The climate defender group 350 asked for five years that local chambers assert their independence and say “the U.S. Chamber doesn’t speak for me.” Unfortunately, only 56 out of 3,000 of these local chambers have spoken up.
Rather than viewing this as a failure, I look at it as a challenge.
Several activists and I have petitioned the local Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, but despite many years of emails, peaceful protests and outreach, the leadership has maintained silence about the climate crisis and the U.S. Chamber.
In 2017, the chair of the local chamber will be Mandy Jones, the chief executive officer for Oregon Consumer Credit Union. I’ve been a proud member of OCCU since 1988. I am encouraging OCCU, as a member-owned entity, to ask the local chamber to speak up about the climate crisis.
David Oaks, Eugene
Action: Please send a message to Ms. Mandy Jones about how you encourage OCCU to speak out about the climate crisis and the US Chamber. Use the website here, and put your comment on the left side form: https://www.myoccu.org/contact-us
For more info about 350 campaign started in 2001 about the US Chamber, see: http://chamber.350.org/
Two loons find each other and oppose the climate crisis!
My wife Debra insisted this morning that I load up and watch with her a TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Talk that Al Gore made earlier this year, February 2016. Al explains why he is optimistic about addressing the climate crisis, if we all jump on board right now. The last few years I have watched hundreds of documentaries, including countless TED Talks, however this one is indeed special.
So call me loony, but with Debra, I did watch Al Gore’s latest TED presentation, 25 minutes, and I gained positivity:
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about this crisis? Please leave your comment at the end of this blog entry.
Yes, I know that I have brought up on this blog the worst case scenario more than once, to try to do my part in waking up a seemingly-hypnotized public. This year’s TED Talk by Al starts off with the updated reality of the catastrophe, and how we need to mobilize immediately. After this frightening wake-up call, the next two points he brings up are very, very positive, and I hope everyone watches his explanation.
I need Al’s dose of accurate optimism. Two things I am most concerned about:
First, scientists have known for a while that there is a 40-year lag between dumping carbon in the atmosphere, and the end result. In other words, the increased heat we are experiencing now came from the carbon that was released in about 1976. The worst carbon pollution, from the past few decades, has not yet had a chance to have its hellish consequences. If you would like to read more about this lag see: http://www.skepticalscience.com/Climate-Change-The-40-Year-Delay-Between-Cause-and-Effect.html
But second, my biggest worry, is that most of the general public does not seem to understand what a revolution in the sciences. Unfortunately there is no one word that sums up this paradigm shift, but some of the words for it are: complexity theory, emergence, the Butterfly effect, systems theory, nonlinearity, self-organizing, feedback, chaos theory, fractals, etc.
Even Aristotle lectured about this idea. With the advent of computers, scientists gathered clear evidence that self-organizing feedback loops are extremely significant and influential. Inital conditions, even very slight ones, may have enormous consequences. Many of us have heard of the “Butterfly effect.” I hope that you know that the Butterfly effect is literally true and has been shown to be correct by the evidence. Yes, the flap of a butterfly wing in Brazil can eventually lead to changing when and where even a tornado arrives in Texas. Of course it is impossible to predict which butterfly may influence which tornado.
The logic behind the Butterfly effect is that when a feedback loop is altered, even incrementally, this can cascade into major changes. One of the most pessimistic thinkers about the climate crisis, author Guy McPherson, has identified dozens of feedback self-reinforcing loops that can be triggered and make the climate crisis worse, in a non-linear and chaotic way. This is the so-called runaway climate crisis that we are sometimes warned about. McPherson famously believes that it is already too late to stop.
My impression is that because dealing with the climate crisis involves such a dispute with business leaders, that scientists have focused on what is highly likely to happen, such as the approximate increase of sea level rise in the next few decades, etc.
However, for me, the most scary part is that if humanity continues to insufficiently address the climate crisis, more and more positive feedback loops can be triggered. Think about driving late at night on a highway near a cliff. You spot what might be black ice on the road, and it would be wise to stop business as usual. Unfortunately, it is as if humanity has spotted black ice and seems to be driving even faster. If our imagined vehicle does hit black ice, and we begin to spin toward the cliff, then this chaotic feedback loop may become all too plain, but by then we may be learning too late.
There is such a thing as too late
Back in 2012, I climbed a little ladder for our cat, Bongo, who was playing in our loft in my writer’s studio. For some reason, these steps were the only ones I had not put tread on. I slipped, fell, broke my neck and now I am in a power chair. Because of pre-existing conditions, I even have a few more disabilities.
My point is, that many of us with extreme disabilities recognize how even a moment can lead to massive loss. Humanity looks like it is climbing up a slippery ladder, but Al Gore is warning folks about that step, and appears to also bring us hope about a revolution of solutions. The Butterfly effect can work to our advantage, too. Even small actions for our Earth may lead to massive good change, we do not have control over that exact outcome, but we must take those actions.
For example, for about three decades I have meditated. Obviously there are a lot of disputes about the unknown, spirituality, etc. I realize that even something as a good, mindful breath can have a positive effect. Hey, that means we can all be revolutionaries with every breath! And if we ever needed to be revolutionaries, and find other revolutionaries, it is now.
Earlier I mentioned that I had brought up the worst case scenario involving climate crisis. If you would like to read about that rather frightening horror, I even invented a new word for it: Normalgeddon! Click on that word to learn more.
But if you watch only one thing, please watch the Al Gore TED Talk from this year, he has made a great follow-up to that earlier TED Talk.
Thanks Debra! She said about the talk, “Positive, realistic, and not b.s. There are things that each of us can do to help. It gave me the courage and conviction to take action today!” Heck, her action even led to this blog entry. You could say Debra was the butterfly today. Debra has complained to me about how some climate activists dwell on the negative. While I respect Guy McPherson, the worst case scenario would rely on triggering chaotic, unpredictable feedback loops. In other words, it ain’t over yet, Guy!
Other folks believe that something like nuclear power or geoengineering will be the main solution. However, as Al points out, even if problems with nukes are addressed, they are only a small part of the answer. For me, I agree with Al that we need to build global will, and will is a renewable resource. One of my renewable sources of will is my community, especially Debra.
So here is a free, two-and-a-half minute video, about the call a loon, we can actually sound pretty beautiful as we locate other loons, as I did 33 years ago when I first met my wonderful Debra:
Eight years ago, Al Gore gave a TED Talk about new ways of thinking about the climate crisis. Thanks, Al, for re-visiting this topic and pointing out hopeful solutions. You may watch his earlier TED Talk from 2008 here:
During this past Summer, I reflected on who my actual audience is. While contemporary readers are welcome, thanks, I believe we need to all be creating for an audience seven generations ahead. Currently, an estimate of how long a generation is about 25 years. Then next year, 2017, seven generations ahead will be the year 2192. That will be a memorable year. That is also the 700th anniversary of the European invasion of this hemisphere.
Let us all take action now so that there is an audience in 2192! Thanks Al Gore for this optimism revolution, maybe there will indeed be an audience.
So are you positive or negative about our future? Will there be a healthy, positive generation in 2192? Leave your comment on this blog entry below, thanks!
Comments Off on Your Input Needed Now: “Label Me Revolutionary!” New Website Coming
PsychoQuad, David Oaks, in front of the mural in the actual Springfield of The Simpsons
In one week I turn 61. For more than two-thirds of my life I have worked as a human rights activist for people in the mental health system and people with physical disabilities.
We, humanity in general, need a revolution now, more than ever! Why?
Because of the climate crisis and the catastrophe caused by our collective paralysis.
Because of the enormous and growing imbalance of wealth in our world.
Because of a thousand more reasons.
PsychoQuad:
Turn Labels into Revolution!
With the capable help of web steward, Jeffrey Bousquet, we will soon be launching a new project and website. We request your ideas and feedback.
How does the experience of disability help us be better revolutionaries?
If you have never been labeled with a disability, how can you learn from disabled people?
What features on a new website would transform labels into revolution?
Join the Positively Weirdest in the World
Every thing and everybody are weird. But we aim to be positively weird. To be the positively weirdest!
Your feedback, ideas and involvement are encouraged in many ways:
You can make a comment here on this blog entry at the bottom.
On Twitter we are using the hashtag #LabelMeRevolutionary
Watch for our launch!
We are looking for ideas, but more than that if the concept of turning labels into a peaceful revolution interests you, we would love to participate as a leader. Say it in your comment and provide a way to contact you.
While this project is totally independent, we support and work closely with the International Association for the Advancement Creative Maladjustment (IAACM). Founded as a poetic idea Martin Luther King, Jr. decades ago, we are making his dream a reality. You can too! If you support his values, you can proudly say you are IAACM leader!
By the way, my birthday is Friday, September 16. For my birthday, please make revolution visible now!
