A sweeping wave of paradigm change
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“Hawken points out that these groups – NGO’s and other groups – are small, not centralized, and well outside the mainstream. There’s a tremendous grassroots ground surge in environmentalism and social change, that seems hell-bent on redirecting our societal consciousness.” Ari leaned back in his chair in contemplative conversation, quite at ease now. “This is the ‘Transformation Wave’ I was envisioning as I wrote that article. We’re in the initial stages of the rise on the bell curve of an entirely new way of thinking in our society.
“Think of the emotions of a market. The environmental and social change groups are at the point where a few people are on board, but the mainstream hasn’t yet caught up the enthusiasm. It’s not really evident, you have to know where to look to see it.'"
--character Ari in chapter 2 of Legacy
Ari's 'Transformation Wave' is the name I gave in fiction to the powerful movement of positive environmental and social change underway in the world today.
Paul Hawken describes this movement in his essay "Natural Capitalism: Brother Can You Spare a Paradigm?" This essay is found in Nature's Operating Instructions: The True Biotechnologies, edited by Kenny Ausubel.
As I compiled information to write Legacy, positive environmental news stories seemed to jump out at me. Tiny morsels thrilled me, but the overwhelming quantity of them, the scope and breadth of them, nurtured my hope. Even as I completed the book, friends and family continued to send me 'good news' clips.
News this good is meant to be shared. Our media - unfortunately, even much of our Green media - is full of doomsday and iconoclast news stories. You must sift through carefully to read the 'good news,' and by that time, you could get to feeling pretty disheartened. Thus I constructed this website and accompanying blog to showcase the good news so that you too may be thrilled and nurtured to hope.
As we take it upon ourselves to redirect society toward Sustainability, we are creating change in paradigm. Essential to this paradigm change, is a change in the way we view time. Our contemporary media has trained us that 'news' is a 24/7 365 activity, with dozens of new happenings each minute. We have instant feeds for our news, and thus we have cultivated a myth that Something Important is happening (didn't Winnie the Pooh say that?).
I think of a tender seedling in my garden. Even in the prime of spring, as that fast-growing seedling pushes its way up toward sunlight, its growth cannot be seen by the human eye. It is still growing, but you'll only see it if you return in a day, two days, a week.
Similarly the Transformation Wave.
For 'Positive Environmental News,' I cull the stories carefully before I link to them. I wish to highlight stories which truly reflect our movement in the direction of Sustainability, or at least represent a solid leap out of Outrageously Unsustainable into the Transition era (see my continuum of sustainability). Thus I do not add to my Positive Environmental News on an hourly or daily basis. This is not CNN. (it's not ENN either!)
One last comment: Pollyana. I view myself as a cultivated optimist. I compile this list in part to bolster my own hopes for my children's future. I don't for a moment think that there's no bad stuff happening out there. But I firmly believe that if we hear only the bad, day in and day out, we lose our motivation; it becomes very hard to continue on.
One could view the environmenal glass as half-empty, give it up as hopeless, and not lift a finger to action. Or, we can view the glass as half-full, the task as just begun, and realize that every positive action we set in motion today benefits ten-fold, a hundred-fold, a thousand-fold in the time of our grandchildren.
Come join us.
'The Transformation Wave' - the full extent of my musings, on Sustainability, society's journey, Positive Environmental News, What Can I Do?, urban Permaculture, my organic edible landscaping garden, childrearing toward Sustainability, and other topics.
Positive Environmental News - links to purely the
good-news stories about environmental and social change
What Can I Do? - action items, lifestyle tips, and commentary about making environmental and social change more than just a good idea ... bringing Sustainablity to life.
Photo credit: Calendula by Melanie Tsoi, Perth, Australia