Whew, time for some good news
With all of the terrifying developments in the world – and they are very real, unfortunately – it seems essential to pay attention to the good news and the victories, the positive examples and the hopeful signs, as well as the ominous trends. If we don’t, then we may well be swamped by feelings of powerlessness, and then very little is possible.
Empowerment, and therefore inspiration, is critical. In fact, I believe this is the bottle-neck: this is the limiting factor. People have a pretty good sense of what is going on, at least in rough outline. And polls repeatedly indicate that the basic values of the people of both the Western world and the world as a whole, are ones of fairness, ecological sustainability, peace, authentic democracy, and equity. What is needed is a greater degree of empowerment: that is, a recognition of our power.
In fact, if "the threat of a good example" is what the power elite and empire-mongers fear most, then that is precisely what we must provide: working alternatives to a self-destructive system of madness.
Together we shape the world. If we choose passivity and resignation, then we abdicate both our right – our privilege – and our responsibility to share collectively in choosing our future and our ever-unfolding present. In order to spur ourselves and one another to greater awareness of our collective power as citizens, and our empowerment as individuals, we need inspiration as well as determination. In short, sometimes we simply need some encouraging examples. That being said, here is a small selection of good news.
JTR,
Norway forgives 80 million in debts - Nordic country first to break silence on "illegitimate" loans.
Church of England divests $3.84 million from arms dealer
Church divests from arms dealers
Cities begin to take action on peak oil
Portland Passes Peak Oil Resolution | relocalize.net
Full text of San Franciso peak oil resolution | EnergyBulletin.net | Peak Oil News Clearinghouse
Making Sweden an OIL-FREE Society
Nordic Countries Design Sustainable Communities: The Natural Step for Eco-Villages
Cuba demonstrates success in responding to oil crisis, creates an organic revolution
Cuba: the accidental revolution | EnergyBulletin.net | Peak Oil News Clearinghouse
The Greening of the Revolution: Cuba's Experiment with Organic Agriculture
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil - order video
Cities show leadership where “higher” governments fail
Twin Cities Competition for E-efficiency
Twin Cities Solar Tour - video
Not with a whimper: courts and journalists show they still have some spine
TheStar.com - Secrets law unconstitutional
An empire at twilight:
Superpower’s global dominance in question
50 Years After Suez, US Hegemony Ebbing Fast
The Crumbling Empire: Latin America and Asia Breaking Free of Washington's Grip - Noam Chomsky
The crisis of legitimacy:
Global corporate rule is now fragile
Confronting the Empire - Chomsky at the World Social Forum
Chavez confronts US empire at UN,
Americans respond by showing more confidence in Chavez than Bush,
taking his recommendation and reading Chomsky in record numbers
Hugo Chavez at UN, 20 Sept 2006 (English) - I of III
ZNet |Venezuela | Chavez at the UN
The Western world’s leading dissident
becomes #1 author
on world’s biggest online bookstore
Chomsky Book Sales Skyrocket - Los Angeles Times
Nader publicly nominates Bill Moyers for President
Hydrogen is happening: cutting through the fog – and the smog
ITS Hydrogen Highway Launch Event
British Columbia's own Hydrogen Highway | Hydrogen Use
Hydrogen Bus Demonstration Completed In Manitoba, Partners Invest $600,000 In Technology
Berlin, Shanghai and Amsterdam unveil hydrogen buses
London Hydrogen Partnership - Peugeot
H2.ca - Hydrogen Water Taxi in Newport Harbor
BBC News | SCI/TECH | Iceland launches energy revolution
BMW's hydrogen powered 7-Series
BBC NEWS Science-Nature Sun and hydrogen 'to fuel future'
Canadian Group Produces Hydrogen from Water Using Solar Energy
SHEC Labs achieved breakthrough performance in manufacturing ...
Sunlight Used To Produce Hydrogen From Water
US legislator wants to reward hydrogen inventors
Growing hydrogen for the cars of tomorrow - energy-fuels - 25 February 2006 - New Scientist
Treehugger Garbage to Hydrogen, Just Add Sun
Sewage turned into hydrogen fuel - 29 April 2002 - New Scientist
Nanotubes crank out hydrogen TRN 020905
Science begins to realize the obvious,
and begins to awaken to what Kropotkin
pointed out over 100 years ago:
cooperation is as natural as competition
- in fact, moreso among the primates and
other species of higher intelligence
Scientific American Mind: The Samaritan Paradox
Labels: crisis of legitimacy, empire, empowerment, good news, hydrogen, inspiration, post-carbon, renewable
posted by J. Todd Ring at 2:17 p.m.
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