“It’s January 1, 2050. How, in 2024, did we pull off saving the world?”
Here we are today, having arrived at what was established as a deadline, 30 or 40 years ago, to eliminate the oxidation of fossil fuels for generating the electrical power and the heat needed for domestic, industrial and market purposes, and to adjust our lifestyles to adapt to new ways of living.
Back in those days, when the scientific terminology “global warming” was softened to “climate change,” it was largely for purposes of acceptance by the lay public, who were otherwise dissuaded from “believing” whenever extreme cold weather would strike.
But the public was slow to grasp the concept, and slower yet in taking steps toward resolving one of the major causes, the 200 years of industry and the huge population boom which was enabled. What’s more, there was a great amount of publicity to convince and then inform the masses of the crisis at hand.
There was controversy and public struggle over acceptance, and well-funded denial by individuals and institutions feeling their marketing/control/profit paradigm threatened.
Getting far less public attention was the mass extinction event accompanying climate change, depletion of what had always been called “natural resources,” and mass spoiling of life habitat.
Sociopathic behaviors became common, with profit and domination motives driving extreme economic stratification, whole populations removed from their homelands, political figures misrepresenting their motives and concealing their actions.
Debt-based money, extractive capitalism and rampant consumerism were seen by some to be the primary cause of our collective troubles, while others most blamed the centuries of pumping combustion (and other) waste into the environment. Even when there was a degree of agreement about such issues, very few were willing to sacrifice the luxuries of modern life to affect the changes needed to reverse the trend.
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Many networks began to form between people willing to make a difference. Neighborhood groups formed carpools and child care services, community gardens and solar energy co-ops. “Maker” groups shared their knowledge.
“Heal Separation; Build Trust; Make a Difference” became a popular slogan of a new movement toward charity, and participative engagement in local affairs extended to regional, statewide, and even international outreach, citizen-to-citizen and group-to-group.
Community solar parks charged phones and laptops, then scooters and pedal-assist e-bikes, and then expanded to charge the growing number of electric cars, buses and delivery vehicles.
Rain catchment became as popular as rooftop solar, and neighborhood gardens developed both aerobic and anaerobic digesters for composting, generating methane gas for cooking, and rich compost for gardens. With the developing cooperative services also came socializing at the neighborhood level, with game, yoga, dance and fitness clubs, music groups and hobby projects providing meaningful activity for people of all ages. This brought new habits: less travel of all kinds, close friendships and willingness to contribute, healthier kids and better social relations. Zoning was changed to allow for greater residential density, more home enterprise and local community centers.
But politics changed too. When the “Heal Separation; Build Trust; Make a Difference” movement began to catch on, there was a natural gravitation toward local chats, then decision-making, and sociocratic organizing empowered collectives to act both apart and in concert with others, sending delegates to regional councils. Before long, city councils and county commissions were taking direction from the well-organized sociocratic groups, and eventually were replaced by them. Democracy was re-birthed in this way, with each individual feeling connected and responsible; every voice heard and respected.
Consumerism lost its popularity when sharing became more common, and the stimulus of competition (for wealth, position, and status symbols) lost its allure. Quality goods, returned to the (worker-owned) manufacturer for restoration or parting out, justified a higher initial price, while local repair shops would do maintenance.
In the northern hemisphere, the traditional U.S. holiday Thanksgiving lost its historical associations with paternalistic colonization, and became broadly adopted across all borders, as a celebration of global natural abundance and cooperation, the human embrace of life and love. This newly international holiday now opens the season of Winter Holidays, culminating with Valentine’s Day.
With the joy of modern living, it’s challenging to think back on those days of the ’20s, except to be grateful that we had the collective wisdom to mature.