[All] Mike Nickerson & Choosing the Better Path
Robert Milligan
mill at continuum.org
Wed Sep 23 02:52:00 EDT 2009
Hi All & esp. John,
The Mike Nickerson speaking tour was not put on last meeting's agenda
-- it was pretty full -- as was requested. How do people feel about
inviting Mike Nickerson to speak this Fall? This is what I wrote
previously: "It seems that arrangements have made by some group for
Mike to speak In Cambridge on Thursday Oct 22 for lunch re: his new
fall tour. This may suit some in GREN. Others who may wish to hear
Mike might find K/W on Monday Nov 16 in the evening (still open) more
suitable. How do GREN members feel? Perhaps John could put Mike's tour
& a possible K/W stop on next meeting's agenda." Mike -- who has been
involved in the Green Party of Canada for over 20 years -- is always
very interesting. A GREN sponsored
public meeting featuring him could serve as an outreach of GREN to the
general community. If there is no interest at this time, I will let
him know.
Robert
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Robert Milligan <mill at continuum.org>
> Date: September 8, 2009 3:13:21 PM GMT-04:00
> To: GREN <all at gren.ca>
> Cc: Mike Nickerson <sustain5 at web.ca>
> Subject: Fwd: Choosing the Better Path
>
> FYI. Maybe Susan K. could help again on this or?
>
> Robert
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Mike Nickerson <sustain5 at sympatico.ca>
>> Date: September 8, 2009 9:04:07 AM GMT-04:00
>> To: Robert Milligan <mill at continuum.org>
>> Subject: Re: Choosing the Better Path
>>
>> Hi Robert:
>>
>> Thanks for forwarding this.
>>
>> Yes the time for the Question has arrived. Some time in
>> assembling a good foundation promises to make this fall's move much
>> more effective. That said, broad brush criticism of corporations
>> would be unnecessarily provokative. The Sustainability Project is,
>> after all, a corporation, non-profit as it happens, but a body
>> constituted by law. Thanks to being corporate, which to a large
>> extent means accountable, in that where we get money from and what
>> we spend it on can be investigated as a part of our charter.
>> Because we are so accountable, we were awarded a Student Work
>> contract which hired a student for us for 6 weeks. We could not
>> have afforded such help, but due to Greg's work, we now have audio
>> and AV material on our site and have learned the skills to produce
>> more. (You can find the material at the top of the "Articles" link
>> at http://www.SustainWellBeing.net These will be posted on the
>> front page of a new web site, which Greg also produced for us,
>> along with teaching me to use DreamWeaver so that I can link up the
>> other 200 or so pages from the old site. All to be launched with
>> the Question of Direction later this month, Gaia willing.
>>
>> All of which is to say that not all corporations are evil. THose
>> that are are huge & we are best to gather voices for the Question
>> of Direction without troubling them as to our efforts. If we are
>> successful & stirring up the discussion, they will become aware
>> when the process is moving with such energy that it can withstand
>> their power to bend popular perception through the media.
>>
>> It would be great if GREN could arrange an event for Nov. 16. The
>> Rotary event would require that people get an invitation from a
>> member of the club. It wouldn't likely be hard to do, but it isn't
>> just a show up event.
>>
>> Thanks again for your interest.
>>
>> Yours, Mike N.
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> It seems that arrangements have made by some group for Mike to speak
>>> In Cambridge on Thursday Oct
>>> 22 for lunch re: his new fall tour. This may suit some in GREN.
>>> Others who may wish to hear Mike might find K/W on Monday Nov 16 in
>>> the evening (still open) more suitable. How do GREN members feel?
>>> Perhaps John could put Mike's tour & a possible K/W stop on next
>>> meeting's agenda.
>>>
>>> Mike appears to be moving towards a more critical position re: the
>>> negative effects that corporations are
>>> having, especially with his first paragraph below. (He still needs
>>> more courage to enable him to actually
>>> use the word corporation in a critical statement.)
>>>
>>> I especially like his greater emphasis on the concept of DIRECTION.
>>> This is not an easy challenge since
>>> most people seem content with some combination of World destruction
>>> and acting like brownian movement
>>> (http://science.howstuffworks.com/brownian-movement-info.htm
>>> ). A relatively small number of educated moderates of our species
>>> seem
>>> to have some idea of where we are going (an H2S future?) but little
>>> idea of where we should go beyond the necessary but not sufficient,
>>> sustainability/resilience (S/R). To move from this penultimate S/R
>>> purpose to a tentative ultimate one -- likely related to the
>>> Evolution
>>> of Consciousness (check out theoretical physicist Sir Roger
>>> Penrose on
>>> consciousness) -- we humans need to increase our effective brain
>>> power. This implies that we must best use the great unique variety &
>>> diversity (as in Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety & the concept of
>>> Biodiversity) of the planet's willing & able. In part this can be
>>> achieved through massive internet collaboration & cooperation so
>>> as to
>>> create a Global Neuro-Net or Designed Noosphere. Very approximately,
>>> Mike "seems" to want to take steps towards that future, i.e. to
>>> create
>>> an optimal participatory DIRECTION creation tool to discover/invent/
>>> formulate a tentative Ultimate Direction (Purpose, Value, Need,..)
>>> for
>>> all evolving life. Again, more courage can be invaluable.
>>>
>>> Best wishes,
>>> Robert
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> From: Mike Nickerson <sustain5 at web.ca>
>>>> Date: September 7, 2009 10:46:59 AM GMT-04:00
>>>> To: Mike Nickerson <sustain5 at sympatico.ca>
>>>> Subject: Choosing the Better Path
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we
>>>> know."
>>>>
>>>> M.K. Hubbert
>>>>
>>>> Greetings:
>>>>
>>>> It is no longer legitimate to seek economic health by turning ever
>>>> greater quantities of natural resources into consumer products and
>>>> expecting people to dutifully buy and dispose of them all. Nor is
>>>> it valid to bid up the prices of stocks, bonds and commodity
>>>> futures
>>>> and pretend that it makes everyone better off. The suffering that
>>>> results from resource conflicts and shortages, pollution and
>>>> financial instability have to be addressed at a fundamental level.
>>>>
>>>> A review is needed of the goal that drives our wasteful system.
>>>> Reviewing the goals of society is not considered newsworthy,
>>>> however. A book launch is. With the launch of the second edition
>>>> of "Life, Money and Illusion; Living on Earth as if we want to
>>>> stay"
>>>> the Sustainability Project will initiate the Question of Direction.
>>>>
>>>> "What are we trying to accomplish as a society?" "Is it really
>>>> our
>>>> collective will to grow until we drop? Or do we seek to secure
>>>> satisfying lives for our children's children and the families they
>>>> will want to raise?"
>>>>
>>>> You can help get such a review rolling.
>>>>
>>>> We aim to begin with the Fall Equinox (September 22,) a day during
>>>> which all of humanity experiences an equal amount of daylight. New
>>>> Society Publishers will have released the new edition of "Life,
>>>> Money and Illusion" by then.
>>>> < http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/4057 >
>>>>
>>>> Imagine how the conventional wisdom would change if this choice
>>>> was
>>>> publicly discussed and people became aware of each other’s feelings
>>>> on the matter. A summary of how the conventional wisdom leads
>>>> cultural evolution is expressed in this 2 min. 43 sec. clip from
>>>> one
>>>> of my talks:
>>>> < http://www.houndbite.com/?houndbite=14316 >
>>>>
>>>> Ways you can help:
>>>>
>>>> Numerous events are already scheduled across Ontario.
>>>> You can:
>>>>
>>>> A) Add your group, local school or campus to our launch schedule or
>>>> pass this on to others who may be able to do so.
>>>> There are still a few openings in our fall tour. The events
>>>> presently confirmed, and the open time slots are listed at:
>>>> http://www.SustainWellBeing.net/launch_events.html
>>>>
>>>> We will be in Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, London, North Bay and
>>>> many
>>>> places in between. If we are passing near you and have an opening,
>>>> we would welcome additional places to share what has become a very
>>>> timely message. (You are, of course, welcome to participate in
>>>> discussions already scheduled.)
>>>> A letter you can share with teachers or professors about our
>>>> message and the importance of sharing the sustainability vision
>>>> with
>>>> young adults is available at:
>>>> < http://www.SustainWellBeing.net/students.html >
>>>>
>>>> If you have any trouble accessing either of these Web Pages, we
>>>> would be happy to forward their content in an email.
>>>>
>>>> B) Prepare to bring the Question of Direction to media attention.
>>>>
>>>> If you know of particular media or journalists who would be
>>>> interested in covering the "story" about the Launch and the
>>>> discussion about society's goals, tell us who they are and send
>>>> their contact information, if possible. If you know any of these
>>>> contacts personally, give them a heads up that the time is
>>>> approaching for a story of broad popular interest and consequences.
>>>>
>>>> C) We will also be looking for places to stay at some points along
>>>> our route, and as always, we could be more effective if we had more
>>>> resources to work with, so donations are always welcome. If you
>>>> could help with either, please let us know.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> All issues related to natural resources and waste along with many
>>>> conflicts are aggravated by human efforts to feed continued
>>>> expansion. All such issues would be improved if we collectively
>>>> acknowledged that our planet is limited. Accepting this reality,
>>>> respecting it as we plan for the future and celebrating the wonders
>>>> that living offers, is a path that we can choose.
>>>>
>>>> Your cooperation in stimulating discussion about the choice is
>>>> much
>>>> appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Looking forward.
>>>>
>>>> Yours, Mike Nickerson
>>>> and Donna Dillman
>>>> Sustainability Project/7th Generation Initiative
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "The goals we pursue are the seeds from which our future grows."
>>>>
>>>> http://www.SustainWellBeing.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sustainability Project - 7th Generation Initiative
>>>> RR #3
>>>> Lanark, Ontario
>>>> K0G 1K0
>>>>
>>>> phone: (613) 259-9988
>>>> email: sustain5 at web.ca
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> <untitled-[2].html>
>>
>
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