We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Industry leaders seem to be showing more openness to energy descent issues

by George Mobus (U. of Washington, Tacoma) posted on The Oil Drum. At a recent retreat in California, the author is encouraged by the openness of corporate and government officials to the vanishing fossil fuel resources and the implications for system change.