Earth  | April 6, 2012 By | 2 comments

Change at what cost?

Of all the news that came out this week, one story in particular stands out from the rest. A man in his mid-70′s committed suicide in front of the Greek parliament building. Before taking his own life, he left a note essentially saying that the debt crisis in Greece had made it impossible for him to live and that death was the only solution. He described himself as an upstanding individual who tried to do everything right and provide the best life for his one son, but went on to say that he would rather be dead than spend his final years digging through trash cans to survive or burden his son with caring for him in his old age.

With this in mind, I pose a question to you; why is change so expensive? Why do so many of us have to pay the ultimate price to shape our world for the better? While the Greek incident is one that sticks out at me at this time, this is by far not the first example of this, nor will it likely be the last. Why did a 17-year-old African-American boy in Sanford, Florida have to die to spark a much-needed debate about race relations in the U.S.? Why did 7 people have to die at Oikos College in Oakland to re-ignite the debate on guns. Why did over 3,000 people have to die on 9/11 to recognize the serious breakdowns in our national security? In my humble opinion, we have a nasty case of reactionary reform on this planet. Meaning that all too often it takes the loss of human life to enact much needed change o rot get serious about the issues that require getting serious about. Oh sure, we have our protests and civil disobediences that get their fair share of media attention. We have plenty of groups of people who stand in front of our federal government facilities and demand change. But when was the last time the President or a Congressional leader walked out of their office and told the protests, “I will heed your request”.  Why is our national (and international) society so stubborn that it takes the loss of human life to get the attention of our leaders? Why do people have to end their own lives to better that of others? Why can’t they reap the benefits of what they sow? I welcome your comments on this matter.

Uncategorized  | March 11, 2012 By | Comments turned off

Meetup and Conference planning

Last Thursday we hosted our first Meetup of the year and I left with a great feeling of optimism. This was an opportunity to meet and connect with others who share a concern about our global future. I was introduced to the Meetup model of organizing in the Dean presidential campaign, something like twelve years ago. Then, as now, I was impressed by the diversity of people I met. Last Thursday, our group included a physicist, cognitive psychologist, environmental engineer, attorney and a former resort industry manager, and an age range spanning several decades. As would be expected from such a spectrum of experiences, the perspectives with which we approach the idea of planning for the future of Earth also varied. I find it very heartening when people with different backgrounds come together and talk about the challenges we face with the belief that we can do something about them, both because it is not the message most often heard in general media reports on global challenges and because it has the benefit of being true.

I look forward to future Meetups to meet and engage with other wonderful people. Join our conversation through Meetup!

On Thursday we started discussed planning for our upcoming conference. Our working document can be found here.

Earth, education, environment, media, Nuclear weapons, Population  | March 6, 2012 By | Comments turned off

Combatting “The Haiti Syndrome”

COMBATTING THE HAITI SYNDROME

STOP! Before read any further, please do the following:

1.) Grab a pen and paper
2.) Write down the top 3 most important international news stories

Ok, now take a look at what you wrote. Are any of the following words in your list:

Iran, Israel, Syria, Netanyahu, Obama, nuclear, Ahmadinejad, Middle East

I’d be willing to bet that at least two (and probably more) of the above words made it to your top three. Very good! Now here’s a new list to consider:

Haiti, Mexico, drug war, Japan, earthquake, fukushima, North Korea.

Now compare your top three list to this one. If your list includes three or more of the above words, then you have my permission to stop reading right now. If however it does not, I encourage you to continue reading, because you may be suffering a mild case of “The Haiti Syndrome”.

What exactly is “The Haiti Syndrome?” It’s a mildly contagious disease brought on by uninformed people who get their news from less than two sources and who don’t dare to look any further than the first 10 minutes of the news or past the very top of a website. It’s a condition made worse by those who do not seek two different sources on the same story. “The Haiti Syndrome” is dangerous, but luckily there is a cure.

As of the writing of this blog post, here are the world headlines you are most likely to see:

-Something about the menage-a-trois that is the US/Israel/and Iran
-Something about Syria
-Something about either Prince Harry or Prince William.

These are all fine and good, and important stories to be sure, but let us not forget the following:

-Hundreds of thousands are still living in tent cities in Haiti
-The Haitian government is set to reclaim a camp for about 500 disabled Haitians and has scant plans for finding them new homes.
-13 people were killed in a gunfight in a Mexican border town as a result of gang activity.
-Thousands of refugees in Japan are being forced to live on $1500 a month (US dollars) through a refugee benefit program set up by a Japanese utility.

The moral of the story is this; world issues are not solved just because they are no longer in the headlines and just because certain issues have lost the media’s attention does not mean they do not still need attention.

Why do I call this the Haiti syndrome. Because, it is the most profound example that I have. When the 2010 earthquake struck Haiti, news coverage was wall-to-wall. We saw the devastation, the recovery, the cleanup, etc. Then other stuff happened. Another quake hit Chile, then Tiger Woods got a little randy with another woman who was not his wife, then a bobsledder died at the Olympics. All important stories, but still millions were suffering in Haiti and recovery was a long way off. And every time I bring up the Haiti quake, people are like “ohhh…I forgot about that”

Now before you go all crazy blaming the news media for this, consider the following. News outlets, be they TV web, print or otherwise, depend on consumption for their survival. TV news had to be watched, web news sites must be viewed, and print must be read. And when people consume the news, they are looking for the latest and greatest. What’s happening now! Who is ahead in the election? Has the verdict arrived yet. This is how news outlets stay competitive and viable, by bringing you the news that affects your local life. Here’s the crux; all of the events I mentioned in my latter list (Japan, Haiti, Mexico, etc…) are getting late breaking attention in their local regions. News outlets in these areas are no doubt focused on these particular events. So we can’t blame lack of coverage for not hearing about these events.

So it boils down to you, the news consumer. There are A LOT of news sources out there (and when I say a lot, I mean…A LOT) All of them have their own personalities, tone, style, etc…all tailored to their target demographics. It is up to you to seek these sources out. Even the North Korean state news agency has its own website (www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm) The information is out there,it is up to you the consumer to keep yourself informed when the media spotlight has long gone.

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