I was invited to speak to a group of green businesses last night. These were my speaking notes (although I did not follow them that strictly):
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I can remember when going Green meant switching from petrol to diesel.
Memories….
The Green Business Plan puts everything into a nut shell. Whether or not capitalism is on the verge of collapse or not may be a moot point. When green ideas were seriously floated 30 or 40 years ago they were dismissed as romantic utopia. Now we have the proof of excess planetary exploitation, social degradation and intolerable inequality. More power to your elbow to spread these ideas and to propose viable alternatives to the present broken system!
If I may add: circular economy & manufacture something for serviceability (i.e. it is repared not chucked away & replaced). All the white goods (which cause a mega end of life disposal problem) could be designed and made to last for e.g…….. 200 years. A fridge – with a stainless liner/core could certainly last that long – make it serviceable – on-site = (local) jobs. And so on & so forth. Problem is people see some of these things as “status symbols” (the designer kitchen for gods sake) & thus along comes transience.
Well said Mike
On planetary exploration. “Supply of several elements, including helium, phosphorus, indium and gallium is predicted to exceed demand in the near future” [1] and some even run out. On the streets during Green canvassing, some Joe public said “Can’t you make more by chemistry or something!”
[1] “Endangered Elements” by Emma Davies, 2011, http://www.rsc.org/images/Endangered%20Elements%20-%20Critical%20Thinking_tcm18-196054.pdf
On planetary ‘exploitation’.
Will the cool breeze of green technology provide the renewable energy to drive the democratisation of Europe?
Let’s hope so!
DiEM’s first Press Conference — Berlin 9/2/2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcptJkd87uQ
Have just ‘pressed’ this on to aspiblog with appropriate acknowledgement.
No problem. And thanks for your retweets
Richard
As someone with much more past than future I applaud all of you. How to get these ideas to prosper, here’s hoping. Seems we only seem to have that hope thing. Brave people are there and I do have hope.
Must say that I love your method of preparing your speaking notes. Do you use any particular software program to create them?
iThoughts
Thanks. Plus let me add that this Brit living in Southern Oregon finds your writings a combination of scary, educational, enlightening and very interesting! (And you couldn’t possibly lend me ten bob! 😉 )
Right out of ten bob notes
But remember them with affection
Great notes, Richard. Cheers for sharing
I was wondering why you use this method of noting down your presentations. Do you prefer it in instances where you feel like chopping and changing at the last minute? Or do you prefer the conceptual layout compared with block text? I imagine it makes it easier to return to each argument in a Q&A session afterwards…may use this myself in the future!
I can develop and reshape ideas much quicker using mind mapping software than I can by writing lists
Which is why I use it, extensively
John, Further to Richard’s reply I have long been an advocate of mind-mapping and iThoughts seems a fantastic tool, and a great recommendation from R. I have just started into the 14-day trial and love what I am seeing. I have a number of speaking engagements coming along and iThoughts is going to be a real boon. The other software that I use a great deal is DevonThink but that is used for ‘dumping’ my thoughts rather than writing them down on paper (and then losing them).
Is the risk with Devon that you are dependent on their databases?
Good question to which I don’t know the answer. But you have prompted me to find out.
The databases are local on one’s computer.
When you say we have reached peak stuff. Who is the ‘we’? Presumably, you are not referring to the 2 billion people who live on less than $3/day? And if you agree that those 2 billion people have a right to more stuff, isn’t that put at risk by the green movement?
The hint might be in the name
It is Tax Research UK
So you advocate green policies that reduce consumption in the UK, but not in the developing world! So what is the purpose of them? To be green, or to reduce consumption? The problem is the environment doesn’t respect borders (especially carbon). Also, in your presentation you mention ‘the world’, not the UK.
Oh for heaven’s sake: these were speaking notes. They were not a summary of my world view
Grow up
I’m just trying to work out what you believe in. Are you advocating worldwide reductions in consumption via a greener economy, or not?
I advocate overall reduced consumption
With reallocation oif some of the benefits of what is consumed