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The 379 Areas of Focus on WiserEarth have been created to provide a comprehensive categorization or taxonomy of all the different areas of activity relating to the environmental and social justice fields. All entities entered into the WiserEarth database (organizations, groups, people, resources, solutions, events, jobs) can be tagged with multiple areas of ...learn more
GROUP DETAILS
Created: Feb 22, 2008
Updated: Oct 19, 2009
Membership: Open
Semi-Private
The Great Personal Turning
The Great Personal Turning: What Sacrifices should we be prepared to make to achieve sustainability?
Session leaders: Greg Speltz and Phil Gerson
Attendees: Helen Spector, Madelyn Fox, Andrea Faste, Larry Jacobson, Bill Grace, Olga Yarmoshik, Kaid Skerlong, Michael Given, Michael Cavelti, Loren Northrop
Approach: What are the sacrifices we should consider, the cultural barriers to be overcome and solutions to overcoming those barriers.
Sacrifice is a term we don’t use in regards to our own behavior.
Greg Speltz worked among poor and disadvantaged refugees, migrant workers, et al. This experience etched the inequities between rich and poor into his soul
The Great Turning reflects new stirring but it will demand an enormous change in the way we live. The statistics are overwhelming.
The existing cultural dream of “Acquire and save as much as you can and pass it on to the next generation who already have more than they need”. The issues boil down to distribution of wealth from those who have too much to those who have too little.
Peak oil, trade imbalances, UsSA shifting jobs off-shore will lead to lower standards of living for our children and grandchildren.
Sacrifice | Cultural Barrier | Solution |
1. Keep cars longer; stop driving; stop driving, use public transportation ; | -Life style of consumerism -Convenience; people want to control where, when and how they go; thinking only of their needs Design of how andwe shop and work hasbeen designed around the car
| -Village orientedpedestrian oriented community design -Efforts to foster neighborhood groups to minimize travel needs. Example of such a project is Eastgate community Organic Garden
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2. a. Luxuries when we want them b. Giving away money when we have more than we need | a. Sense of entitlement -Privileges we see as ordinary b. “Acquire and save as much as you can and pass it on to the next generation who already have more than they need”. The issues boil down to distribution of wealth from those who have too much to those who have too little.
| -Labor with own hands is life giving, common bond for all -garden, market, sell produce put money in a “neighborhood foundation to feed others” -Foundation has the intent of saying that this is money” I plan to give to others in need
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3. Don’t buy things because others buy them | Competition as a barrier | - Forming neighborhoods that use less resources |
4. Do we need one person one car? Why do we waste so much gas? | I want to be an individual that is independent with total flexibility to jam pack their day and squeeze in as much as possible |
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5.Paying a bit more for products that have not exploited those that produced them. | -Consumerism wanting lowest cost products so that they can consume more -Affluence keeps us separate from each other | -Consuming less and spending $ on products that have been fairly produced -Be mindful of how our purchases benefit others
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6. Set up own personal luxury tax when planning discretionary expenditures such as vacations | -Entitlement to the best luxury to travel abroad to be acculturated; seeing despair as a tourist without consideration for connection with those in need | Cut back on expense of the trip and put that money into your “personal foundation” that will be given to the needy in the country or area of your vacation |
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