"Whenever someone starts a war on our planet, the people of our planet go on strike."

STRIKE

#mihsM //8

#nokings

#mihsM //6

#mihsM //5

//4 WHO MADE YOU KING? In a court of the universe alliance, kings and queens from planet Earth stood in a line. For once they had lost their bravado and shivered, frightened, because they had no idea how they got to this place. This place wasn't impressive. A forest clearing with a river at one side, obviously not on planet earth, no one had engineered and trimmed the plants. It was all wild, so wild, chaotic. The seven judges stood up from their stools and walked to the first king who, like the others, knew that he could not lie. Something in the air. Or maybe they had been drugged. WHO MADE YOU KING? My fantasies. I need to be liked and revered by everyone. The seven judges addressed the next king. WHO MADE YOU KING? The people around me. No one wanted to do it. Everyone thought it was a good idea. Someone had to bring order to the world. So much needs to be put right everywhere. WHO MADE YOU QUEEN? My strength. My wisdom. My duty. DUTY? Yes. God appointed me to take care of my subjects. AND WHO IS THIS GOD? (After a long moment of silence.) I don't know. WHO MADE YOU KING? My royal blood. WHERE DOES YOUR BLOOD COME FROM? (After a long moment of silence.) I don't know. WHO MADE YOU QUEEN? I don't know. First I was a princess. Now I am the queen. It's how it's always been. HAS IT BEEN ANY GOOD? (After a long moment of silence.) I don't know. WHO MADE YOU KING? I did. Humans are stupid. They don't know what is right and wrong unless you tell them. WHO MADE YOU KING? (This king shrugged. Then he looked left and right, and shrugged again.) I was a bit surprised, too. They made me king twice. They need me. Because I have these beautiful thoughts for this beautiful country, and I will make it great again.

WHO MADE YOU KING?

#nokings #resist #protests #booksky #kings

#mihsM //4

#mihsM //3

grey tree bark with the suggestion of a face

My heart is heavy
I withdraw,
a mere outline
of myself remains,
to rest
to take a breath

until I rise
again
defy
resist.

#mihsM //2

#nokings #resist #photography #bark

Blue cornflower, strong in the wind

Red used to be the colour of love.

Now blue must be the colour of #resistence
and #love.

#mihsM //1

#nokings

Background: green leaves, foreground red/yellow leaves with a wasp or bee, I’m not sure.

Good morning to you all and an invigorating

NO KINGS DAY

with a little bit of nature for nurture.

#nokings #photography #nature #mihs

I’m on a hike today & will post No-Kings day MAKE IT HAPPEN STORY SNIPPETS & photos in support of all protesters. To join the marathon, add #mihsM to your post.

FINISH, marathon 3, The beginnings of a restored planet, MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES

This was the 3rd MAKE IT HAPPEN STORIES MARATHON.

You can find all story snippets & photos here > #mihsM.

There will be a one-day NO KINGS special. You know when.

And I'll keep using my @mihstories.bsky.social account to add more story snippets, ideas, quotes & images.

THANKS & GOOD NIGHT

grasses

#82
The final

It’s through photography that I have come to appreciate the often neglected grasses, leaves, bark.

I believe that to make the changes we need happen we need to reconnect to everything nature has to offer.

For stories for our future see #mihsM

#photography #climateaction #nature

wild flower

It’s strange. I started today’s stories marathon #mihsM over 16 hours ago, and now I’m reluctant to wrap it.
I keep thinking, but Charlie Alice can’t you add another photo, or the ant video, or a quote?
I smile.
And remember to thank everyone who liked, reposted and commented. Much appreciated.

Everyone else left. Only Alice was still standing on the ledge that overlooked the gently slopping valley. A stunning valley. A large green area crossed by a blue river, flowing quietly, and two streams, darker, faster, in a few places rushing down in small waterfalls. Strangely ragged rock formations curved along the left side of the valley. Far behind them loomed a black mountain range. Ahead, the landscape rose into a green line of hills which descended into a forest towards the right. The forest swept halfway along the right boarder of the valley until it reached the river, and the grassland which covered the area between the forest and the low hill, Alice was standing on. Inside the valley, the rich green was only broken by smaller variants of the rock formations, tree groves, bamboo bushes, the river and the streams. Lush. Beautiful. Rich. Untouched. And alive. Even in this short time since her arrival, Alice had seen more kinds of birds and insects than ever before. Well, outside a zoo.

part 2 And they were everywhere: flying, hopping, sitting in nearby trees and bushes, singing or humming, searching for food in the grass or on a tree — or becoming food. Earlier, a green pigeon landed close to Alice and scrutinised her, bobbing its head. Then it lost interest and walked away. But it wasn’t just birds and insects. The official, Tam Zhu, let Lian translate a whole list of animals who were living in this province. Even leopards, tigers and wild elephants were mentioned. And monkeys. Several kinds of them. Tam Zhu pointed to three small monkeys in a tree, some eight yards away. To which the monkeys responded with a sudden flight. Alice looked at the tree again. The monkeys were back and busy with their leafy lunch. For some reason, the presence of monkeys made Alice smile. She had no idea why. And then the smells. Thick grassy summer smells. The air here was so much cleaner and clearer and even sweater than your average city cocktail of exhaust fumes and too many people. Out here, she wanted to take big gulps of air, and clean out her sooty system. Alice breathed in deeply.

part 3 This valley was so innocent, unspoiled, free of concrete blocks, free of motorways, free of any and all constipations, free of every trace of all-consuming blinking technologies. In this moment, Alice wanted to wrap up this valley, and hide it somewhere where no one could ever lay their hands on it. On their arrival here, Lian was the first person to join her, and Alice asked whether she could have some time on her own. ‘If this is really a place for our town, then I’d like a moment, time to see, to think. Time to get the feel of this place.’ ‘I will explain your wish to the officials,’ Lian said. ‘Can I make a suggestion though?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘It might be advisable to let the officials show you the view over the valley first.’ ‘Of course. And thank you.’ Later, when Jack and the officials moved on, Lian stayed for a moment, and Alice remarked: ‘This is such a beautiful place.’ ‘The Yunnan province has the most diverse fauna and flora in China.’ ‘Oh.’

part 4 ‘Imagine it in spring when everything is blossoming. It is an ideal place for your project. You said beauty is important.’ ‘Yes, but we can’t build in a place like this. We would only destroy it.’ ‘You could build with nature in mind.’ ‘Test if preservation is possible?’ ‘Or coexistence,’ Lian said. Coexistence, Alice repeated to herself while watching a yellow butterfly climb along the stem of a fern. When and why did so-called civilised humans stop to coexist with nature? Did their fears and anxieties drive them to fight and conquer nature? Or did they become too conceited to acknowledge their kinship with nature, and their dependence on nature? Or did they lose all understanding about the natural world the further they progressed? A connection lost and forgotten? Progress. How can we call disconnection and destruction progress?

'Coexistence, Alice repeated to herself while watching a yellow butterfly climb along the stem of a fern.
When and why did so-called civilised humans stop to coexist with nature?'

story snippet //80
THE MAGICAL VALLEY

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET
#mihsM #nature #coexist

‘Would that be possible?’ Alice laughed. ‘Let me think. Would I like to have a shrewd lawyer in my core team? Hm. Difficult question.’ Emine chuckled. ‘Alice, please, be serious. This is important to me.’ ‘Emine. You offered me to challenge any existing law if I gave you a good enough reason for the challenge.’ ‘And you said you’d make a start with the basic law, Germany’s constitution.’ ‘Of course I would. We’ve got to start at the roots. You know, we could get a group of artists and scientists together who could work on ideas for a new basic law. One that’s fit for the future and that’s more consistent.’ ‘Consistent?’ ‘Oh, yes. Consistent. As in being more than pretty words. Let’s start with article one.’ ‘Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.’ ‘Exactly. But where is the protection of dignity for the homeless, the alcoholic, the single parent, the child bride, the harvest workers, the jobless, the prostitute, the migrant, or the child who is stuck in a screwed up childhood? Who cares about their dignity?’

part 2 ‘Where is the dignity for those who are being snubbed because of their gender or origin? Where is the dignity in being denied the right to live outside outdated gender narratives. Where is the dignity in shabby high rises and mass production jobs? And so on.’ ‘I hear you.’ ‘Part two of article one.’ ‘The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.’ ‘How can anyone speak of inviolable human rights, and at the same time, trade in weapons, push subsidised products on to the world markets, and exploit other nations? Or let’s fast forward to article twenty a.’ Emine smiled her smile and quoted: ‘Mindful also of its responsibility towards future generations, the state shall protect the natural foundations of life and animals by legislation and, in accordance with law and justice, by executive and judicial action, all within the framework of the constitutional order.’ ‘How can you write such pretty words while polluting water, air and land? While presenting excuse after excuse for not acting according to the basic law?’ ‘Again. I hear you. So artists could start by illustrating what the basic law actually implies.’

part 3 ‘Exactly. And I’d approach this playfully. Test ideas, talk to people. After all the basic law shouldn’t be something a few stuffy and self-important people put together. It should be something the people agree on, even better, something the people develop together. The artists could question and visualise the existing paragraphs, and challenge our perceptions by suggesting new paragraphs. And the scientists could make sure that the laws are based on the best our present knowledge has to offer.’ ‘And there could be an article about the duty to frequently question laws to ensure their continued justification.’ Alice laughed. ‘Article one: We acknowledge that we are human beings who make mistakes and whose knowledge is limited. Therefore we will always question our laws to ensure that we continue to serve the people of this planet.’ Emine smiled her smile. ‘And in order to serve the people, we will protect our habitat without any excuses. Article one, paragraph two: Any violation against human dignity will trigger a reassessment and readjustment of our economical, societal, ecological and governmental practices until the dignity of every human is restored.’

part 4 ‘And you’re still wondering why I’d love to have you on my team in London?’ Emine wiped her face with both hands, pushing back her tears. ‘Alice, I can’t tell you how much that means to me.’ ‘I’m very happy to hear it.’ ‘Are you serious about the basic law?’ ‘I want to focus on the town experiment, and we’ll hopefully come up with some kind of useful codex in the process. But apart from that, I wouldn’t mind funding some groups of artists and scientists around the world who’d like to explore their constitutions. I’m sure we could learn from their ideas.’ ‘I could set up a team.’ ‘Please do. And have a word with Beatrice in London to see how much money we can spare from our additional projects pot.’

story snippet //79
CONSTITUTION REVISED

‘And you’re still wondering why I’d love to have you on my team in London?’

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #booksky #authors #constitution #dignity #generations #arts

Take your pick. Purpose Rethink family, community, society so that we don’t make each other sick any more. Purpose Create a world where migration is an option not a necessity. Purpose Rethink & reshape the global food supply systems Purpose Rewild the planet Purpose Rethink the political systems and shape a new one Purpose Rethink the economic systems and shape a new one

story snippet //78
YOU NEED PURPOSE?

Take your pick.

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #purpose #authors #amwriting #nature #planet #community #rewild #society #migration #rethink #foodsupply #politicalsystems #economicsystems

They called it planet earth — and had no regard for its soil. They believed a god created their planet but had no regard for their god’s gifts and tore wounds into the lands and each other. They invented laws and made a lot of fuss about righteousness, but when a law required them to act responsibly, they either ignored it or smashed it.

story snippet //77
EARTHLINGS

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #earth #booksky #god #amwriting #law #soil

We are told that stories are a great escape. Which they can be. We are less aware that stories create and shape reality. Which is what we urgently need. More even Stories are a gateway to change. Change the story. Shape the world.

story snippet //76
STORIES, AN ESCAPE?

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #writingcommunity #booksky #authors #amwriting #escape #change #inspiration

HOW TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISES FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS

Press pause on everything else and FOCUS on restoring the planet and our societies. That means rethink the global economic systems build new global economic systems rethink political systems build new political systems rethink towns & city re-structure them, create new compositions, add purposes, re-connect them to nature rethink the global foods system build a new, independent global foods system rethink human’s relationship to nature build a relationship with nature restore wilderness At best, all of these things are done at the same time and in cooperation between the focus groups.

story snippet //75
HOW TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISES

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #writingcommunity #booksky #amwriting #nature #climate #takeaction #focus

‘We can’t do this on our own!’ ‘We have to. Someone has to.’ ‘It’s impossible. We need to get everyone on board.’ ‘How?’ ‘By looking in the mirror and finding out what we did to upset others about us AND sort this out. What caused the divide in us, in them? What got us into us and them? What pisses us off about each other and can we get out of that? Understanding that we aren’t angels, face the damage we caused and the damage done to us. Heal and get to know each other. Stop bullshitting. Coming together.’

story snippet //74
WE CAN’T DO THIS

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #mirror #amwriting #possible

It was such a simple suggestion that it still makes me laugh. Mind you, it needed a lot of work, trial and error, to make it work. But the idea was simple: ‘What if we empowered each other instead of trying to gain control over each other?’ The group of scientists who suggested this developed several experiments which allowed us to approach this idea in smaller steps. First empower a member of your family, then a neighbour, then a stranger on the street, a colleague and so on. There came a day when each of us had empowered a group of people who had in turn empowered a group of people who … And on that day, we didn’t just connect to all our fellow humans, our connections sends energising ripples across the planet. A people who empower each other instead of competing doesn’t have failing governments, simply because an empowered planet leaves few tasks for governments.

The idea was simple: ‘What if we empowered each other instead of trying to gain control over each other?’

story snippet //73
THE POWER OF EMPOWERMET

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #empowerment #writercommunity #booksky #planet

Davie chuckled, snuggling his head into the cushions. ‘Next year I want to be a nature explorer.’ ‘But they aren’t scary,’ Kuruk said and put the glass of water back on the bedside table. ‘They should be! So we stop pretending that we don’t need nature.’ Kuruk sat back on his heals. ‘You’re right. We can invent a monstrous nature explorer!’ Davie sat up. ‘Yes! It’s a monster that gets more boils the more we destroy and poison nature. We can cut into the monster so it has huge scars.’ ‘And blood!’ ‘Gasping for air.’ ‘And poo!’ ‘Limping.’ ‘And boils with loads of puss!’ ‘Yes, it will be a huge stinking creature!’

‘A perfect mirror of what humans do to nature.’ ‘And below the costume, below all the puss and stink, it’s incredibly beautiful.’ ‘Yes!’ Kuruk shouted and jumped on the bed. ‘Yes, yes, YES!’ Davie shouted, took Kuruk’s hands, and they jumped— ‘HEY!’ The boys stopped jumping, quickly slipped under their bedcovers and shut their eyes. Nitis looked at them, half smiling, half grimacing. ‘I like your new monster. But it’s very late already. Do I have to stay here or can you calm down each other and sleep? Davie has to get up very early tomorrow.’ ‘Yes, Daddy,’ Kuruk whispered.

‘Yes, yes, YES!’

story snippet //72
HALLOWEEN

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #halloween #monster #booksky #authors #amwriting #nature #puss #greensky

‘Welcome back to our live coverage,’ Mudiwa said into the camera, smiling. ‘We are in the courtyard of the Front House, just as the international team get ready for their presentation. The crowds are queuing everywhere, and with us now is Bülent Hamdi, author and husband, as he told us. Bülent, thank you so much for your time.’
 ‘It’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me.’
(…) Facing the camera, Mudiwa said: ‘While Bülent is not a member of the project team, he contributes as an author, and his new play: Waking up will premiere in our theatre, here in the Front House, this afternoon. Bülent, what can you tell us about the play?’
Bülent knitted his dark brows. ‘Our planet is in trouble. It’s dying and with it we die.’

extract, book 3/1, shaping, part 2 But even though scientists have substantiated this trajectory with their research, many are still in denial, many still live in their personal bubbles, many push pretty much any topic while ignoring the topics we urgently need to address, many keep looking away. Waking up, the play, is about gently nudging people to see their bubble and to dare leave it. What will they see? How will they feel when the whole disaster we and our ancestors have inflicted upon our planet and upon ourselves overwhelms them? Hope enters the stage when the pain, frustration and anger about the state of our world turns into the determination to reshape and restore it. And somewhere on that road, we begin to understand that everything is connected, and that we can save ourselves if we all wake up, if we connect to each other and to our planet, and if we prioritise the issues that need to be addressed now.’
‘Strong words,’ Mudiwa said. ‘But how can someone who is in denial wake up?’
Bülent smiled a little. ‘By knowing that it’s safe to wake up. By knowing that waking up is not about blaming or about telling someone what a fool they have been but about coming together. By knowing that our actions can make a difference. By knowing that prioritising the future of the planet is the best we can do. By knowing that we are not the only ones who leave the bubble, but that waking up is something we do together.’

“But how can someone who is in denial wake up?’

Bülent smiled a little. ‘By knowing that it’s safe to wake up.”

story snippet //71
WAKING UP

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #writers #climatefiction #theatre #denial #wakingup

‘What are you doing?’ ‘Going with the times.’ ‘Where’s all the meat?’ ‘Look, I love my family, my children, all the generations to come. Thing is: we overdid it. We are killing us all with our obsession with meat. I’m saying, we can’t ever have any meat again. But right now, we have to go cold turkey on mead and give our bodies and nature a break. So, will you help me in creating the best ever Vöners? I think two of my recipes are already pretty good.’ ‘No meat? You’ll become a soy boy.’ ‘Nah. I’ll be a bull. Tell me, what do bulls eat? Grass, grass, grass. Though probably some insects and other plants, too. You know what, I’ll create the first Bull Vöner. Maybe even with some grass in it. The muscles these beasts have. Why aren’t we all eating grass?’

story snippet //70
DÖNER

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #meat #food #health #booksky #amwriting #bulls

extract, book 3/3, shaping - part 1 Raiden seemed to sense that he had to keep talking if he didn’t want to be the first person, Tom ever kicked or punched. Calmly, he continued. ‘Back in September, we talked about a simulation which could compare the effects of different business models. The idea was to pick an industry and then have one simulation run a business the way that is still common: profit oriented and competitive. And another business with one of our business models. In the course of this discussion, we decided to postpone this idea. But I was curious and built a simulation for the clothing industry. Company A uses present business practices and Company B, dot., uses our dot.business model. In order to measure and compare the outcomes of both models, I included all parameters used by business analysts, and I added parameters like durability, material availability and sustainability, a waste index for all stages from material sourcing to the disposal of the products by the customers, water and energy consumptions, health benefits, usage cycles, recycling scale, empowerment scale, product variety, staff diversity, mental health, connections, synergies, collaborations, sustainability, ripple effects and many more.

extract, book 3/3, shaping - part 2 The results are truly remarkable. Our dot.model is superior in every single category, even with regard to profits before redistribution. Profits are higher because our customers recognise that we work for their benefit, that all our products are high quality and durable, that we don’t exploit, neither people nor nature, that we only produce what the customer actually wants and needs. Profits are also higher because we rarely cause harm to the health of anyone who works for dot. We hardly get any sick days or accidents, talents and creativity are unearthed which leads to more satisfaction, confidence and a robust mental health. There are more requests for training which contributes to a highly skilled, active and engaged team. In addition, dot. rarely causes harm to the environment or to local communities. Profits are also higher because we save tremendous amounts of money by spending little or nothing on advertising, transport, waste disposal, landfills, chemicals, plastics, fossil fuels or other crude oil products, nor do we pay lobbyists, lawyers, spies. At our larger stations, we save additional money by integrating waste and water cycles which also serve the community, and by providing the station and the community with easily affordable electricity.

extract, book 3/3, shaping - part 3 On top of that, we contribute to a healing planet, partly by creating a culture where buying less is more and where recycling is part of the deal, partly by integrating our workshops and stations into nature, partly by actively searching for opportunities to rewild, partly by orienting our production level on low stress levels for the environment. All our measures are exponentiated by having established a network of suppliers for dot. who operate on the same principles. Sustainability and people’s welfare are rising because our suppliers are treated with the same respect everyone at dot. experiences. Additionally, we strengthen local economies by paying good wages, which means increased purchasing power, and that companies outside of our network also benefit from our activities because we don’t concentrate all money in our own cycles. In the short time, in which dot. has been operating, it has generated more profits than the sales of dot.’s products alone could have achieved, simply by the gains in welfare, both for those who work with dot. and for our customers, by abstaining from damaging our habitat, and by unprecedented cost savings. With the Hub and dot. we lay the foundations for companies which integrate into communities and into the natural world in every possible way, making them part of life not life’s vampires. The parameters—’ ‘—ENOUGH!’ Tom yelled and broke the spell of Raiden’s calm voice.

'Our dot.model is superior in every single category, even with regard to profits before redistribution.'

story snippet //69
MAXIMUM PROFIT

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #profits #corporations #business #econsky #rethink #economics

GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLY part 1 ‘Energy supply will remain a problem unless we take a global, non-profit, fossil fuel free approach, dismantle all energy giants, make energy a public good, drastically reduce energy demand wherever possible (There are a lot of blinking devices, monitors, fancy lights around, we don’t need. And households have vast saving-energy potentials with health benefits.)’ ‘You got sidetracked.’ ‘Pardon. Where was I?’ ‘Global approach.’ ‘Right. We need a global approach and a local, decentralised, public supply, reduced energy demand, and we need a global effort to make energy accessible without any excesses. Plus we need to get away from processing rare earths.’ ‘How?’ ‘First we build a simulation — not for a village, not for a country but for the planet. We identify where which amount of energy is or should be needed (Check whether the present demand can be reduced or whether it is recommendable to extend it.) and build a global network in which small local entities can back each other up.

GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLY, part 2 By identifying what is needed where and what can be produced where, we get away from energy giants and we can probably make it work with a lot less infrastructure because we no longer depend on a huge distributor but rather have local clusters of small entities and some connections to backup sources and to others we back up, and a few longer-distance connections which can supply various clusters at need. Since there will alway be some need somewhere that should be possible. So we get away from giants and instead build billions of little cells, which will make the net much more stable and much more resilient to demand fluctuations.’ ‘Hm.’ ‘For this to be effective, we need to rethink our economic systems. And before we have completed our transition to a world economy which no longer aims at growth and at producing ever more waste, an energy demand/supply simulation can give us important insights and can help us to map out a viable plan.’ ‘Energy without boarders?’ ‘And without shareholders. We won’t get anywhere with the energy supply question so long as we keep energy supply tied to making money. We will need something like a global public fund, everyone pays into, which builds and restructures of the global energy network in cooperation with the local entities.’

GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLY, part 3 ‘Hm. Speaking of resilient. What happens in a blackout?’ ‘Two points. A blackout can’t affect many because the clusters run individually with a gate to the upper level. If some other cluster or an upper level black out, the cluster is still self-sufficient, and it could take measures to save some more of their energy just in case the blackout takes longer to fix. Point two. It’s folly to build a world that is dependent on electricity. We need to reconsider and rethink that. There are some enormous advantages to digitalisation, to some automatisation and so on. But to be unable to open a door without electricity, is simply asking for trouble. To have no access to vital data without electricity is negligence. To make doctors dependent on machines is life threatening. And so on. Blackouts can happen any time and we need to be able to function without electricity. And we need to have access to everything we need even it there is no power. Therefore we must work and think dually: yes, use digital approaches where it makes sense and supports the user. AND make sure that everyone can live and work even if no electricity is available. And the latter doesn’t need to be a horror scenario. It’s just one way of living. And we are in the fortunate situation where we can learn and practice different lifestyles. The safer lifestyle is the one that doesn’t require electricity or fossil fuels.’

'Energy supply will remain a problem unless we take a global, non-profit, fossil fuel free approach, dismantle all energy giants-'

story snippet //68
GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLY

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #energy #greenenergy #fossilfuels

‘He stole from you. He didn’t credit you. These are your thoughts.’ ‘It doesn’t matter. Not now. We don’t have time for bickering or competition, not even for stealing. Stealing is so stupid anyway. The clever way is to say: Wow, that’s a thought. I think I can work with that. Or wow, that’s an idea, I think I can extend it.’ ‘He stole from you.’ ‘We don’t know that. Sometimes it is time for an idea. And since the idea doesn’t know who will pick it up, it spreads far and wide, just like the seeds of a plant, to make sure it will find fertile soil somewhere, somewhere were it can grow to its full strength and shape.’ ‘He stole from you and didn’t have the guts to credit you.’ ‘I know. I know that’s what might have happened. But if the forest is burning. Do you waste your energy on telling someone off for their conceit, cowardliness, short-sightedness, their wilful ignorance to see that working together would actually be best? Or do you focus on keeping the fire from spreading further? If he stole from me, a time of reckoning will come. For now, we assume that he is just following his own ideas, doing his own bit. And we focus on doing what we can to wake up our fellow humans and show them what an amazing life and planet we are destroying. And then, we rethink and reshape our world. Together. Building on each others ideas. Extending. Expanding. Digging deep.’

‘He stole from you.’
‘We don’t know that. Sometimes it is time for an idea.'

story snippet //67
HE STOLE FROM YOU

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #writersky #booksky #competition

NO TITLE quote, book 3/2, shaping Evolution Pollution Revolution -tion -tion -tion

story snippet //66
NO TITLE

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #amwriting #evolution #pollution #revolution

Let’s be rational about this part 1 ‘We are rational!’ ‘There is nothing rational about polluting the air we breathe, poisoning the water we drink, or contaminating the soil we need to grow our foods.’ ‘We need—’ ‘—Yes, we need to get seriously rational about this.’ ‘Damn you! OK. Since you know everything better. What’s your solution?’ ‘Change always starts in the mind. The mind is perceptive to rationality. What we need is a way to illustrate what is happening.’ ‘How?’ ‘Simulations. I can’t think of a better way to show all of us what we are missing out on by sticking with the ideas, practices, systems and stories which brought us to this point.’ ‘Simulations? What kind of simulations?’ ‘Let’s start simple with a simulation which shows every stage between two poles, for example, on one side you have a world where everything is about money and is determined by money. On the other side you have a world where everything is about human welfare and the restoration of our planet.

Let’s be rational about this, part 2 The simulation wouldn’t just show and compare these two very different worlds. It would also allow for all the stages in between: ninety percent about money, ten percent about humans, fifty/fifty, twenty-five percent about money, seventy-five percent about humans. This and every stage in between. This allows people to see how their lives will change, once we make it about the living and not about numbers. Let them play with the simulation so that they can see how a shift in this or that direction will influence their life.’ ‘That’s what you call simple?’ ‘That’s what I call: picking one key issue and putting it to the test. We can do the same with crude oil. The simulation starts by showing a world that never used crude oil and as the user operates the slide, they can see the effects of introducing ever more crude oil and products using components of crude oil into our world. And we could have a second simulation which begins with the present state of the world and then shows what happens when we stop producing and using this or that plastic product, fossil fuel, paint and so on. The more detailed, the better. What do crayons and shower curtains do to us and our planet? What do plastic wrappings and synthetic fabrics to do us and our planet? What do carpets and upholstery do to us and our planet? And everything else.

Let’s be rational about this, part 3 Crude oil is everywhere. That makes it perfect for a complex simulation which touches on everything that needs a rethink. And the simulation makes the topic relatable, accessible, visual. And everyone can use the simulation to see how much damage every bit of crude oil causes on every level of our lives. And what is possible if we do the long overdue U-turn.’ ‘Hm. But what then? We see what we could have if we forwent crude oil. But as a result we will plunge into an even greater frustration about how hopeless our situation has become.’ ‘That doesn’t have to be the result. I like to think that our ancestors were courageous. We have lost some of that. But we can find our courage again. The trouble is that we are so divided — also a terribly irrational development — but if we come together and realise what we have to gain, what is possible if we change course, then we can make use of nearly eight billion minds to figure out how to do this!’ ‘I want to clap. But— But they will argue that people need crude oil to do their jobs. They will argue that the economy will crash, that unemployment numbers will skyrocket. And how could they not? If you take away the basis of their work, their materials, their main means of transport?’

Let’s be rational about this, part 4 ‘By being rational. To keep destroying our livelihood so that people have an income is madness. We need to act fast. That means there will be some hardship. It doesn’t have to be much once we rethink our financial system and call money what it is: an invention. And act accordingly. Everyone could have enough purchasing power without lifting a finger.’ ‘If no one lifts a finger, there will be nothing to buy.’ ‘True. But people like to be busy, to be part of something, to build, create, produce. I’m not worried about that. What will take cunning is to create a new culture around what we need and want to buy. And we need new ways of producing and doing business. These ways need to be about balance, not about dominance, exploitation or producing what no one ordered. We need to do a lot of thinking, we need to test our ideas, we need to act globally, and we need to make this about us as humanity. If we do that, I see a future so amazing and exciting that our future generations will shake their heads and wonder why it took us centuries to make the rational choices.’

‘We are rational!’
‘There is nothing rational about polluting the air we breathe, poisoning the water we drink, or-’

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LET'S BE RATIONAL ABOUT THIS

Day 3, MiHS marathon
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RESTORED PLANET

#MiHS #mihsM #climateaction #booksky #amwriting #foods #soil #pollution

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climbing hydrangea

#mihsM

We all failed our planet, our societies, ourselves. The sooner we all get on board and sort out the mess on our planet, in our societies, in our economies, the sooner we can begin to restore our planet, energise our societies and reshape the way we do business. Charlie Alice Raya, book 3/1, shaping

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#mihsM #takeaction