Post on 30-Jul-2015
transcript
Original CAT Vision: Gerard Morgan-Grenville (founder)
“In the early 1970s I took a sabbatical and went to America. I talked to senior business and professional people and came to the conclusion that a lot of people realised there was a major problem, but were locked into what they were doing.
I came back thinking what was needed was a project to show the nature of the problem and to indicate ways of going forward”.
• Externally - reshaping our homes, what we eat, our clothes, places of work & how we move around to use MORE.
• Breaking relationships with natural systems
• Designing things to break
Manufacturing landscapes to increase consumption:
Internally - reshaping how we see ourselves and how we relate to those around us
• Keying into basic instincts
• Compelling us to spend and up-date and up-grade
• Changing how we think of ourselves and the natural environment
Manufacturing landscapes to increase consumption:
• It is the first IPCC report since 2007 to bring together all aspects of tackling climate change and for the first time states: that carbon emissions will ultimately have to fall to ‘net zero’
• Research which CAT has been exploring since 2007
“Science has spoken. There is no ambiguity in the message - Leaders must act. Time is
not on our side.”UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, attending launch of the 2014 IPCC
report.
“The study of economics is too narrow and too
fragmentary to lead to valid insights, unless
complemented and completed by a study of
meta-economics.”
Schumacher
• The challenges we face are not really technological, but cultural & political.
• We must change how we think about human beings, energy & the future
• Catalyse a cultural shift
How can we make changehappen fast enough?
Small Is Festival at CAT
4th-6th September 2015
Small is Beautiful is a festival that explores positive responses to our future through low carbon technology, social justice and the arts.
Zero Carbon Britain Short Course at CAT
2nd-4th September 2015
Discounted tickets when attending both events
Conclusion
• Schumacher’s analysis of environmental and social problems was far-sighted
• We need a meta economic analysis and plan to address today’s global problems
• That includes global and national strategies for rapid decarbonisation and a large-scale shift to renewables
• But we also need a society that moves beyond materialism to focus on well-being