Kurt Archer

Been wanting to post about this for a long while now. When it comes to environmental protection the biggest battle to be fought is that of our perception, the way we have grown up to view this world. So much we have taken for granted, so much we have neglected.

As a political scientist, I have spent 4 years studying about perception and power. And two of the most hotly debated perceptions are that of Idealism vs Realism.

Realists profuse that they see the world as it is, in tangible realities, in circumstances that have quantitative results. Idealists, perceive the worlds potential, what it has yet to become, but has the capabilities to be should the right set of circumstances prevail.

When it comes the environment, we seem to have mixed up these definitions, and therefore come to a standstill on how to proceed. So I would like to spend some time listing some of the idealist and realist notions of the world we live in.

Realism

As mentioned about, the world we live in accord to tangible facts and observable results sees that anthropomorphic climate change is the leading cause of our problem. In other words, of all the bickering we seem to be doing about whether cows produce more green house gases (GHG) or the automobile industry, whether air travel or pet food is worse on the environment. The fine line that is un-debatable is that everything is a result of human activity on earth. With rising populations and rising affluence, the inherent demand for environmentally unfriendly consumptions rise. In the same world, with limited resources, we are seeing a hastening decline of materials output.

In our dogmatic faith in modern technology we are corrupting the one technology that has lasted the longest! Mother nature’s life cycle and bio-sphere. Single crop industrial farms may feed a few now, but in 10 years when the land is no longer arable, it will be no better than a desert. Synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, the thing that was hailed as a solution to world hunger in the 60′s is now killing people, entire species of fish and marine life and creating dead zones in our oceans where no life can grow.

We have mutated our vegetables and fruits to be fit for air travel, but unfit for a proper balanced diet. We have pumped hormones into animals which has resulted in a steady rise in obesity in humans.

Our urban centers which are hubs of the new world, the fashion zeitgeist model of globalization and the desire of all 3rd world peasants who can no longer compete economically with industrial farmers. People want to live in cities, but from a realist lens, people are saying that they want to live in conditions of dense living, breath toxic air from mostly burning coal, gas and petrol, live in conditions where social status is now defined by your online savvyness and ability to speak english. Yet we claim our idealist friends fancy the country house, with wide open spaces, animals, clear skies and a nice breeze.

Idealism

Idealists see the world as it should be, what it has the potential to become given the right set of conditions to achieve it, and it is our job to set those structures up. It is idealistic that our educational institutions train people to believe that growth is indefinitely achievable, and that the existences of business and free markets can only operate under these ideal situations. It is idealistic to believe that if only we start recycling our pop cans and paper, that we can some how fix the worlds problems and therefore carry on our consumptive live styles with a business as usual attitude.

Many believe it is impossible to just give up our petrol based life styles where cars and accessibility and leisure take priority, this is an idealistic perception, because in a matter of 20 years we built the infrastructure for the worlds largest cross communication platform called the internet. No, it does not take long to shift our behaviours given the same excitement, opportunity and unified direction as that of the internet boom. Corporate lobby groups would have you believe differently, but that is the idealism we are talking about.

Now the thing about idealism that realism lacks is vision. Vision of a future that is better and more prosperous than the one we are in currently. So if our vision of the world is this misguided direction based on false notions, then we can only meet our end as so many fear mongers are instilling in our hearts.

However, if we can accept the realist stance of the world we live in, and form a new vision of the world, one where 1000s are already waking up to on a daily basis, and who are saying “we need to do more than just recycle”. Then the ingenuity and human spirit that makes us an incredibly gifted species will overcome some of the hardest challenges we as a species have ever fought in the years to come.

Westjet has long been the flight carrier of choice within Canada. The staff is characterized by their friendly, fun and humorous attitudes that is sure to keep your spirits as elevated as you will be physically, in the air. Westjet has demonstrated exemplar service and is a role model business practice in the aviation community, not only in Canada but all over the world. The difference is that Westjet capitalizes on its people, and deriving the shared value of their people, makes it a employee of choice. Given this type of market leadership, I believe the true potential for Westjet to really take off is on the horizon yet.

When an airline decides to lower their prices, the first things to go out the window is usually food quality (or food period), and then service. In Westjet’s case, the first was scenario was true, and now any food on board must be purchased from a third party provider, beverages however remain complimentary. Westjet’s success in maintaining high quality service is really thanks to their core values as an organization. Humour replaces luxurious pampering, and that is seen through their genuine care and growth approach to staff and clients. It goes a long way to describe what individuals value, and it is not being treated like royalty, but treated like important individuals.

So what then could be next on the horizon for Westjet if they plan to stay the course as market leaders in the industry? Well in order to come full circle as an organization committed to triple bottom line results, Westjet must now complete the circle through their conscious impact on the community and environment in which they operate. Based on my observations, I have made three suggestions that could truly go a long way for an organization like Westjet.

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The story of the 100th Monkey
(Quantum leap in behaviour)

There is a legend I’d like to tell you about. In its message may lie hope of a future for your organisation. Here is the story of the Hundredth Monkey.

The Japanese monkey Macaca Fuscata had been observed in the wild for a period of over thirty years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes but they found the dirt unpleasant. An 18 month old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists.

Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement … other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes. Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958 a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes – the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s further suppose that later that evening the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes … THEN IT HAPPENED. By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice. A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea – colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes. Thus, when a certain number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. Although the exact number may vary, The Hundredth Monkey phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of just those people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

Your awareness is needed. You may be the “hundredth monkey”.

Please note that this story, taken from the book, “The Hundredth Monkey” by Ken Keyes Jr., is not copyrighted.

Please note, original source was posted here: http://atfindia.org/content/you-may-be-hundredth-monkey

In other news, Delhi announced recently that they’ve banned plastic bags altogether to fight our dependency on this polluting convenience. After the Oct 2nd nation wide ban on smoking, India is taking even more bold steps on the fight against climate change.

Plastic bags have become such an item of dependence that shop keepers simply don’t know what else to use for their goods and liquids. Rightly so, it will be an uphill battle, but the government is more sure than ever that this is the right step, and it will take time to adapt, however after the initial two month period, shopkeepers caught providing the bags could be fined upwards of 1 lakh rupees (roughly $2,000 USD) or upto 5 years of jail term.

With such a move we will begin to see a demand for cloth and glass making a comeback in India, as these two are the most viable alternatives to plastic bags. No doubt this would also spin off some R&D on bio-degradable plastics and weaning off of petroleum based plastic for the more carbon neutral alternative of bio plastics (soy, vegetable oil, corn stalk).

I wonder what the world would be like today if Ford was able to organize the plastics industry to build exclusively from soy and bioproducts rather than petroleum oil. Needless to say, world war 1 kick started the oil dependency in plastics movement.

A famous quote comes to mind that is so fitting, attributed to an ancient chinese proverb.

“When the winds of change are blowing, some people are building shelters, and others are building windmills.”

I recently came across this article snippet from the ecologist magazine in UK. The first thought that came to mind was pure terror. This is an example of how solutions can also have unforseen impacts on our biodiversity and global impact. Sure to some these are cotton eating pests that leave holes in our sweaters, but to other organisms they perform a task that is integral to sustaining life and providing a service to us that we cannot imagine. Put this into context, if somehow these GM insects were to infect bees for example, those small little yellow bugs we are all terrified of, then on th e surface it would be a good thing, but what we sacrifice is a world filled without beautifully polenated flowers. Yes, the service bee’s provide to flowers cannot be so easily copied by technology, and why should it? If extinction of a species, even a pest is a solution to climate change, then I am fearful of what repercussions we will have by blindly ‘experimenting’ with what we call ‘solutions’. Which begs the question as to whether not there should be international protocols on such R&D.

GM insects

If the thought of GM pollen spreading on the breeze worries you, then watch out – the latest GM products have wings! In 2009, Oxford based Oxitec intends to become the first company to sell genetically modified insects for large scale release. Oxitec has developed a GM pink bollworm (moth larvae) that it claims will mate with natural bollworms (a cotton pest) and render them sterile. However, Oxitec’s plans don’t stop there. This also looks to be the year when it will proceed with a large scale trial release of genetically modified mosquitos also intended to spread sterility in wild populations.