About Peak Oil and Gender
April 9, 2008
About Peak Oil and Gender …..
There has been much good written about ways of re-creating our society in a partnership model, as different from the dominator continuum . Riane Eisler is the originator of this paradigm, and she is modeling this in her own lifework. Neither she or I am proposing that women and men model separate types of behavior exclusively – but, if you have the chance to participate in women’s groups and note their leadership style, you will also note that there is a great deal to be emulated for our society and governance as a whole.
Spirituality has become the word of the hour. But what is spirituality? What does being spiritual mean? For me, as for many others, spirituality means feeling at one with that which we call the divine. But when I think of the divine I… think of our own most evolved qualities: our profound human capacity for empathy, for love, our striving for justice, our hunger for beauty, our yearning to create. I think being spiritual means being ethical and, in the true sense of the word, moral.”
-Riane Eisler
Why not take the conversation about spirituality and gender balance one step further …if you dare!
I am happy to say that recently the WELL (Willits Economic LocaLization) group in Willits voted to make gender a priority in our governance documents. This is significant in the Peak Oil movement which is predominately lead by men and whose opinion leaders are also almost exclusively white, male and over 40. This is understandable, since the science and information that guides this trend comes from oil geology, climate theorists and geologists, most of whom have worked in the hallowed halls of industry and academia for decades to get their “take” on the situation. I am not debating their qualifications to get us the undeniable information and facts.
However, my concern is the present lack of numbers of women and youth as speakers and presenters of this information. And, further - the lack of balance between the much heralded intellectual/action oriented skills and the relational/nurturance skills that will also be very much required under duress or conditions of change as imagined in most peak oil scenarios. This very thing could doom us to failure of future – we are not hearing the voice of balance – not only gender, but the component I choose to call divine feminine. Yes, I am jumping into a discussion of spirit and values here.
The Divine Feminine movement is about re-establishing values that our cultural paradigm (shall we say it - patriarchy ) considers “feminine,” and has rendered insignificant and of less value. The qualities of relationship building, caring and nurturing are among them. I would add the value of cooperation instead of competition is on my list – although we can argue that it is hardly a gender issue. The important point is that we always create the future using the tools of the present, and the process is the end result. This, guided by the values of nurture and cooperation - we will create a future climate of kindness, compassion, justice and fairness. Peace and wholeness might prevail for ourselves and our children. It might mean and end to war and environmental disaster. It would mean the end of a climate of power over and domination, as the partnership model would be valued as preeminent.
This discussion has a spiritual element, actually – its very center, and I believe this is the true key to bringing the Balance back. Our cultural role model is a Masculine God (and His Son or prophets – all male) How can we worship within a mythology that has no female element to it – even though almost all life on this planet comes out of the female? The spiritual future we would create requires bringing back into balance the male and female faces of God,
placing the Sacred Feminine alongside the Divine Masculine that has ruled alone for over 4000 years. Perhaps the newfound interest in the Mary Magdalene mystery is due to this need for balance. What if the message of Christianity has been sidelined for these years, and really was meant to come from the wisdom of a woman and man – in balance? To quote the famous Bahai leader, Abdul-Baha, “We believe the world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly.”
The Divine Feminine movement is about partnership, not just among genders, but within society, institutions and governments, for all peoples. It’s potential is the peaceful future of justice, love and relationship we all crave. How can we bring it into action? Start by ending the denial of such a thing. We can grow from there.
“Human Evolution is now at a crossroads. Stripped to its essentials, the central human task is how to organize society to promote the survival of our species and the development of our unique potentials. A partnership society offers us a viable alternative.“
Riane Eisler
The Chalice and The Blade <>
<>- Wishing you the best of our alternative future <>…Ann Brigit Waters Weller
GREENING UP!
April 1, 2008
Ancient Circles is “Going Green.” This is becoming an interesting and not altogether simple process. In this early stage - it still comes down to price points and sourcing. My tried and true suppliers are not able to easily source Organic or other sustainable materials at a price my current customers want to pay. What to do? Do I educate my customers & help my suppliers to source? Cut my margins? Find entire new markets? At what cost? As we all know - 25 years of sound business policy cannot be turned on its head overnight just because we are in a planetary crisis…but wait! What did I just say?
INCREMENTAL STEPS
Ancient
YOUR UNIQUE
There are other things we can do. Each business has a unique opportunity:
Open Circle has helped finance the installation of a simple dye waste treatment plant for my batik artist in
FABRICOLOGY
I have been researching rayon to see if it better for the planet than conventional cotton, and so far - I think it is. Balinese rayon products made by a small supplier, with good working conditions and family continuity can have a Green edge even though the Balinese cannot easily source Organics. I call these items “Fairly Traded”, as they adhere to the principles of fair trade agreements.
It sometimes comes down to the Shade of Green.
SIMPLE FIRST STEPS
I also have been offering flex-time for employees, reduced days a week ( saves commute energy) have been recycling and reusing most paper products, packing boxes and materials, using light wells and low energy lights, turning off office machines at night, flushing less often, and many other simple energy reductions. Solar would be great - but since I am renting that is a problem. Many businesses are in the same boat. We cannot install solar, radiant heat, or other large ticket energy savers without our landlord’s interest and frankly - financial backing. Why am I so interested in Greening my business?
ANCIENT CIRCLES HISTORY
Let’s begin with some history.
Ancient Circles began over 25 years ago with my discovery of meaningful ritual and a concurrent desire to create jewelry and designs that enhanced and empowered people’s lives. At that time, I was fabricating crystal pendants - hand making each one as the energy of the stone spoke to me. The crystals were very clearly part of our new Planetary harmonic, and it felt very right to be sharing them at that time. This successful launch evolved into a study and sharing of the symbolic images of world religions and ancient cultures- especially Goddess images and Celtic designs, which I felt strongly were bringing us all “back home” to our tribal roots and Planetary consciousness. Now, years later, the mass market has taken these images into our daily lives. Dragons, Fairies, Goddesses and the Green man are all about us now, and I feel that the arrival of the Divine Feminine as rightful counterpart to the Male God energy is also arriving for us all as we begin to reconsider the Green meaning of our lives.
GREENING OF THE SPIRIT
The spiritual background and discovery of our Ancient Roots is a great starting point for deep ecology - that deep “knowing” that does not require scientific proof of a melting arctic ice shelf to know that we are out of balance.
The Greening of our inner spirit with positive Male (The Green Man) and Female (Triple Goddess, Isis and others) Archetypes is offering us a way to connect with forgotten or untapped layers of our being. The outer world reflection of this rebalancing is seen in the current collective interest in Ecological matters, the Greening our lives, our material possessions and businesses. Many of us are in this place right now, right today. I feel strongly that soon we will evolve our deepest and truest values further – to a future of simplicity, fewer material goods, a sense of place, of community, of extended family and shared commons. This is - of course, not new at all, but rather a return to the ancient ways of our ancestors. We lost touch as we “partied” in the last millennia of cheap energy - especially the gross burning of an entire planetary supply of ancient sunlight - coal and oil resources.
GREEN VALUES
This re-newed emphasis on deep values is a necessary spiral curve as humans evolve to survive in the crisis ahead. Re-valuing love of family, re-considering nature, the beauty of sustainable goods, all of these outer signs are created and matched by a less obvious personal inner transformation. These are the elements of my own transition at this time, and I feel it being shared by most folks I meet. A study of the ancients, the stories of our grandmothers, and memories of the early years of the 1960’s and 1970’s culture are now the guiding light of an entire worldwide localization movement intent on reducing our energy consumption.
GREEN TRANSITION
Green products have always been with us, we are merely rediscovering and “Branding” them. The practice of using baskets and cloth bundles has been going on as long as there has been trading and sharing of goods. I still have several “Save a Tree” canvas market bags from the 1970’s. I don’t know who made them - but they were early innovators who have passed on their good idea to the rest of us “Ecobag” makers. My own product mix has included personal water bottle bags, and suggestions for reducing plastic bottles for about 10 years. This is just now gaining interest. How far ahead of the curve can we afford to be when in commerce? I have spent much of my professional life educating people about products because they were seeing the idea for the first time. Years ago - when I branded the personal care line - “Desert Essence”, I needed a huge space on the shampoo label to educate the buyer on Jojoba and the desert herbs that I chose for the innovative formula. Nowadays, it is common practice, but back then - it was a huge innovation. The usual creed of Branding - “Don’t make them think”, just help them unconsciously select your item in the store.” is at its heart very inauthentic! Let us all use some energy to bring everyone into this Green Transition. GREEN BRANDING WILL REFLECT OUR SUSTAINABLE VALUES, NOT THE OLD ADAGES.
As we truly Green our lifestyles and businesses, we will become better at choosing the best thing for the right reasons. Right now, we are all a bit unsure about the Shades of Green in our choices. Should I choose conventional cotton over rayon? Is that tag “Made in
ANNIE GREEN JEANS CONSULTING
We all need help with these questions. My consulting services include research to fit your specific needs, direction and business plan. What is it that you have always wanted to do, but felt was not practical? Can you start simply with some surefire energy savers, and declare your Green Transition? What is the difference between true green and green washing?
My consulting practice offers an opportunity for research into these Shades of Green and share solutions to any business who wants to “Green-up” and is not sure how to begin, how far to go, how much they can afford, and how to best position themselves in this emerging Eco-marketplace. I offer the know-how to do all of these things, in a manner that makes pocket cents, and gives you a truly sustainable triple bottom line. You will now begin to consider profits, people and the planet in your economy, and make even more cents!
GREENING YOUR BUSINESS
There are several key areas to Greening your business or service.
We can all agree -
* It is time to change our way of doing business
*We are running out of cheap energy resources
*What to do? ~ Change from extraction to a sustainable economy- simple, but difficult.
*How to do it? ~ Baby steps are a great beginning. Baby steps are incremental and measurable
Some basic steps:
TAKE AN INVENTORY : Where are you now in the use of resources? What steps have you already taken?
MAKE A VISION: In the biggest sense, where could you be in 5 years with your use of energy, product sources or services that add to sustainable community?
BEGIN THE PROCESS- Know What Works - Monitor and Measure Your Sustainability
Where does this Green Transition take place?
The way to your fully sustainable business begins here:
Infrastructure: your energy sources and uses, the lunch room, drinking water service, and waste stream management
Product Mix: choose your front end displays using considerations for local production, priorities for fairly traded, living wages and other Eco friendly supplier practices. BUY LOCAL if you can!
SHADES OF GREEN
Ultimately this will take us way beyond the common advice of changing light bulbs, recycling plastics, yet - everyone will begin where they are right now . The important thing is to start BEING, thinking, talking and acting Green
Commit to going the distance as the societal greening process emerges further with new energy resources & future levels of clear choices in both products and services. What did I just say?
BEGINNING the GREENING
A quick start for a retail store might look like this-
~ REDUCE : How about minimizing or eliminating packaging? Ask if they want a bag before offering one.
~ REUSE : Encourage the reuse of market bags with register discounts or rewards. Sell several versions of reusable bags, or give them away!
~ RECLAIM : Use your local “rebuild store” when remodeling. Think out of the box when building displays - is it a sustainable use?
~ REMAKE : Offer those closeouts to a local school for craft projects, don’t throw things away that can be used by others.
~ RETHINK : Schedule store hours for ease of commute times, what if we all shared rides or worked one less day week.
~ RECREATE: Can you compost lunch leftovers? Host a Barter night for your customers to exchange used art or craft
~ RECONSIDER : Add a small garden bed or container of lettuce or parsley to your back area or your front window, and eat it for lunch! In fact, invite munching and tasting, you may make some converts to slow food.
OUR GREEN FUTURE
On the horizon for us all is a whole new sustainable lifestyle and a new way of doing business. For my design business - that means downsizing products that I no longer feel are sustainable, cannot be “greened” due to supplier stubbornness or even due to the lack of usefulness in our simpler Green lifestyle. I am proud to have made a great contribution to many people’s lives with deep symbology and offered added meaning in their clothing and adornment. However I am now looking to Organics instead of conventional cotton, to creative ways that remind people to simplify, to choose wisely. I discuss this daily with my friends and community, and would love to talk to you and point you in the right direction. The baby steps we spoke of are now at hand. Do we choose to step into the sustainable choices that carefully conserve our finite ecological resources or will we continue with business as usual and hope that we can get away with yet one more year of good profits before we are forced to change? Join me in this Green Transition.
- copyright 2008, Ann Waters Weller
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