The Great Conjunction of 2020

 

Are you ready for the Great Conjunction of 2020? That is when the planets Saturn and Jupiter seem to line up, as seen from Earth. The point of closest alignment happens to happen on December 21 which happens to be the Solstice. The last time this conjunction occurred was over 800 years ago and a previous occurrence was supposedly what the Three Magi took for an extra bright star which they followed to Bethlehem. They were probably early astronomers who were tracking the transits of the planets. Somehow over time they morphed into Kings from the East.

As Catherine Bateson observed, man constructs meaning as spiders make webs. Humans are the myth-making species. Out of the orbits of these two planets which have been plodding the same route from the universe began, their apparent alignment at this time will suggest many scenarios, especially in this age of conspiracy theories. Will it be seen as the return of the Christmas Star and whatever that portends? Will it announce the Second Coming? The End of the World? Or has Elon Musk secretly been manipulating planetary orbits? 

Certainly 2020 has been a momentous year and this may be a fitting finale signalling the end is near, alternatively a hopeful sign for the future, depending on your perspective. But then, guess what? The planets will be aligned again in another 29 years. Gosh darn, these heavenly bodies seem to have a mind of their own and will not conform to our little notional boxes.

Much is made of conjunctions in astrology, portending significant trends and events, Grand Conjunctions even more so. Jupiter and Saturn are heavies in astrological lore. In cosmic terms, they are not a thing, the alignments and ascribed relationships perceptible and applicable only from an Earth perspective. Human subjectivity makes out patterns and ascribes meaning to them. Some find Jesus in toast. If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? Planets are always and already in some kind of spatial relationship to each other but it takes someone to perceive a pattern and give meaning to it.

The Solstice is more of a thing. Viewed from any point of the universe, the distribution of light on the Earth's surface varies annually due to the angle of the planet's axis in its orbit around the Sun whether anyone records it or not. Similarly, molecules aggregate into RNA proteins that enter organisms and use their cells to replicate, until the organisms' immune systems neutralize it, or not. Covid-19 is not something to believe in or not. It is a thing, not subject to human interpretation that it is not real, that it was made in a lab for biological warfare, that Bill Gates, or villain of choice, has some nefarious intent. If a vaccine is successful in tamping down the pandemic, the combination of proteins we call Covid will morph until it is successful in replicating itself once more. This is called mutation. This is how biological evolution proceeds. We likewise can develop herd immunity in response.

Working title

I have not been able to write. This is a deliberate, self-conscious, willful attempt to force, cajole, entice, inveigle, prime myself back into some semblance of discipline, practice, habit. If it seems forced, contrived, pedantic, labored, it is. Sure, writer's block is an occupational hazard that comes with the territory. In my case, despite having four ongoing unfinished projects, i have not written in three years, not since i left Thailand, not for all the time i've been in Portugal.

I keep finding excuses: it's cold, my sinusitis, dry cough, plumbing problems, bureaucratic obligations, the cats, cooking... Or i distract myself with social media, Wikipedia edits, translations, Facebook group posts and calendar. Well, the posts kinda count, i tell myself, as they constitute a substantial digital trail, much of it original content.

After three years of non-production, i had to pull myself up short to examine just what is operating. At first, i was demoralized by 2 computer crashes in which i lost files which had not been backed up. I could not bear the thought of going back to rewrite what i had struggled to set down. There would be the frustration of remembering what, how i wrote, of re-conjuring particular turns of phrase wrested from the ether; the fear of leaving out something of import i had already included, of having to re-research, re-reconstruct. And i hate nothing worse than having to do things over. Which is why i hate cleaning; as soon as you are done, you have do it all over again.

The problem is existential.

In the earth crisis that is upon us, what does it matter that i write or what i write? Human survivors will be doing just that, staying alive, holding on to what is left of culture and civilization, making do with the remnants, having to improvise, to adapt to degraded conditions. No one will be interested or concerned with the memoirs of a 20th century Chinese-Jamaican activist, his poetry, or his philosophical musings on epistemology. His idea for a new economic paradigm is absolutely germane, but of not much help after the fact of global meltdown. Besides, that is already spelt out, awaiting refinement, development and implementation.

I have not ego enough to push through with these projects to become artifacts of a golden age, happened upon by some future scholar bent on escaping into the past, rather than treating with the post-apocalyptic present. 

This time i've run out of excuses. I moved into a cozy, romantic garret, perfect writer's retreat, tucked away in a delightful area, long enough now to be settled. Sure, i can complain about the plumbing, but that is par for the course in older Lisbon housing. But there is food in the fridge, dark chocolate brownies are cooling on the kitchen counter, and Patra is curled up comfortably on the couch.

Even if there is nothing i or anyone can do in the face of our collective doom, not Greta Thunberg as she readily admits, rather than be demotivated, demoralized, and immobilized into impotence, i may as well live the best i can, as much as i can, as long as i can.

I am writing. I have written.

Memento mori redux

I return to what appears to be my favorite subject, death. And why not? We are all born to die. That is why we are called mortals. We begin the process of dying the moment we are conceived. The assembly of elements and energies that coalesce into a unique event that each one of us is, is just that, another opportunity for the life force to express itself, trying out different forms and activities. That life force is powered by natural selection and genetic programming.

In true fractal correspondence, or recursiveness, the evolutionary process itself evolves. The trajectory of evolution has shifted from mere genetic variation to memetic development. Natural selection has progressed to encompass the realm of ideas, those combinations that favor not mere survival, but optimal thriving. The bulk of the human species is, however, still operating at reptilian levels, responding to genetic programming to ensure physical survival. Those that have managed to transcend to postgenetic programing in the realm of memes, are yet mostly caught in early memes which tend to bolster the base survival mechanisms around food, sex, and status.

These primitive memes include tribal culture, religion, and my hobbyhorse, the monetary system. These tend to operate at the level of binary and magical thinking that sustains and reinforces themselves and each other. A delusional mythology is perpetrated so unconsciously and pervasively it becomes orthodoxy. Critical thinking, based on logic, rationality, objective evidence, and scientific inquiry are rare, if not actively discouraged. The fable of the Emperor's New Clothes is instructive.

These musings have been whirling around in my head for a while but setting them out was prompted by learning of the passing of Sharon Thomas, a singular event i was privileged to witness briefly when she and i were students of Religious Science at the Temple of Light in Kingston, Jamaica, some twenty-odd years ago. She was an angel, a boddhisattva, an emanation of Erzulie, or a singularity - choose the metaphor that matches your worldview - if ever there was one. Certainly her passing is an occasion of grief for her family and friends, each bringing their own hermeneutic response (HR) determined by their worldview, to the loss.

Some may resign themselves to God calling her home, taking back what was always his. Others that she is finally freed of suffering, resting in eternity after years of toiling in the vineyard. That dying on Good Friday indicates a special place in heaven. That she is reunited with her mother who predeceased her three years ago. That she has gone on to greater glory. You know them all and likely have used one or the other when offering condolences. These ready, often automatic, socially-sanctified responses allow us avoid facing fear and anxiety around our own mortality and inevitable death.

My own HR is that she has reverted to source, the elements of which her body was composed recycled back into circulation, never to reconstitute in that particular configuration again; the non-physical aspects revert to the undifferentiated ether, also not ever taking the particular concatenation that we know as Sharon. She has simply returned to what she was before she was born. My other takeaway is to appreciate individual life, my own and others'. I'm reminded to get done what i want to get done. This is the only opportunity to be just me, in just this way, just now, in all of eternity. This is the gift of life which most people choose to squander, caught up in genetically-programmed drives and postgenetic delusions.   

Done with it ... not

Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.
~ John Lennon

Thought i had finished writing about health issues but the universe seems to have other ideas. I had planned to write about the lead-up to my momentous decision to relocate as folks seem to be interested in hearing about that.

There i was continuing exploration of my new abode, walking 3 km in the broiling sun to find Organic Home Farmers Market, only to find it closed - they open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and it was Wednesday - when i was subsequently laid low, as it were, by "bad feelings" as we say in Jamaica. I'd had slight intimations the previous week or so but this time i had to lie down.

The old familiar symptoms had returned insisting they not be so easily forgotten: the tightness in the left breast, twinges in the left armpit, uneven breathing, irregular heartbeat. When i can feel my heart working, i know there is a problem. An MRI 6 years ago had shown blockage of the coronary arteries more severe than 85% of men my age based on calcium score. That's the indirect way they state the results. Normally the heart works away quietly and imperceptibly in the background. 3 years ago i embarked on a no-added fat diet (coined the word 'nafvegan' to describe it) and my symptoms went away. This intervention had been inspired by the work of Drs. Ornish, McDougall and Esselstyn. (See also The China Study and Forks Over Knives.)

Since quitting DC i've tried to stick to vegan fare, difficult at that is when travelling, acquiescing to the unavoidably ubiquitous larding of cooking oil, sort of a holiday from discipline. I was savoring all the new taste sensations, flavor combinations and subtleties.

Thai vegan street food 

Fresh, tasty ingredients with flavors of coconut,
holy basil, galangal, keffir lime leaves.

Take-away containers

The oil content made visible

I had gotten away with it up to now but 6 weeks of subsisting on what invariably oil-cooked vegan food i could find had finally caught up with me.

So it's back to the kitchen. One of the reasons i came to Thailand was for what i anticipated was the abundance of fresh, delicious vegan food available on every street corner, but i had not counted on the amount of oil used in its preparation. I was intending to spend less time at the stove and more at the computer working on the 3 projects i have in mind. The best laid plans of mice and men ...  

 

Healthy back story

Some have remarked on how courageous I am to have picked up and moved half-way across the world. It does take some courage but the alternative —stagnation, is a fate worse than death. And memento mori did have a critical part to play. Despite dragging my self to the gym 3 days a week, sitting all day at the computer, I felt the life force ebbing away. Aches and cramps, loss of flexibility, slight dizziness, and losing my balance, compounded by symptoms of BPH (enlarged prostate) were undeniable signs of aging.

An EMI test showed severe blockage of the coronary arteries, an alarming surprise since I have adhered assiduously to a healthy lifestyle, being vegetarian for over 30 years, and vegan the last five (clarification here: I coined the term domestic vegan to describe being vegan at home, but relaxing restrictions when traveling or on the few occasions I ate out). My cholesterol readings were not excessively high but I had been having bouts of tightening of the chest, palpitations, shortness of breath, and low energy. The cardiologist prescribed statins. Not favoring drugs of any kind, I declined, determined to find alternative means of alleviating the symptoms, if not reversing the condition. I reacquainted myself with the work of Dr. Dean Ornish whose book “Reversing and Preventing Heart Disease,” I used to promote after I met one of his recovering patients. I also discovered Drs. Esselstyn, Fuhrman and McDonald. Ornish's most famous patient is perhaps Bill Clinton, interviewed in a CNN documentary by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Dr. Esselstyn is also featured in the documentary Forks Over Knives, along with researcher Dr Colin Campbell whose book The China Study provides statistical support.

Having adhered strictly to the no-added oil regime, within two years I was symptom-free and, as an added benefit, my blood pressure which had been pre-hypertensive fell to normal levels. Another side-effect of the no-added fat diet is severe weight loss. My weight dropped from 142 to 120, the same I weighed when I was 18. To stem any further weight loss I added back avocados and nuts to my diet with no adverse effects, concluding that perhaps only those with severe heart disease need adhere strictly to the no-added fat rule. I add minimal amounts of coconut or olive oil for flavor at the end of making certain dishes, being careful not to heat them as that changes their molecular structure, turning them into inflammatories. I have regained my energy and vigor and realized that instead of an early death alone in my apartment in DC, I had been given a new lease on life. What to do with it?

My hermeneutic response (subject of another piece) was that I had further work to do and though i'm probably good for another 20 years, I should waste no time winding down but get up and go. The challenge was how to stretch my limited financial resources to cover this extended life. The answer was to move someplace with a lower cost of living.

Life changes have prompted me to resume writing merely to record and share my thoughts with any that may be interested in a somewhat different take/tack.

Being practical and self-serving, i've accepted the reality that the monetary system is not going away any time soon. My limited financial resources are inadequate to sustain me at even my current frugality in Washington DC. Moving to another location in the US would be marginally better, best candidates from what i gather, being Mississippi, Alabama, or Detroit, but these places hold no appeal for me; perhaps Detroit, were i younger with the requisite energy and stamina for the phoenical challenge it holds for rebuilding from the ground up.

So i've decided to pull up roots and leave DC for a setting which requires less monetary tokens to survive. I had considered Costa Rica and Panama, and was drawn to Ecuador for its progressive policies, but Thailand won the day simply because i had a connection there.

Sidewalk sale to unload stuff accumulated over 15 years despite attempting to live simply

Seeing that my studio apartment in DC was part of a rapidly dwindling stock of affordable housing, i had wanted to extend that benefit to someone in need by sub-letting the unit. There were four prospective applicants but for one reason or another, none came through. Rather than prolong the process, i surrendered my lease, disposed of most of my stuff, putting the balance, mostly books, in storage. I have to confess i was very touched at the expressions of regret at my departure from friends and from some i barely knew. Disrupting the few real connections i made saddens me but i am consoled that i'm still as connected by means of the internet.

Off i flew to Thailand, mostly on blind faith, or depending on your point of view, on a mere whim.    

Of course, i dream a lot but few have been striking enough that i would want to record them - until this morning.

Dream
I'm climbing up what seems to be a sheer rock face, one that's been designed, much like one of those impossible scenarios typical of video games. Each pixel of this contrived universe is a three-dimensional cube rather than a square, so irregularities in the rock surface provide stable toeholds, making my ascent swift and almost effortless. I realize i'm wearing only my beat-up bedroom slippers but that does not hinder my progress. There is an unidentified colleague a short distance below me and to my right, intent on reaching the top in friendly rivalry. We feel we are about to breach the top when i realize there is a cast concrete ceiling that caps the entire structure preventing further progress. On closer examination, i can just make out a terrace set back in the cliff face, and just below the ceiling. Preparations are being made for an exclusive party with tables and chairs set out.


Interpretation
Climbing the rock face represents the formidable task of taking on the monetary system on which the entire world as we know it is built. On closer examination, this is a man-made, artificial world. What is constructed, can be deconstructed. Its intrinsic properties provide the toeholds that allow access. The bedroom slippers signify that i am not particularly prepared, nor suited, for this task, yet i am able to perform effectively. The colleague represents others necessary for the process but who do not grasp the extent as fully as i do, and while actively seeking alternatives, are somewhat conservative/conventional/cautious in their approach. The concrete ceiling gives the appearance of impenetrability, an insurmountable barrier since it offers no purchase, but the party on the terrace, representing unconscionable "high living" provides an opening. There is no security since no one is expected to approach from this side.


Commentary
The whole video game sense of unreality reflects my belief that all of existence is leela, a game. It is nothing more than Being playing itself. This world-view makes it easy to recognize the game that the monetary economy is. It is just as easy then to change the game as it is to change the rules. The impenetrable fortress that the Powers That Be have constructed can be breached not only by the lack of vigilance at the top, but by the very greed and uncaring consumption that typifies the elite.


Note: Never play video games, yet this meme obviously fit the bill.

Another solstice and i'm reminded more than ever that i don't have any time to waste. I feel there's still work for me to do before i shuffle off this mortal coil. I had thought my contribution was to organize the world's wisdom but it seems Intelligence has other ideas and has hit on me, innumerate candidate that i am, to bring a new economic theory to light. It struck me as ironic but, as the theory took shape, i realized that conventional economic minds, steeped in the dismal science, would be the last to admit the possibility, much less grasp the import, of an alternative system. They are doctrinally blinkered with what i call moneytheism and brook the existence of no other gods.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.
~ Shunryu Suzuki ~

My unlikely qualifications include being born under the counter of a chaini shap; seen imperialist extraction and wealth appropriation first hand; witnessed and endured class, race and colour prejudice; been an entrepreneur, artist/designer, social deviant and intuitive empath; combined with a boddhisattvic compassion, all contrived to prepare me to question deeply the current status quo as the Occupy protesters are doing. I had at first only vague intimations that would coalesce into a coherent system. I daresay not many others, certainly not economists, can claim a similar hodgepodge of experience. That seeming diffusion resulted in a generalist overview with a holistic grasp of systems. Life prepares you for itself. You just have to be ready to see the opening door.

Like everyone else not part of the 1%, i was faced with diminishing financial prospects, qualifying me for food stamps, Medicaid and a free monthly cell phone service, without a single dollar coming to me. This basic life support allowed me to work in the community and on creative projects, work that is not readily counted in GDP or that attracts remuneration. Granted my needs are minimal but could this safety net not be extended universally and distributed digitally? There are enough resources to go around if some don't get too greedy.

I became aware of the the work of Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project proposing, with the help of The Zeitgeist Movement, a Resource Based Economy where all the world's resources are owned in common and managed rationally. It is a single system after all. Everyone would share access to these resources without the need for money. Considering the ongoing financial crisis which seems to have no end, every day bringing new problems resulting from the last round of adjustments, precipitating further tweaks in a downward spiral, money seemed to be the central problem, so why not do away with it? Money is after all only a symbol of wealth, a means of exchange. Somewhere along the line, we have mistaken it for wealth itself, even trading it as a commodity. Systemic change is needed and not structural adjustments as proposed by conventional economists.

My concerns with all the moneyless proposals i came across was a conspicuous absence of a means to control distribution. As evolved as we'd like to think that human beings are, fear and the greed that it engenders are part of our survival responses. I have seen near riots when rice was rationed in our shop in the 1970s, and the behavior of Black Friday crowds is evidence that the instinct has not been restrained by conscious evolution. It is very difficult to overrule the reptilian brain.

We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination.
~ Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, 1976

Without the incentive of profit, would creators and producers continue to innovate and produce? These two concerns led me to consider an index similar to GDP but greatly expanded. This index i call Net Planetary Value would be calulated by algorithm using three types of criteria — ethical, social and environmental — over time — past, present and future. Each individual, company, product and organization would be pegged according to how much it contributed to NPV. That index would in turn determine how much access they had to goods and resources, a reciprocal effect.

The system would be self-regulating with a constant flow of information providing feedback in a fractal-like structure, like this animated graphic. I believe this arrangement would be a tool for the rational management of resources and provide the incentive necessary to motivate. I have grandiosely dubbed the system PANACEA, an acronym for Planetary Accounting Network Affording Communities Equitable Access. Communities are defined to include ecosystems, bioregions, animal populations and indigenous tribes which are all recognized as sovereign entities, much in the same way that Bolivia has recognized the Rights of Mother Earth in its constitution. You can Like PANACEA on Facebook.

So imperative do i regard this contribution at this time of imminent global economic collapse, compounded by climate change and the growing unavailablity of fossil fuels that i have devoted most of this year to documenting and propagating these ideas. I've stepped down from leadership positions with Ecolocity, Petworth Market and our tenants association, all initiatives i helped start, but happily they have matured and can stand on their own. I feel like Paul of Tarsus must have felt when struck by revelation on the road to Damascus. My world view has been completely changed. To quote myself, once you know something you cannot unknow it. The response so far has not been encouraging; though it's early days, this is no time for dawdling. We'll see whether i come to be known as a crazy, if harmless, eccentric, or if like Copernicus and other proponents of unorthodox views, time will vindicate me.

Outline for a new economy

I fully support the Occupy protests and gratified that some people are waking up and making their objections known. I place the demonstrations in the context of the Arab Spring uprisings and other demonstrations throughout the world. They have a common cause even if they have not identified it exactly - the economic inequity of the monetary system. To be successful, the single demand of each of these movements ought to be the phasing out of money to be replaced by an accounting system based on a value index.

To replace the irrational, inequitable and inefficient monetary economic system which prevails, a new rational, self-regulating system is necessary to meet current and projected global realities. The present model is ultimately based on the barter mechanism which grew into trade and digital exchange. Units of exchange came to be standardized to facilitate trade but the issuing of these units is strictly controlled, creating an artificial scarcity, and converting the currency itself into a commodity. These units are further hoarded and manipulated in such a way as to create debt, inequity and poverty.

It is difficult to displace such an entrenched paradigm, so embedded in every aspect of life that most people cannot even conceive that there could be an alternative. The silver lining to the current economic crisis is that people will be forced, perhaps for the first time, to examine their unconscious assumptions and stretch their cognitive range to allow for a different approach.


A value-based economy would look like this:

New Planetary Economy


ASSUMPTIONS
The planet can sustain all life on it, though not at the level of consumption that obtains in developed countries. Everyone and everything has value. The sum of all unit values is Net Planetary Value. Value is potential until triggered into manifestation by activity. People realize value by accessing goods and services.

MECHANISM
Each entity – individual, corporate, municipal, national, bioregional – is assigned an index relative to its contribution to NPV, which index determines its level of access to goods and services. Particular elements or activities may be indexed positively or negatively as it affects populations, infrastructure or the environment. Indices are computed algorithmically from a matrix of nine criteria: ethical, social and environmental qualified by a time dimension that embeds past provenance, present utility and future impact. Entities acknowledge each transaction by digital and/or biometric means. Data is transmitted to a distributed network which continuously updates all indices using algorithms in a self-regulating feedback loop. Built-in checks and balances adjust indices to mitigate excesses, waste and abuse.

IMPLEMENTATION
Since it is not dependent or contingent upon monetary values, NPV can be implemented by any functioning economic unit. It will run parallel to the monetary system until that system strangles itself with its own contortions or belief in it is withdrawn, whichever comes first. Increased parity and efficiency are realized with the accession of each additional entity until universal inclusion is achieved. Each person is automatically assigned an index that gives access to food, housing, education and healthcare. Personal index is increased by life stage, training, skills and accomplishments, affording access to levels beyond basic needs.

EFFECTS
There are no monetary limits. No budgets, no debt, no banks, no inflation, no price distortions. There will be less government, less corruption, less crime. Land ownership will revert eventually to occupancy rights. With basic needs guaranteed, many will no longer work at jobs. Traditional jobs are becoming obsolete anyway. People will choose vocations. It is a means to advance their indices. Every service rendered is rewarded. Each corporate entity likewise is assigned a base index that allows access to infrastructure and services. All corporate entities are by definition non-profit. Businesses compete and prosper by offering superior goods and services thereby increasing their corporate index with concomitant access to higher levels of goods and services.

Everyone counts. Everything is counted.

From Arab Spring to American Fall?

The chickens seem to have come home to roost as young people, unable to get ahead, while saddled with unserviceable student loans, and older folk, unable to find jobs in a shrinking economy, are taking to the streets to express their disgust at a system which has left out 99% and benefits only 1%. The Occupy Wall Street movement has taken inspiration from Tahrir Square, practicing direct democracy and non-violence and setting up operational and social services in Zuccotti Park under the resurrected name Liberty Plaza. A library even. They've reminded the cops they too are part of the 99% and invited them to join in solidarity, reminiscent of the Egyptian protesters offering flowers to Mubarak's soldiers.

Right Here All Over (Occupy Wall St.) from Alex Mallis on Vimeo.

Their demands, published in a manifesto, are admirable, covering a wide range of abuses. Have the American people, who seem to be broadly represented, finally woken up to their condition of wage slavery and financial chattelry? Are the activists tenacious enough to occupy public spaces for long enough to wrest concessions from the Powers That Be? You can be sure even if all their demands are met it will result in superficial reforms and regulations that will allow the corporatocracy to continue business as usual maybe a bit less brazenly.

Talk of revolution and manifestos is well and good, creating media buzz and a feel-good camaraderie on the barricades and behind the digital redoubts, but nothing less than the dissolution of the monetary system will bring about real change. We have conflated the meaning of money with wealth and power for so long that it is unthinkable to even consider overturning the tables in the temple.

Ecological economists who promote a steady-state economy like Herman Daly, Bernard Lietaer and David Korten limit their proposals to reforms of the present monetary system. Participatory economics touted by the left and being taught at Liberty Plaza may give the appearance of empowering the grassroots but the economic balance of power will remain substantially unchanged. Some like Charles Eisenstein promote the idea of a gift economy which relies on people's better angels to give freely without expectation of return. This may have worked for Trobriand Islanders of a bygone era but is not likely to hold much truck in today's complex global systems. I fully support localization and recognize that power down, downsizing and downshift are inevitable but i don't see people going back to trading a cord of wood for a loaf of bread outside of intentional communities. The few voices on the fringe who do advocate doing away with money, like Jacque Fresco and his proposal for a Resource Based Economy, promoted by the Zeitgeist Movement and others, are paid scant attention even by progressives. None have said just how the free-for-all would be managed.

The wealthy will not willingly give up their power. They hold all the aces in the house of cards. The solution then is to withdraw from their game, shift to another system of accounting and distributing wealth so they are left holding bags of worthless cash.

Jobs and growth

It’s not just that the threat of a double-dip recession has become very real. It’s now impossible to deny the obvious, which is that we are not now and have never been on the road to recovery.
~ Paul Krugman, "Wrong Worries," New York Times, August 4 2011

So now the band-aid has been applied and, in the temporary respite it has provided, the mantra will be repeated ad nauseam by every pundit and his mother that creating jobs and growing the economy is the solution. For all of the high-powered experts and economists, they don't get it, do they? -- least of all the Republicans. The average householder in Djibouti, anyone with common sense, can figure out that all the measures that have been taken are just so much tinkering, re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

It's said that 70% of US GDP is driven by consumer spending. In applying stimulus funds to restart the economy, the bailout was given instead to the banks and financial institutions who have diligently balanced their books and have resumed their constitutionally-required profitability. Executives have been handsomely rewarded for their troubles but companies are still awash in cash with nowhere to invest it because consumers are not spending. Duh. Where were those consumers to get what with to spend? If they had been given the bailout instead, they would have paid up their mortgages and credit cards, small businesses would have a life-line, jobs would be saved and there would be a trickle-up effect. It would have increased purchasing power at the starting point of the cycle and set the whole machine in motion. Tax intake would be maintained and state and federal government would not be faced with cutting as drastically as they now have to do.

Main Street is where the economy is and not Wall Street, which is nothing more than a big boys' crap shoot. The "volatility of the market" is but the alternation of the sole motivations, greed and fear. The real economy will continue apace as long as the sun continues to input billions of joules, or whatever unit of energy you care to use, farmers grow crops, bakers bake, builders build, teachers teach and healers heal.

Ignoring for a minute the well-documented limits to growth, let's say some entrepreneurial venture capitalist decides to be bold and initiate the production of some new widget. In the interest of efficiency (read maximum profit), the operation will be automated and roboticized as far as possible or outsourced to the cheapest sources of labor. Where does that leave the local wage slaves who have been bred, brought up and educated to be cogs in the industrial machinery as well as consumers of its output? Without income to continue consuming and nothing to keep them occupied, their life purpose is rendered meaningless and obsolete, so what option do they have but to run amok in the streets? The young have seen their parents play by the rules and get shafted so why should they go down that same path?

The entire concept of employment, work, jobs and the education to prepare for them has to be revisited. Jobs as we know them are never coming back. Even the ones outsourced to China will leave there like water seeking its lowest level till there's nowhere lower to go. The main purpose of education will become to prepare people to live.

Another goal which our schools and teachers should be pursuing is the discovery of vocation, of one's fate and destiny. Parrt of learning who you are, part of being able to hear your inner voices, is discovering what it is that you want to do with your life. Finding one's identity is almost synonymous with finding one's career, revealing the altar on which one will sacrifice oneself.
~ Abraham Maslow, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, 1972

Head of a pin

This whole brouhaha over the debt ceiling and deficit reminds me of nothing so much as the medieval church fathers' respective positions on the number of the angelic host that could fit on the head of a pin. Whether or not either side, or none, were right would not affect the state of grace of the average penitent, or in the instant case, the economic state of the average wage slave. The system is broken and nobody knows how to fix it. Regardless of what solution they finally come up with, its effects will be short-lived. They know this, talking about kicking the can down the road. It does not matter whether they kick a can, a rock or a football, down a road, field or green, it will make no difference.

Money has served out its usefulness. The symbols of wealth can manipulated no further. The complexity into which the monetary economy has been elaborated is beyond human understanding or intelligence. Economists will be last to admit this. The money spinners have been too clever by half, but they have run into the limits of physics, the limits of growth as they define it. Some growth is called cancer and left unchecked, it destroys its host. Metastasis.

It's hard to even think of a world without money, so let's not. It's a far-fetched notion so we'll pretend that another world, another economy without money is not possible. Back to the real world.

The basic problem it seems to me is that the business of government is conceived of and treated just like a household economy or business, trading something for tokens it can spend, offering services in exchange for taxes, another outmoded idea. Taxes probably began as protection money extracted from peasants by strongmen, warlords, kings, then the state. Then the robber/banker barons loaned money to the king/state to wage wars, creating state/national debt. The state got suck(er)ed into the monetary morass.

The function of the government is to enable the economy, allowing businesses and households to prosper. Under the present cumbersome arrangement, if the state budget shrinks so does the economy. It is ludicrous then for the state budget to be determined by an arcane, arbitrary and inequitable system of imaginary units. It's time to get real, people, and the answer is not gold.

Doing without money

Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one.
~ Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790 ~

It's been a while since i had a real job, not since i walked out of my assistant manager position at an art supply store. I had high hopes of becoming a writer/publisher and though i've managed to put out two books, my income from them has been nowhere near adequate to cover my expenses. Despite the odd paying gig, frugality and food stamps, i've been forced to survive on savings accumulated from inheritance and a long period of entrepreneurial effort. Numerous job applications have netted one job interview but my discouragement is admittedly mixed with relief as i realize i'd have no time, were i successful in being hired, to devote to the pursuits that fill my days.

And i have been busy. There are not enough hours in the day to follow through on all the ideas and schemes that go through my head. So i began to wonder how i could continue to follow my bliss and get paid for doing it. That's a common theme among many self-help gurus so it must be possible, somebody somewhere must be doing it.

It has led me to think of publishing more and trusting the universe will take care of the details, of raising funds through grants or crowd-funding, of continuing to subsist in near penury until the savings run out. I tried the marketing consulting, life counselor bit but that requires going out and marketing yourself and playing nice even when you don't feel like.

I don't need a lot, just enough to cover my rent, telephone and ISP, gym fee and Metro fares. It's not as though i'm a slacker, far from it. Much that i do is in service to the community, to knowledge and letters, my small contribution to the universe so when i'm gone someone may observe that my presence made a difference. So what happened to casting bread upon the waters and finding it again? Surely there's a way to have my basic needs met without becoming a wage slave in a corporate system for which i have nothing but distaste?

There must be millions of people who endure jobs, whole careers even, that they hate, that stress them out and make them sick, just so they can have a roof over their heads and have some little life. In the twenty-first century when we have conquered nature and become masters of the universe, there is something wrong with that picture. Scholars have recognized this and pointed out that the GDP index countries use to measure progress does not take well-being into account and in fact includes things like incarceration, sickness, war and disaster as economy boosters. Think construction, factory orders for arms, equipment and supplies. Some countries, notably Canada, France and the UK are beginning to recognize the limitations of GDP and have introduced other indices that measure things like happiness and well-being and progress. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has based its national planning on a scale called the Gross National Happiness index and some economists support the use of the Genuine Progress Indicator which factor in environmental health as well.

The prevailing idea of wealth is based on purely material considerations centered on the production, consumption and accumulation of goods and services. Money came into being as a token symbol to facilitate trading and to access that wealth conveniently. It has become itself a commodity, the supply of which has been made scarce in the way it is created and distributed. Money -- the creation of, the accumulation of, the lack of, the trickling down of, the compounding and impounding of, the manipulation of, the theft of -- seems to create nothing but problems. For a convenient symbol, it sure is troublesome. So what if we could do without money?

I'm not even thinking of alternatives like parallel currency, mutual credit or digital systems. Inevitably, those are based on the prevailing monetary system and of limited application. It would only be a matter of time before they are subsumed into the system by manipulation and corruption. The banks and corporations would cream off the profits making currency scarce because that is their sole objective and we would be back at square one. There's got to be some other way to make this work without money and profit so the interest of everyone is served.

Memento mori

The knowledge that we will die burns out our attachments to the dignified madness of our socially constructed existence. Death is an ally that helps us to release our clinging to social position, material accumulation, and superficial desires as a source of ultimate security.
~ Duane Elgin, 1943- ~

Last year this time i was beset with a series of aches and pains which gave me cause for concern. Indeterminate chest pains triggered anxiety which fed on itself bringing me squarely face-to-face with my mortality. Having a family history of cardiovascular disease and hypertension only increased my dread. I lost my sister Lily just last May and have only one sibling left. Was my time coming up?

Then i seemed to recall these symptoms recurring each year at about this time and wondered if i might be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). However, i was not depressed, depression being a classic sign of SADness — but somehow less sunlight seemed to be implicated. Further research on the internet led me to believe i was suffering instead from Vitamin D deficiency which is characterized by chest pain, particularly a tenderness in the area of the breast bone, bone pain even, and other symptoms that can mimic and exacerbate heart condition and hypertension.

Long story short, my lab results showed severe hypovitaminosis D which was treated with a megadose - 50,000 units per week for 4 weeks - of Vitamin D supplement. The symptoms all but disappeared. The cycle has started again this winter so i'm on another megadose. The cardiologist wanted to put me on statins because of a high LDL reading but i declined, prefering to use diet to address it. I increased intake of flax seed oil and meal, hemp seed meal and walnuts, all high in Omega-3s, combined with oats. My LDL level dropped back to normal limits. Now i only contend with pain related to arthritis and a frozen shoulder.

Ingredients for a tasty cholesterol-lowering holiday treat. For variations, use hemp seed meal in place of flax seed meal. A splash of rum with nutmeg gives it that festive taste.

If you live in temperate zones and/or do not spend much time outdoors, i suggest you have your Vitamin D level checked. The amount you may absorb from fortified milk is hardly adequate. Your physician may also not be up to speed on the latest Vitamin D research, so you may have some skepticism to contend with. It's your life, your body, you choose.

Rather than a morbid sense, these creeping signs of ageing and decrepitude are a memento mori that heightens my appreciation of life, of waking up to another day. It reinforces my resolve not to waste time on distractions and trivialities, but to make each moment count. This must be what they call the fierce urgency of now, knowing that there is so much to be done and little time to do it.

Death gives value, and in a sense almost infinite value, to our lives, and makes more urgent and attractive the task of using our lives to achieve something for others … which apparently embodies more or less what is called the meaning of life.
~ Karl R. Popper, 1902-1994 ~

Trying to make a difference

This is the true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.
~ George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950 ~

Life, as we've come to think of it, goes on — despite the threat of climate change, energy crisis and economic decline. These will impact everyone in one way or another, whatever one believes. Much of my time has been spent trying to address these challenges at the local level as this is where i feel i can make a difference. I have continued to preach the Transition gospel to all who will listen. Consequently, i have given presentations in Maryland at Frederick, Towson, Greenbelt, Bethesda and Takoma Park, many of which now have budding Transition initiatives.

In the same vein, our group is working to encourage local farming and food production in the District. We have a demonstration garden where we conduct workshops and we field volunteers to help with community gardens. This becomes increasingly critical as USDA data has shown that one in seven US households have difficulty putting food on the table while 40% of food in the US goes to waste. As droughts continue and energy costs increase, cheap, imported food will become more difficult to sustain. If this is true of the US, countries like Jamaica which depend on imports for much of its food supply need to take note.

Additionally, a diet high in animal fat, processed carbohydrates and refined sugar has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. More people need to eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and plant-based foods. If you have not yet reduced your meat consumption, begin now.

Above ground: The surface of the site was designed as a park by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., the leading landscape architect of his time. Tower-like structures are bins for storing clean sand for filtering the water in underground cells. The vines covering them were a part of Olmsted's design.

Another project which i've adopted is McMillan Park, the 25-acre site of DC's former water filtration plant. Underground there are 20 acres of catacomb-like cells which commercial developer plans call for demolishing to erect housing and shopping facilities. As an environmental designer and wearing my Ecolocity hat, i have proposed a Low Impact Development (LID) approach whereby the green space is conserved and given to urban farming and the cells are restored and repurposed for light industrial, agro-processing and retail use.

This could include a glassworks, utilising the tons of sand on the site to make bottles for filtered water from re-commissioned cells, possibly wine from grapes grown on the surface, beer and honey. Cows grazed above could also provide milk for cheese-making below. Mushroom growing is another possibility in the naturally cool, dark caverns. An existing underground stream could be exposed and developed as an urban beach, completing the creation of a destination that would bring delight and pride to the area's residents and countless tourists to replenish the depleted District coffers.

Hand to mouth

Whether you and I and a few others will renew the world some day remains to be seen. But within ourselves we must renew it each day.
~ Hermann Hesse ~

Both my books, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing and Wisdom for the Soul of Black Folk are still available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. These books are my bread and butter so if you haven't bought yet please do so and support a struggling self-publisher. You can also order directly, especially if you want them signed.

I've not expended further time or dwindling resources on developing other publications i had planned; the economic downturn is not the best time to expand production of something with as low a turnover as books. So those have been deferred indefinitely. I've been otherwise occupied with maintaining my patois website, Langwij Jumieka and other domains.

In October, after years of sending out resumés and applications, i was fortunate to land a part-time job as editor/designer for a monthly newsletter put out by the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which is the lowest level of local government in the District of Columbia. It helps pay the rent though it doesn't cover it entirely. My immediate boss is Commissioner Michael Yates, originally from Jamaica. Another Caribbean connection brought me another part-time position working with a Maryland heritage tourism non-profit, but that was short-lived due to internal constraints.

So i subsist hand-to-mouth, living on the edge, good thing my needs are few and my lifestyle simple. In a more ideal economic dispensation not wholly defined by monetarism, i'd be more than adequately compensated for the non-paid work i do. Never satisfied with things as they are, i've begun to explore Edgar Cahn's Time Banking and Co-Production, systems of mutual credit that are based on equitable exchange of service. That will probably be my next big thing.

I haven't had much time for anything else. I try to keep up my yoga and zazen routine and get some reading done on the train or while resting between sets at the gym. I've finally gotten around to reading Ken Wilber and am completely sold on his integral vision. It has given me a firmer and more defined framework for much that i already intuited and that i've tried to represent with SoulVentures and I-sight. I keep my counseling skills honed by the occasional consultation and by reading Wisdom Cards at Takoma Park Metaphysical Chapel once a month. After 29 years, i'm inspired to paint again. I've already bought brushes and acrylics, a new medium for me having worked almost exclusively in gouache.

These are exciting times and we have so many tools at our disposal. We are now more intelligent and more prepared than anyone who has gone before to take the next evolutionary step.

Local currency

One of Transition's key mechanisms is to set up a local currency to unify the community, encourage self-reliance and resilience. To this effect i started the Greater Washington Exchange to issue Potomacs. Here Dr Rogate Mshana, economist with the World Council of Churches, purchases the first Potomac at the Forum on Faith, Economy & Ecology, Washington DC, May 3 2009 where i was invited to make a presentation on Transition.

Local currencies are perfectly legal in the US and have usually emerged at times of economic uncertainty. Because earnings cannot leak away from the community and must be spent locally, studies have shown that one unit can circulate up to five times more than the equivalent dollar.

Potomac bill. Other denominations are 5, 10 and 20, accepted at five businesses as of this writing.

Fine time to be alive

This is supposed to be the season of good cheer, right? I don't mean to dwell on doom and gloom, though i have every reason to. Having always been of the half-full glass persuasion, i consider the present age the most wonderful time to be alive, and see this crisis, the likes of which has never been seen, as an opportunity to clear the decks and set things up right for once.

The election of Barack Obama to the US Presidency is a great start but all the President's horses and all the President's men cannot put Humpty back together again. All the money in the world thrown at the problem will not solve it. It requires nothing short of a transformation in the way each person thinks and acts. Those in the West, and others aspiring to a Western lifestyle, will need to reduce consumption, conserve resources and live simply, building relationships instead of portfolios. Many in developing and undeveloped countries who manage to subsist on what they can produce without the convenience of electricity and petrochemicals are by the irony of divine justice more prepared to withstand the tsunami of change once they have a secure water supply.

As a memory hook, i used my birthdate this year to call the first meeting of EcolocityDC to begin the discourse along these lines and get the city that i now call home prepared for powerdown. How does a Chiny-boy from Brown's Town have the gall to try and influence the capital of the Western world? I suppose it's my sappy need to be of service and to make a difference and the fact that i've been through the calamities of natural disasters, political upheaval and exile. Being on the periphery has an advantage in affording one a wider perspective and better view of the centre. There is also the Jamaican proverb which says that when fish comes from the river bottom to say alligator is down there, believe him. I've been there and am here to say leviathans await us if we do not change course.

Our message seems to be picking up momentum as we take part in community activities and programs. Barely six months old, our membership is over 300 and growing every day. We have politicians, students, teachers, architects, planners, writers, activists, young mothers, folks from all walks of life but with a common interest in bringing about sustainability. We've tabled at the Pathways Expo, GreenFestival and the monthly Eco/Justice Cafe at the University of the District of Columbia. We're actively supporting the petition for an organic farm to be put in at The White House and we will be part of an Inauguration weekend event when a song written in honor of the new president will be released. You can sign the petition online.

Our next major foray will be to stimulate the creation of a local community exchange with its own currency to cushion the shocks of the economic meltdown and build local resiliency. Folks who know me from the days of SPECTRUM 20-odd years ago will remember we considered the idea of setting up LETS (Local Economic Trading System) even then. I'm in communication with Dr Edgar Cahn, originator of time banking, who happens to live in DC. That's one advantage of living here, besides the excellent public transport system, there are so many resources available.

I encourage you to make a difference, right where you are, in your home, village or community. The Transition model provides Twelve Steps that any group can follow. In a spirit of sharing, cooperation, collaboration and synthesis, which are all necessary to see us through to survival and sustainability, information and resources are available to everyone. Through our outreach and our connection to the US Transition network. we are fostering the spread of the movement to Bethesda and Brunswick in Maryland, and to Brookland, a DC community with its own identity and strong activist tradition.

If you own a car, consider trading it in for a more energy-efficient model and drive less. I take transit or walk and i've bought a bicycle though i don't trust myself enough yet to hit DC streets on it. If you must shop, consider trading something with someone or buying used. Thrift stores and yard sales offer many wonderful surprises, even new brand-name, at low cost but you will also be utilizing the embedded energy in the product all over again. Homes and buildings use up an inordinate amount of energy, so check on your HVAC system, install energy-saving appliances, solar and geothermal if available. Plant an edible garden and share the harvest with neighbors. Eat locally and low on the food chain, meaning less meat and less processed food. You'll be happier and healthier for it.

Cuban lessons

I'm going to venture a prediction that we will look back at this year as the last normal one, despite the challenges and tribulations that beset us. It may not seem so now, but we will look back at 2008 with nostalgia and longing. We've had a few intimations of what's to come but i daresay most people don't realize just how much life as we know it will change. It doesn't matter whether you're in Kingston, Karachi or Kalamazoo, globalization has seen to it that you will be affected.

Friends in Jamaica were complacently reassuring themselves that they were out of the loop so it would be business as usual. The pundits there said the financial market and economy would be minimally affected, nothing more than the usual fluctuations that could be accommodated, some stock market losses and a few tourist cancellations, that's all. Now we see the Golding government has announced a bailout package, for what it's worth. When Golding paid a visit to DC in August or thereabouts, i thought of going to the town hall meeting at the Embassy to ask him what plans he had to deal with the coming crisis. I didn't bother to attend since i doubted that my input would have made any difference, especially as the PM has abjured advice from homosexuals.

The suggestion i would have put forward had i gone was that he should immediately create a Task Force comprising the Office of Disaster Preparedness, and the Ministries representing Energy, Labour, Transport and Agriculture to devise a plan to deal with the end of cheap oil. The adjustments that Cuba made in the Special Period when their oil supply was cut off overnight following the collapse of the Soviet Union holds many lessons for Jamaica.

Take an hour to watch this video The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

I was gratified that Agriculture Minister Tufton visited Cuba and shortly after made his cassava proposal and promotion of backyard gardening. It was a small gesture but headed in the right direction, but doesn't go far enough. Food security becomes an increasingly critical issue as Jamaicans depend on imports for most of their food and the Jamaican dollar is grovelling at 80 to 1. Middle class consumers, let alone the poor, will be faced with nutritional deficits and starvation. Having lived through the 70s and experienced rice, flour and cooking oil shortages and the supermarket riots these engendered, i shudder to think what the coming deprivations will spawn.

The developed countries are not much better off as they depend on oil-based inputs and food imports in a globalized economy where the price of oil and commodities is increasing along with the temperature, salinization, desertification and inundation. The present US industrial agricultural situation in which the average meal travels 2000 miles from farm to plate and takes 10 calories of energy to produce 1 calorie of food energy is patently unsustainable and on its way to join finance, manufacturing and housing in sequential collapse.

For a better grasp of all this, i recommend you read The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, one of the most important books around. There was a proposal that author Michael Pollan should be chosen as US Secretary of Agriculture. He has modestly declined but remains at the forefront of those demanding reforms in agriculture.

One Swell Foop

Why not right here in DC?

Taking to heart the wisdom i've collected in my book Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennium of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, start where you are with what you have. Ok, i'm here and what do i have? The will, the vision and some skills. I've discovered there are already some in the DC area who are interested in the idea of an intentional community, in permaculture, in finding solutions to cope with peak oil and other crises that increasingly beset us. It will be only a matter of time before we'll get to critical mass and something will happen.

The main aims of the community i envision:
Creation - To imagine, design and construct a permacultural center within the District
Organization - To model alternative governance structure, relationships and behavior
Energy - To revert to primary energy sources, becoming free of petroleum-based energy
Food - To eat low on the food chain, producing organic fruits and vegetables to meet community needs with surplus to trade

If nothing else, DC has more than enough lawyers, planners and grant writers to get a non-profit up and going in short order. The necessary architects, designers, engineers, farmers, artisans and community members will emerge and become part of the project as it grows. Financing and support will come from governmental, philanthropic and volunteer sources.

First, we'll have to identify and select sites from properties that are ruinate, abandoned or otherwise up for grabs. These would be acquired through usufruct, lease, grant, land trust, whatever form or combination the legal and regulatory heads come up with. A single large or complex of buildings with surrounding land space would be needed for the main campus or hub of the community. Here would be located fields, administration offices, residences, shared facilities, food processing, storage and retail. Buildings would be retrofitted to be solar passive, toilets would be composting and water would be recycled. Automobiles would be restricted to the periphery and transport within the community would be solar-, human- and animal-powered.

No animals would be slaughtered but honored as working members of the community contributing their companionship, energy, waste and by-products in exchange for protection, propagation and food. Animals could be rented out to fulfill tasks for others: rent a pair of goats instead of a power mower from Home Depot; they fertilize organically as they go. This could be basis for a community-run business, or private enterprise of a community member. In addition to food production and processing, including apiculture, viticulture and mycoculture, other income-generating activities would entail salvaging and recycling of goods and materials, environmental education, training and consultancy. Professionals, practitioners and artists could pursue their own businesses or operate under the community banner. The production of fresh fruits and vegetables would be the mainstay of the community, supplying nearby restaurants, food stores and retailing to consumers.

Some things that recommend this approach:
Intentional communities and eco-villages have tended to locate themselves in previously undeveloped or under-developed areas, increasing carbon footprint and cutting themselves off from existing communities. What they do is important and necessary but done in splendid isolation. The majority of the world's population live in urban areas which contain underutilized resources and degraded spaces. Our approach could be considered the green alternative to gentrification which tends to displace existing residents. We would encourage and assist homeowners in upgrading and retrofitting their homes to be greener. The elderly would be supported to age-in-place by health and social workers delivering services in their homes, working out of decentralized facilities based in the community. Disaffected youth and the jobless would be trained in green-collar work and support services, the demand for which will increase and not likely outsourced.

The coincidence of global warming, peak oil, food shortages, environmental and social degradation demands drastic measures carried out with urgency and pointed efficiency. An intentional community whose members self-select will commit to a common vision and work with a sense of purpose and dedication to achieving it. We can learn much from Transition towns but much will be exploratory, ad hoc and experimental in creating an urban model that other cities can follow. For this reason, research, documentation, analysis, publication and dissemination are critical aspects of the project.

Washington DC is the capital of the world's single greatest power, the virtual capital of the world, despite declining influence. A solution worked out within it will have tremendous impact on the world-at-large, promoting the adoption of best practices in the shortest possible time. Our project should hold great appeal and potential for Mayor Fenty in his attempts to green the city.

New jobs will be created as there will be a demand for old skills such as sheep-shearing, spinning, dyeing and weaving, bee-keeping, brewing and bottling, canning and food preservation, animal husbandry and veterinary, wheeled vehicle construction and maintenance, building construction, restoration and maintenance, landscaping and plant propagation, etc. New skills required will be retrofitting existing structures, green roofing, water conservation, treatment and recycling, solid waste cycling, materials testing and analysis, micro-climate modification, manpower- and horsepower-based logistics, etc.