E-serenity,
now!: This is cited as the first use of the new term "information
environmentalism" — something we could all probably use.
The newest polluters are not chemical manufacturers leaking toxins
into the air [...]
The information age, it seems, is data-contaminated. And it's not
just the volume of information that's worrisome; it's the lack of
context in which it's delivered.
At least that is the argument of a new and growing group of people
some call "information environmentalists." Their aim: to reclaim quiet
mental space...
Some of you are probably
wondering why I didn't follow through with my promise to publish my Green
Movement Manifesto on ChangeThis!,
the new and wildly popular site for the posting of manifestos and
other
lengthy and provocative 'thought pieces' on urgent and fundamental
issues. There are two reasons:
When I ran the Green Movement Manifesto by a number of
people, the 'environmentalists' liked it, the progressives who don't
have the environment at the top of their agenda were neutral to it,
and
the conservatives didn't like it at all. So I worried I was just
preaching to the choir.
When I went to ChangeThis! I found another
manifesto called The Death of Environmentalism
already there. As much as the title infuriated me, I read it and I
basically agree with the authors. In light of their arguments, which I
summarize below, the Green Movement
Manifesto needs some serious work.
The authors of The Death of
Environmentalism, Michael Schellenberger
and Ted Nordhaus,
have worked for various environmental organizations most of their
lives, and featured prominently in some of the environmental
movement's
greatest successes in the 1960s and 1970s, which brought in
legislation
that is only now being seriously undermined by Bush and others. They
have taken a candid look at the almost uninterrupted history of
failure
of the movement since the mid-1970s -- thirty years -- and its
increasing marginalization and inability to galvanize public opinion.
Though you should read the whole 50-page manifesto, here's the gist of
it:
Support for environmental protection is broad but
shallow
-- the large majority believe it's a good thing to do, but very few
list it in their 'top 10' priorities for needed change.
The
movement has erred by defining, in people's minds, the 'environment'
as a thing, separate and apart from the human world.
Framing
problems as 'environmental' problems doesn't work
since in most people's minds it has the effect of trivializing them,
making them abstract and impersonal.
Focusing political effort on technical remedies and
tactics
doesn't work -- it fails to engage people, provide a sense of urgency
and immediacy to the problems, or define them as political, 'people'
problems.
As a result, the three mainstay activities of
environmental
organizations -- analysis, organization and PR -- are increasingly
ineffective: In a world that is in a moral war over core values, our
rational appeal to be good
stewards of this 'other' thing called the environment just gets
lost.
The media therefore have largely stopped covering the
movement, so radical environmentalists (PETA, ELF) have used
anti-social acts as a means to get attention, and garnered some
(mostly
unfavourable) media coverage, while mainstream environmentalists have
been unable to get any media coverage at all.
While the
environmental movement therefore blames the media
(unfairly -- if the people don't care about the issue, why should the
media?), the consequence of the invisibility of the mainstream
movement
has been that nearly half of
Americans surveyed now agree that "most people active in
environmental groups are extremists, not reasonable
people."
Environmentalists, who are rationalists at heart,
have a
propensity to be reductionist and stop their analysis at root causes:
"The global warming problem is at root a carbon emissions problem, so
we must have legislation to reduce these emissions", when what they
should be doing is identifying the practical, real-world obstacles to
achieving such legislation, and how to overcome these obstacles, such
as:
the control of all three branches of government in the
US by the extreme right
trade policies that undermine
environmental protections
their own failure to articulate an
inspiring and positive vision
overpopulation
the
influence of money in US politics
failure to craft
'environmental' legislation that shapes the debate around core
values
poverty
acceptance of dubious assumptions about
what the real problem is, and isn't
In 1991, the
environmental movement stupidly agreed to
withdraw its drive for a much-needed US fuel efficiency standard in
return for an auto industry agreement to oppose drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (which is now likely to be drilled anyway) --
this was because of short-range, tactical thinking and mis-framing the
debate as about 'protecting the environment' when it should have been
framed as about salvaging the viability of the US auto industry.
The movement has been too short-sighted and
idealistic to
form practical alliances: The #1 reason the US auto industry is less
profitable than the Japanese industry is the exploding cost of health
care, which in the US is paid for by the industry ($5B/year by GM
alone), yet environmentalists have never considered helping the auto
industry lobby for universal public health care in return for an
agreement to raise fuel efficiency, because "health care isn't an
environmental issue".
So the movement is now in a quandary:
It's focusing its
effort on short-term, tactical efforts and technical solutions that it
believes could be politically successful even in the current US
political climate, while at the same time acknowledging that even if
these quick fixes and incremental improvements succeed they will be
far
short of the change that is needed immediately to avert ecological
catastrophe.
The authors co-founded the New
Apollo Project (which my fellow environmental blogger Richard Kahn
criticized
as idealistic) which they say provides an "inclusive and hopeful
vision" and is at least an intelligent first step to get
environmentalists out of the 'special interest' mold and into the
practice of building win-win alliances -- and not just with other
environmentalists and progressives. "It is our contention", they say,
"that the strength of any given political proposal turns more on its
vision for the future and the values it carries within it than on its
technical policy specifications".
The best way to achieve
significant change in the
environment is to focus less on regulation and more on investment:
Encouraging planet-friendly investments siphons dollars away from
polluting and wasteful investments.
What especially backfires
is environmentalists' PR focus on
raising awareness of the problem: Bombarding the public with bleak
news
when they are desperately seeking reassurance and less to worry about
(that's why I rarely report environmental set-backs and other bad news
on this blog -- it doesn't accomplish anything).
So: Vision and values first, and then build the movement and its
agenda on that. In my Green Movement
Manifesto
I really started with the agenda for what I described as a coalition
of
the disenfranchised. That agenda was about communicating, teaching,
recruiting, political (proportional representation), social (boycotts,
think-tanks, demonstrations) and economic (tax shifts, new measures of
well-being) activities, and creating Model Intentional Communities,
new
progressive media and Natural Enterprises. I used the term 'Green'
instead of Environmental or Ecology because I thought it was more
inclusive, more about us than
just about it.
Suppose we take a step back and describe the vision and values of the
Green Movement first, and then review the agenda and see if it
fits?
Yesterday I produced what I believe to be a statement of universal
human values:
Happiness as a product of good Health, Home (including Environment,
Belonging, Self-Sufficiency), Connection (Community, Relationships,
Family, Love), Discovery (Learning, Creating, Forming Beliefs), Work,
Peace (Freedom, Justice, Absence of Stress), Play, Awareness and
Self-Esteem. I freely admit that these may not be the best terms,
which, along with their organization have an implicit progressive
'frame' to them. But whether you want to combine Home and Connection
into one core value (as environmentalists are wont to do), or elevate
Family from an aspect of Home and Connection to a core value in its
own
right, I think you'll agree that this is a reasonable broad-brush
summary of human values (and, if you're an environmentalist, of the
values of all life on Earth).
If we're going to build a Green Movement on values and vision, do we
need to focus on or emphasize certain values, the ones that are
currently least fulfilled by today's non-sustainable and devastating
culture? The New Apollo Project report focuses on two values: good
jobs
(Work) and energy self-sufficiency (Self-Sufficiency being an aspect
of
Home). Its thesis is that two massive current problems in the US -- a
lousy job market and energy dependence -- can be solved by a single
set
of solutions, a single agenda. That agenda is about encouraging
investment in renewable energy innovation and development. Its
side-benefits include Health, a better Environment, and greater
security (Peace).
But New Apollo is a project, not a movement. It seems to me a movement
needs to be built on a strong and cohesive, relatively complete
set of values. So I'm tempted to keep the entire set. We need of
course
to go beyond the 'shorthand' of these one-word terms and explain
exactly what these values mean. So the first part of the Green
Movement
Manifesto should be about these values. We need to try to articulate
their meaning and reinforce their universality by expressing them in
new 'frames' that are compelling to all -- progressive and
conservative, libertarian, environmentalist, fundamentalist and
agnostic alike. No easy task.
The next part, the Vision, will be easier. The vision is ultimately an
achievablestory in which the Values are
realized and fully manifest. Hence, Manifesto.
The key challenge here is to create a sense of urgency. The Vision
needs to transport us into the realm of the possible, and make us long
for its realization, ready and eager to be part of making it
happen.
Another challenge will be ensuring that a wide variety of people
perceive the Vision to be achievable. We live in such a cynical
society
that it's become easy to shrug off our responsibility, and our lack of
courage, by simply saying "It can't be done, so there's no point
trying." An unachievable Vision is worse than no Vision, because it
merely raises anxiety and brands its authors as hopeless idealists.
The
line between a vision that is too incremental, and one that is
perceived to be impossible, is often a fine one.
Is that enough for the Manifesto? While setting out the Agenda would
certainly be beneficial -- it would show How the vision could be
achieved -- it would also be controversial because, as I mentioned
yesterday, the 'How' is extremely frame-dependent. My sense is that
we're over-burdening the Manifesto by putting the Agenda in it. The
Agenda is Stage Two. Besides, stories are subversive -- we may be able
to use the Vision as a tool to allow people with different frames to
see the 'Value(s)' of achieving the Vision -- and that Vision alone
may
be enough to get them thinking about other, imaginative ways to
realize
it -- changing their own frames.
And there remains the problem of the name -- Green Movement. I like
the
name, because it's simple, visual, positive, instinctively resonant.
It's also tailor-made as a brand, something people can associate with,
call themselves, belong to, talk about, even wear (a woman I know
makes
unisex bracelets, and is intrigued by the idea of making something
that
Green Movement members could wear, give, share -- a conversation
piece). And what's more, Green is neither Red nor Blue.
But it does have associations with the Green Party, which, in North
America at least, is associated with the left, with fringe thinking,
and with single-issue politics. We need to think about whether on
balance it's an asset or a liability, and if it's the latter we need
another name. We also probably need a logo and a catchphrase.
Why am I saying 'we'? Because tomorrow I'm going to present a draft of
a new Green Movement Manifesto, with a Value statement, a Vision, and
possibly a new name, logo and catchphrase. And no Agenda, at least
yet.
But I wouldn't presume that my draft will be more than something for
the rest of us -- you -- to
shoot at. If the Green Movement Manifesto is going to be enough to
galvanize a billion or two people into thinking about, believing in,
and striving for, a better, sustainable way to live, it's going to
need
an enormous amount of collaborative effort -- the Wisdom of Crowds,
the
Power of Many, and the Magic of the Collective Mind and Soul. From the
ashes of Environmentalism we will build something new. So sharpen your
critical and creative thinking, here we go!
Crichton on Environmentalism12/11/2003 09:43 AM Michael Crichton on Environmentalism:"Because in the
end, science offers us the only way out of politics. And if we allow
science to become politicized, then we are lost. We will enter the
Internet version of the dark ages, an era of shifting fears and wild
prejudices, transmitted to people who don't know any better." via A&L Daily
Information Bridge Framework Document: Introducing the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework
Information Bridge Framework Document: Introducing the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework05/19/2004 11:41 PM Learn about the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework from an
organizational perspective, including the rationale for exposing
line-of-business data to desktop systems and the benefits to the
information workers who rely on this data to perform their daily work.
In addition, review the Information Bridge architecture and the
advantages that this architecture offers for both deployment and
maintenance of solutions.
Too Much Information
Too Much Information12/24/2004 12:15 PM Today officially started with my falling over one of the machines at
the gym and beating both my legs to hell. One immediately swelled up
to the point of looking similar to a Christmas tree ornament, while
the other is...
From Microsoft Watch, Microsoft
has been keeping details on Internet Explorer 7.0, code-named
“Rincon” to themselves, but Microsoft Watch has found some
information from their partners. There will be tabs, PNG support,
possibly a built-in News Aggregator, and IDN support. Here’s
what they said about security enhancements.
Among the myriad security enhancements Microsoft is expecting
to include in IE 7.0, according to partner sources:
reduced privilege mode becomes the default;
no cross-domain scripting and/or scripting access;
improved Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) user interface;
possible integration between IE 7.0 and Microsoft's Windows
anti-spyware service, which currently is in beta.
Partner sources say Microsoft is wavering
on the extent to which it plans to support CSS2 with IE 7.0.
Developers have been clamoring for Microsoft to update its CSS support
to support the latest W3C standards for years. But Microsoft is
leaning toward adding some additional CSS2 support to IE 7.0, but not
embracing the standard in its entirety, partners say.
How Much Information?10/30/2003 04:51 AM How much information was created in 2002? .. 5 million exabytes in
2002 alone .. We Want Information .. Berekley study ..
report
sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003 track
this site | 7 links
Right to information becomes law01/01/2005 08:27 AM The Freedom of Information Act becomes law, giving the public access
to information from public bodies.
infoage.idg.com.au/index.php?q=french+window&sites%5B%5D=12 track this
site | 3 links
Too Much Information?
Too Much Information?12/14/2003 07:34 PM He's showing me sensitive information he pulled up just by doing a
Google search, including a list of suspected El-Qaeda operatives and
information about them. ...
The Too-Much-Information Age?
The Too-Much-Information Age?07/29/2004 09:58 AM
A longtime Jacksonville weblogger normally devoted to wonky
subjects like his blogging
software made a frank
public admission on his weblog recently: "I had an affair
with another woman. My wife was a severe depressive and I was uncaring
and unfeeling towards her when she needed me the most."
RSS Feed Information
RSS Feed Information06/09/2004 06:54 PM WFIE-TV,IN-57 minutes ago ... There are a number of different News
Readers available; click on the Google link below to find links to the
most popular products, many of which are free to ...
More False Information From TSA
More False Information From TSA06/24/2004 04:46 AM It keeps getting worse. Turns out more airlines secretly turned over
sensitive passenger information to the Transportation Security
Administration than previously admitted, raising questions about
whether government employees broke the law. By Ryan Singel.
Information Aversion
Information Aversion02/05/2005 09:21 PM
Matt Haughey raises a valid issue about weblog content. I've
been thinking along this line for a while: combined feeds annoy me.
New Contact Information01/02/2005 09:13 PM If you need to reach me by e-mail, please don't try my Mercury News
address, which no longer works. Send e-mail to "grassroots at
gillmor.com" -- thanks.
I'd like to add some more information on the Ximia ...
I'd like to add some more information on the Ximian
Evolution on Mac OS X idea. If you are connecting to a Microsoft
Exchange™ server you will only be able to talk POP or IMAP to the
server. There is Ximian Connector™
for Microsoft Exchange™, which will let you utilize the most useful
features of Exchange (office calendaring, resource scheduling,
etc...). Alas it is only for the supported (read: linux)
distributions. Ximian supports Yellow Dog, but I can't find any
information about PPC support for Connector.
So, for those of you tied to Outlook, you should first find out if
Outlook is tied to Exchange. If it is, Evolution on Mac OS X isn't
the solution for you. In fact, I don't think Evolution on Mac OS X is
the solution to anything right now as there are a number of very
capable e-mail clients available. But if you need to talk to Exchange
you will need to wait until Microsoft Entourage supports Exchange. Of course, the rumors are
that only Exchange 2000 will be supported and not 5.5. Personally I
doubt that. True it would be a very Microsoft thing to do, ensuring
more people going down the upgrade path. But in reality the number of
mac users in an organization probably wouldn't be able to squeak
enough to get the grease that would be an upgrade to Exchange 2000.
Plus, Outlook 2001 for Mac already talks to Exchange 5.5.
It's all just speculation and rumors at this point though, especially
since Exchange 2003 is getting ready to be rolled out. Boy, I can't
really express how happy I am not to be an Exchange admin right now.
Discuss
PHP5 Information Available03/11/2003 01:22 AM Håvard Eide has collected (thanks to PHPDeveloper for the link),
all available PHP5 information from various places and placed it onto
his web site. Now, for the first time, you get to see why you need to
look forward to this new version (be sure to click on the links to the
right, there are many pages available).
Information Convergence?
Information Convergence?02/05/2005 09:21 PM
A few thoughts in response to the response on my response from
yesterday. On convergence of content, and RSS in particular.
Information Bankuptcy02/05/2005 09:00 PM I learned that half of all bankruptcies in the United States are
caused by medical bills, courtesy of Rebecca's link. I wish I had
learned this from John Kerry about six months ago. This is the core of
the health care debate in this country, not edge-case stem cell
research....
Contact information
Contact information03/13/2003 10:16 AM There's been some confusion recently as how to contact me, it seems,
regarding things that don't fit in the comments...
The Information Commons12/30/2004 11:40 AM Technology Review Dec 30 2004 3:44PM GMT Grok Description matches for Information Environmentalism GrokA matches for Information Environmentalism
Information Environmentalism
The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry:
Some of you are probably
wondering why I didn't follow through with my promise to publish my