by Carolyn Chase
ong time readers of SDET will discover this is our largest
issue yet! (and hopefully one of the best). As we continue in our third
year of publishing, we're beginning to see signs of healthy feedback. Our
advertisers continue to increase and report results (thank you - and please
use the many coupons, services and businesses in this special Earth Day
issue).
Phone calls last month included one from G.R. Mirhadi
who reported that after seeing our coverage of the mountain lion hunting
initiative, as a life member of the National Rifle Association, he has now
decided to resign.
Another caller reported that after reading Robert Nanninga's
Observations from the Edge, she had gone out and registered to vote.
Two individual results, and it gives us hope for more.
Feedback is a critical component of any healthy, sustainable
system, whether for a relationship, a business or a government. In relationships,
feedback is personal and pretty immediate. For businesses, customers provide
feedback. In the government - a democratic one anyway - the voters and citizens
are supposed to give feedback.
Well, this feedback to the government comes in many
forms and it's called, of course, politics. From my observations, American
politics is not reliable for protecting the environment or reversing many
of the practices that are leading to destruction of biodiversity, forests
(see story), ozone layer, etc. But at the same
time, what other options are there? What are the effective ways for people
to engage with a massive system of conflicting money and power interests
to insure their own survival? Can we organize enough people, businesses
and organizations who understand and adapt their ways?
Having attended many public meetings over the years,
I have to say that this is the challenge of our age - or any age: how to
align the values of community, sustainable economies and healthy environment
with a political system designed to absorb public monies and maintain itself
in its current form, regardless of the outcome.
But what else is there to do? Some might say it's impossible.
I say, the most interesting projects are always seen to be impossible, at
first. I must also observe that some type of transformation is becoming
more and more required by our planet's life-support systems to sustain us.
Our Politics section this month presents some provocative
ideas for rethinking our relationships with democracy, government, and environmental
protections with the goal of giving ordinary citizens creative and effective
ways to work the process and content of politics.
If this interests you, and it "should," please
participate. Return the "America's Finest County" form. Sign or
circulate and return the "Natural
Heritage and Quality of Life" petition. And give us feedback!
When we connect, we make a difference. It's that simple
and that complicated.
If you're looking for a special way to celebrate Earth Day, consider playing
the World Game. Invented by R. Buckminster Fuller the Game is a multimedia
event in which participants become world leaders, regional representatives,
business moguls and representatives of international organizations with
the goal of addressing, negotiating and solving global problems. You will
be left with a new and profound understanding of world issues. Contact GENI
at (619) 595-0139 or http://www.geni.org.
