October 2022 - Year two of the disrupted decade |
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' Hi Thank you for being a reader of Transition Edge. Please feel free to forward it to friends who you think might enjoy it too. I’m Grant Symons. I convene Transition Edge
to help us understand how we can transition to a low carbon sustainable world using leading thinking and practices. This stark piece from the
young Dylan was aimed at the big issues of the time - poverty, racism, politics and social injustice. Perhaps climate change was intuitively in the back of his mind too? Bob Dylan- 1964 Age - 23
Come gather 'round people, wherever
you roam
And admit that the waters, around you have grown
And accept it that soon, you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin' and you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin' Come writers and critics, who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'
For the loser now, will be later to win, for the times they are
a-changin' Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the
doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt, will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows, and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin' Come mothers and fathers, throughout the land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters, are
beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one, if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin' The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast
The slow one now, will later be fast
As the present now, will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now, will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'
Getting real! Since this song was written, in 1964: - The global population has more than doubled and is getter
older
- Approximately 75% of all the coal, oil and gas ever consumed through human activity, has occurred
- So much money and debt exists now that we no longer have the labour, materials, energy or biosphere to service it's imperative
- The atmospheric increases in concentration of Co2 has caused increases in global temperatures and has changed the
climate
- The ocean has absorbed approximately 35% of the emitted carbon dioxide (and 97% of the extra heat) and as a result has become warmer and more acidic, while changing the whole ecosystem
- We now face environmental conditions that cannot be unwound for probably millions of years, and can be made worse if we do not modify or stop business as usual in developed countries
- The
times and our planet home, have indeed changed
Dylans words could be applied to any time in history, where we can point to moments when geological events have changed the ecosystem (perhaps not at such a scale or speed) - times when we have
lost our perspective, sense of proportion, had self-interested politicians and bureaucrats, inequity, new ideologies, wayward kids and non-conformity. But this time is different. Yes, the ecosystem has changed and will continue to change, and we have vast knowledge and the ability to live within living systems...if we choose to change...and to act: - nature itself is regenerative, if the conditions exist
- the young can lead the real transition, with vision and support
- more capable leadership in local government and a leaner and less self-important central Govt. overhead might help
- approximately 95% of all scientists (ever) are alive today, but can they learn to act on what they know?
- we are
able to learn and adapt quickly, if there are more transition role models
- there is money, but it needs to be applied with wisdom and care
- there is communication, that needs to be used for good
- there are communities of hope and regeneration, that need resources
- positive change is happening, it needs more nurturing, faith and help
For those that don't care for Dylans voice or style, a beautiful and moving rendition by wonderful American female artist, Tracey Chapman is here. And for those that prefer Bruce Springsteen, there is a rendition that comes with a tribute to Dylan (in the audience), some commentary and a glimpse of Hillary and Bill Clinton here. Ironically the Clintons probably did more for oil (and cigar) sales than
anyone else on the planet! We hope you can join us and lend your hand... as we help the
transition. - - - This weeks quote "We are at a tipping point, the end of
abundance" President Emmanuel Macron Grant Symons - The Transition Guy |
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