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To change the world, we need to tell a story of a better world.

"You don't change things by fighting existing reality. To change something, build a new model which makes the existing model obsolete" - Buckminster Fuller.


I feel inspired every time I read this quote, and I believe that this is a huge piece of our puzzle to solve the climate and ecological crises. We need to build a better vision for the future. We need to build our new model, which can help replace the existing model of exploitation and destruction of people and the planet.


It's no secret that life on Earth is suffering, and we are still yet to see the necessary action by governments to halt the climate and ecological crises in line with what the best available science tells us. At every opportunity, we must fight back against new fossil fuel expansion, deforestation of native forests, destruction of Indigenous land and more. We must resist business as usual and industrial capital expansion as much as possible, but we must also tell a story of something better; a better alternative to the world we currently live in.



For most people, life is far from perfect: we are facing rising inequalities and a 'cost of living' crisis in both rich and poorer nations, war is raging, people are being exploited for profits, and people are feeling lonely, depressed and losing their sense of purpose in the world. There are undoubtedly so many incredible reasons to be grateful for living on this Earth, but there are many reasons to want, and hope for, a better future.


A lot of the struggles facing society and the living world today are connected and are being driven mainly by our current system that values profits above all else. I see the connection between the struggles of the environmental movement and the fight of peoples in developing nations. To all of these peoples that are fighting the same fight against neoliberalism, we can offer up a new story, one that can resonate with everyone, and help us create a future that allows us to live within the boundaries of the living world.


We need a clear vision, and an exciting story to inspire people of the change we want to make. We need to show people that a life where the living world is protected is not a life worse off for the people - it's actually much better. 


As quoted by George Monbiot: 

"In the real world, you inspire people with a better idea". 


I believe that in adittion to fighting back against fossil fuels and industrial capital expansion, we must show the vision of a better world, for people and the planet.


Here's what I think a better world could look like:


A better measure of economic well-being

We’ll create a system that puts social and ecological well-being at the forefront of our decisions, instead of profits. We’ll stop measuring the economy on GDP growth, and rather measure it on the health and wellbeing of the people and nature that live there. We could use a metric like the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) for example.


Decommodification means working less

We can make living cheaper by decommodifying public goods and services such as healthcare, education, public transport, energy and water. Corporations should not be profiting off our basic needs, the essentials to a functioning society. With this model, life is cheaper, so we can also work less, giving us more time for nature, community, family and doing the things we enjoy. 



Decarbonise and degrowth

We need to move away from growth-based economies by implementing degrowth. Degrowth is a planned reduction of harmful, polluting sectors such as fast fashion, fossil fuels, SUV's and advertising. We must move those efforts towards areas of the economy that actually support social and environmental well-being such as reliable public transport, free healthcare for all and large-scale renewable energy innovation and implementation. By moving away from a growth-based economy, it will become much easier to decarbonise and cut our emissions.


Cheap, accessible and reliable transportation

We will build our cities and towns for the people, not for their cars. We'll have the best, cheapest public transport systems so you don't need to own a car if you don't want to. We can subsidise e-bikes, not fossil fuel projects. This will help to greatly reduce transport emissions which are responsible for roughly 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions.



Re-greening & community

We will re-green our towns with native trees, bushes and grasses that fill the streets. We'll have community food gardens everywhere, to strengthen our sense of community, and grow our food locally and organically. Regreening our towns and cities will also help to boost much needed biodiversity to those areas, and strengthen our indispensable connection to the living world.


Cheap, clean energy

With subsidies diverted from fossil fuels, we will end new fossil fuel projects, phase out existing fossil fuel projects, and spend the subsidies on expanding publicly renewable energy to shift us to a zero carbon economy as fast as possible. We’ll also support a just transition for workers in the fossil fuel industry to be re-trained to provide renewable energy, instead of fossil fuels which expose workers to carcinogenic pollution.


Striving for a functioning, participatory democracy

We'll put more democratic decision-making power back into the hands of the people, through a grassroots participatory democracy. For example, the people can decide how the budget is spent and where the subsidies go. This provides the mechanism to implement all of the abovementioned strategies. Rather than giving billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks to the fossil fuel industry, that money will be spent on all of the initiatives that directly benefit the community, its people and the local environment.



This is a brief part of the vision I see for the future, but this is by no means the extent of it. We should imagine the best future we can possibly imagine - nothing is too radical or extreme.


We absolutely need to challenge and disrupt the status quo of fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial capitalist expansion as much as possible, but we also need to inspire people with a better alternative. We can build a world that seeks to address the climate crisis through the lens of enhancing fundamental human rights.


Earthly is inspired by the idea that we can build a world that is inclusive and sustainable for everyone. We just need to tell a new story that inspires others to join the movement and turn this story into a reality.


 

"Saving the planet is now a communications challenge"

- Sir David Attenborough.



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