This week I have Stephen Grant-Jones in the studio to talk about the relaunch of the www.GreenplanetFM.com website & the merging with www.Ourplanet.org into a dynamic, far-reaching local to global web presence.
GreenplanetFM is upping it game, it’s jumping its codes to a whole new platform by extending its outreach to as many people as we can who we share breath with.
In doing this, it is merging with Tim’s flagship website Ourplanet.org - which first went up on the world wide web as one of the pioneers of html coding and art work - 20 years ago in 1996.
When first put up it collected a number of awards for both content and aesthetics as well as gleaning hundreds of hits a week every year, whilst sitting ‘in suspense’ waiting to be truly activated - well, this time to accelerate our expansion is now!
Stephen Grant-Jones started building websites many years ago after being inspired by an interview he heard by David Bowie and was the person who took the GreenplanetFM audios and turned them into podcasts in 2008 with the streaming of the show via our website and iTunes.
What he has learnt during his tenure running a web design agency is an understanding of the different areas of digital marketing and how all the disparate threads can be joined together and optimised, this includes how websites are built incorporating SEO (search engine optimisation), writing copy, email marketing, video, social media, analytics and paid advertising. They all interlink together, into a complete strategy.
In this interview he talks about building a “strong web” and providing value first, educating, inspiring and entertaining, making sure that a website has many interlinking parts with other parts of the web, which is what we’re doing with the relaunch of the two websites into one.
Stephen explains how we’ve built the website using ‘Agile’ and ‘Scrum’ methodology to build the site in ‘Sprints’ or increments.
We talk about the direction that the new site is taking, going ‘mobile-friendly’, some of the functionality to expect and how you can help and be a part of the unfolding platform we’re creating.
By leveraging social media feeds (Facebook and Twitter for example) to draw people’s attention to our website, we can educate, inspire and entertain them with webinars, localised video, podcasts, blogs and news, plus articles - from unique planetary movers and shakers and others on the leading edge of positive change.
Also, every week GreenplanetFM will be on air - broadcasting from Auckland’s sky tower so that anyone who is intuitive to empowering and inspiring their life, can tune into 104.6FM from 8-9am every Thursday.
We’ve spent over a year on this project so far, with having to organise and coordinate getting 330+ one-hour podcasts from one server to another, and making sure we pay attention to detail to make sure we don’t lose any data and our place in the search engines.
Not to mention the actual design and development of the new website platform, all the specialised coding and building of ‘Web Apps’ that we’ve had to create.
As GreenplanetFM is a voluntary radio program and I don’t have any ‘products’ as such, we’ve had to ‘bootstrap’ or fund it ourselves with our own time, energy and money, so it’s taken some time to pull all the threads together.
We’re down to the last final push to get the site launched and have decided to do some crowdfunding to get it over the line.
Stephen and I will be holding a Webinar (or online presentation) to take you on a journey through what we’re creating and why. You can sign up for it here; www.ourplanet.org/webinar.
We’ve setup a page on PledgeMe http://pldg.me/ourplanet where we’re not just wanting to accept donations, we have some ‘rewards’ that people can choose from.
Join us as we release the first details and the launch date of the new version of our website, ourplanet.org
Stephen has just completed 6 digital marketing courses that cover Website Funnel Conversion, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing and Paid Traffic Mastery. He is about to complete the Testing & Optimisation and Data & Analytics courses.
He can be contacted through his LinkedIn profile; https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephengrantjones
(Due to Public Concern, this is a Repeat)
Are New Zealand citizens really wanting mass medication in their water supply?
For years health experts have been unable to agree on whether fluoride in the drinking water may be toxic to the developing human brain. Extremely high levels of fluoride are known to cause neurotoxicity in adults, and negative impacts on memory and learning have been reported in rodent studies, but little is known about the substance’s impact on children’s neurodevelopment. Despite many studies, the Government now appears to be planning to implement mandatory fluoridation to the whole of New Zealand.
Currently, only around 50% of households are on fluoridated water, with only 23 out of 67 local councils still fluoridating, many voicing their growing concerns about fluoridation risks and dangers. In response to more and more councillors and mayors deciding against fluoridation the Government is now taking the decision away from local councils and communities and putting the power into the hands of District Health Boards (DHB), who are under the direct control of central Government. Auckland Council is not one of the councils supportive of fluoride free. Many residents of Huia and Onehunga are currently up in arms about the addition of fluoride in their areas. Watercare extended the Waikato Line through Pukekohe westwards to the Franklin townships in 2014. No consultation or notification of fluoridation was made to the residents. So residents of the Franklin Ward townships of Buckland, Patumahoe, Clarks Beach, Waiau Beach and Glenbrook Beach (who receive reticulated water) have been consuming fluoridated water since 2014 without their knowledge, or the legally required consultation
Prof. Paul Connett, PhD, Emeritus Professor from St. Lawrence University USA is an, executive director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and its parent organization, the American Environmental Health Studies Project. He tells us of the dangers of fluoride and how he, a scientist, first came to this In a meta-analysis, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and China Medical University in Shenyang for the first time combined 27 studies and found strong indications that fluoride may adversely affect cognitive development in children. Based on the findings, the authors say that this risk should not be ignored, and that more research on fluoride’s impact on the developing brain is warranted. Yet New Zealand Authorities are challenging Councils ability to keep being fluoride free or remove fluoride from the water supply. And isn’t it a basic human right NOT to be mass medicated, even if some might think they are doing us a favour? When the fluoridation of water began, there was little evidence for its long term safety (as for GMOs) and since then little attempt has been made to monitor its health effects systematically. Because there are so many unanswered health questions, fluoridation of water must be considered an ongoing experimental procedure, and as such it is a violation of the Nuremberg Code, which forbids experimentation on humans without their informed consent. In Europe, nearly all countries have either never fluoridated their water or have ceased doing so. Yet the incidence of tooth decay has declined just as much as in those countries that practice fluoridation. This fascinating interview with Dr Paul Connett, will raise alarm bells about many aspects of the mass medication of the population by fluoride and he challenges us to do something about it.
Tooth decay is caused by poverty and a poor diet, not a lack of fluoride Poverty is one of the biggest predictors of poor dental health. Many people do not realise that they should never put any sweetened drink, or even flavoured milk, into a baby’s bottle. Leaving babies to suck on a bottle is the cause of baby bottle tooth decay (early childhood caries). This is the main cause of children suffering extreme dental decay and needing tooth extractions, and fluoride will not protect from that.
NOTE: This interview is a repeat but the information is still valid and so is worth a replay.
Join the NZ Nationwide Campaign . We need to stop mandatory fluoridation now! www.fluoridefree.org.nz For 50 reasons to oppose fluoride – go here; http://www.slweb.org/50reasons.html
This interview is sponsored by The Awareness Party: http://www.theawarenessparty.com/home/fluoride/
Whangarei in the north of NZ is stirring and it’s around ‘community participation’ as a result of a small dedicated team based on collaborative leadership.
Food resilience is one of the important focusses of Transition Towns (TT) as it affects everyone, the poor, middle income and even the rich. We all need high quality food in our body to obtain optimum results. By relocalising their food system, which even here in NZ has been taken over by large corporate players and international supply chains, we have to have plan B.
Fortunately over the last 8 years, Jeff has been in Whangarei holding the space whilst many if not most TT’s have dissipated and/or fallen away. But, in Whangarei people come in and out depending on the issues and they are continually finding situations that galvanise people and engage community and get them involved. Which he warmly finds is contagious. Once you gain the awareness of people who want to find out what they can do, it then becomes all what they can do at a community level.
Especially film evenings when you have 'conscious get togethers'. One of them very recently being 'This Changes Everything' a Naomi Kline movie, assisting in pulling the threads of community together can build up a synergistic momentum.
Jeff mentions Cuba, being a classic example when the Soviet Union dissolved, it left the whole country of Cuba with no oil supplier as well as no chemicals for agriculture.Thus, resulting in the Cubans falling back on their own commitment to self and group responsibility which resulted in a very resilient community in a matter of 4 or 5 years growing into being.
He also sees that, we too in NZ are in transition and when we get community engaged and involved the coming together, the passion and the enthusiasm the commitment and the cocreation that happens it's potent and empowering ...
Jeff Griggs states that the principles of the Transition Town (TT) model are very robust, as it contains so many aspects that builds resilience back into community. Including co-opetition, community building and because it was positioning to cover the peak global oil situation, when it was sidelined by full spectrum fraking. This fraking did bring down oil prices, but in the process, in so many cases, destroyed the water pan with chemical pollution causing many unrecorded environment and health problems, like discharging flammable gasses into the water supply that came out through kitchen water taps.
What he now states is the end of cheap oil and we here in NZ, being dependent on oil needs, still exposes us to being vulnerable around oil supply. So going back to the TT model, it is far broader than just fraking and costly oil. This is where organics and permaculture meet, home schooling and holistic healing modalities, alternative currencies such as green dollars and time banks extend into the local economy, as well as a reignited ‘neighbourhood support’ system. Thus the strings of a community extend across many demographics and resilience comes into play.
Jeff thinks that when we pool all these components together there is 'collaborative' leadership and this word is becoming to be more known in the mainstream vernacular. When you get groups of people with common visions sitting down around the table actively listening to one another, looking at possibilities, getting creative in a co creative way the magic and the power that comes from that kind of round table discussion is quite mind blowing! When you compare this polite dialogue and sharing with the antics of NZ’s Parliament or US politics, we need go no further.
Validating collaborative leadership is a new way forward.
Which due to Jeff's experience in local government this is what is missing collaborative leadership.
The challenge now is to convince government and bureaucracy to commit to find ways to embrace collaborative style of being and working ... where you get rid of the win/lose scenarios and also the power struggles and the competition.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” R. Buckminster Fuller
When you clear the old patterns put these old forms aside and embrace the new all of a sudden when people start engaging in this new way of working, the collective wisdom, the collective knowledge starts to emerge and this is where the leadership starts to come up from the grass roots level.
People practising this experiential learning of collaboration find it’s like the magic ingredient where you get the group together create the space and then you just let it go ... and the outcomes are so powerful its going back to community outcomes, community wellbeing and health of the environment all this stuff starts to play out.
The passion gets renewed.
This interview covers a lot of C words ...
Coopetition
Cooperation
Cocreation
Collaboration
Collectives
Community building
Can do ...
Commitment which many people seem unable to do ...
Other words for these times.
Local resilience
Reclaiming
Social enterprise
Self sufficiency
Personal responsibility
Be the change
When in a group situation and people are using this vocabulary you know that you are all on the same page and wavelength.
The Transition Towns model being a very well thoughtout model that with 12 parts to it Jeff thinks it is a very well structured system.
One of these unique parts of this TT system, calls for ‘inter generation’ connection and honouring the elders these are all components that consist of building interactive resilience back into communities the coming together the grand fathers/mothers the very young this is known within indigenous populations where is is very much a natural unified field.
One such initiative that happened when listening for the voice of the youth of Whangarei, was that no one was looking for their aspirations, they were not being actively factored into the future so Jeff and a team wrote to the Principles of the five major high schools in the City saying that their TT group was a voice of concerned citizens and they were interested in hearing the voice of the youth of today.
They asked for two students from each school and meet with all five high school representatives to support them in asking them to share their aspirations and get their voices out. So the TT group coached them in being media savvy and how to give presentations etc.
Then Jeff met with them personally for near on two years and they wanted to have a number of things, one being a forum to be able to communicate with government politicians and a youth space where they could come together and support each other along with other smaller objectives, such as tutoring. As a result the feel confident to go in front of the Whangarei Council and they have been acknowledged, listened to and have their own space and received funding for ongoing group consensus etc.
The TT group seeded it, now they have stepped back.
Then the TT group checked out the elders and saw that the women were far more organised and had their social networks, but the men, they were another story. Jeff said that he sees them at the library bring back cartloads of books they were just home reading. Yet, they had so much talent and skills sitting untapped by the community. Having heard about the Man Shed concept in Australia, where the Federal Government actually funds them because they can see the indirect health benefits of keeping the men occupied, because with no outlet the men get depressed, and go onto medication and the downward spiral ... and Jeff and a team decided to do it here in Whangarei where the end product is that there are now 80 men in a shed that happens to be the old Whangarei railwaystation.
This they purchased off the Council for one dollar, they are now restoring it, they are doing projects all over Whangarei for charities and non profits, Salvation Army, hospices, repairing furniture etc This being a total entrepreneurial old group of guys who love being together, love building things and love giving back to the community. They are now bringing in home school kids, women groups, also to learn many differing skills, that it is becoming a community point where everyone comes together to honour this intergenerational connection.
The next step being, to invite in young males who have missed out on connection with fathers and male energy to come hang with these older blokes and learn and laugh and again bring the intergeneration energies together into a more cocreative environment, these older men are ex builders, plumbers electricians etc with a huge resource of skills.
There are now mens shed in Kaitaia, Kerekeri and starting in Ruakaka and they are being donated huge amounts of tools and gear etc. It is overwhelming what is being donated.
Also mentioned in this interview is Barbara Marx Hubbard (whom we both have met) out of Northern California, who talks about "Conscious Evolution" as against, unconscious evolution, which is basically where we are at in this old paradigm that is hemorrhaging and not fulfilling humanities needs or the natural world. http://barbaramarxhubbard.com
Covering; GE Free Northland as championed by the Whangarei Council and the Far North Councils. Plus, honouring Zelka Grammer and her unwavering and dedicated work to keep GE & GMO's out of the North. https://organicnz.org.nz/node/624
Other TT projects are about re localisation. (Do a web search on ‘Localise’ NZ for the various web sites www.localise.nz ) This will give pointers about Relocalising our food and reshaping Northlands food production as well as integrating distribution and and understanding consumption systems.
Because Whangarei and districts have a niche climatic system, available water, rich soils many of them volcanic, the possibilities are huge yet compared to the food grown in Northland 100 years ago very little food is grown today.
Why?
6,000 people go to the Saturday morning Whangarei markets on Saturday morning. Based on the collaborative leadership model it is fundamental to bring in this new paradigm and re educate everyone including the present businesses, the institutions, the economic development people, leaders etc, to see just what is possible.
And ironically, all this Transitional Town dynamism is being done by volunteers, actually just three people ( Just as this radio program is totally voluntary as well) No resources or money other than their own time has gone into this project.
Jeff tells that last year he took 4 months off in 2015 to visit North America to study the local food movement, especially in Vermont, which has quite a counter culture and where Bernie Sanders comes from and they have this ‘localised food movement’ absolutely sussed. The Book called ‘The Town that Food Saved.’ Based around an organisation called ‘The centre for an agricultural economy.’ www.hardwickagriculture.org/ It's a social enterprise, is very entreprenurial and is self supporting.
Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and protection. Rahui and regenerating fish stocks. Northland being a GE and GMO Free Zone and Auckland City being the gate keeper to keep such materials out from the north.
The very high price that organic dairy farmers are getting for milk powder emphatically states that there is a world market for top quality healthy products. 5 times the price of conventional dairy prices. Covering a huge array of subject matter from Morgan Williams the ex Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and how strong and forthright he was when taking that post.
That today, the NZ Government and ‘business as usual’ have corrupted and abused the word sustainability and deleted it from any ecological context, but use it to sustain the ongoing plunder of our planets resources, people and future.
The semantics of sustainability."if it is good for the environment and good for the people and good for the economy then you are well on track to be sustainable" Morgan Williams. It is the life supporting capacity of our planet that has got to be the main criteria for us in supporting the biosphere.
Progress indicators GDP and the measuring of gross domestic product Dr Ron Coleman who was invited by Dave Breuer of AnewNZ and who had Michael Cullen’s ear, ( The Minister of Finance for the previous Labour administration.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine_progress_indicator
The game is to replace the system with one that is going to work for our common future and environment, people and economy basically in that order.
In fact "it is not a revolution it's a paradigm shift" from the grass roots up.
And more and more people are twigging to it, as they tire of the same frenetic diet of homogenous unconscious drivel spewed out via the MSM and when they see the possibilities of TT’s bountiful expression and the garden of delight it awakens them to their real self and their connections to self and the greater community.
Neo Liberalism has been totally embraced by the NZ National Party and it is not serving the country as whole.
Food for Life in Whangarei is based in giving food to school children in low decile schools = 1200 meals per week.
Stopping food waste, at super market is something that is being looked at.\
USA Hospitals have an initiative called "farm to hospital" so as to get fresh food into hospitals from local sources. rodaleinstitute.org/farmtohospital/ and www.farmtoinstitution.org/
‘Sew good’ Where Whangarei women engage in teaching and sewing in a community workshop space. http://www.sewgood.org.nz
Whangarei, is maybe becoming a cellular nucleus or mothership to not only the localised area but for supporting new community collaborative initiatives in outer lying towns within the Northland region.
This is a wonderful interview that will warm your bones and get you excited. I apologise for this poorly written summary, there are only a certain number of hours in the day.(Tim)
http://www.transitionwhangarei.org Newsletter @
info@transitionwhangarei.org.nz
The 2016 New Zealand Organic Market Report.
Organic produce sales have increased 11% per annum across the country, as New Zealanders are becoming more mindful as to what they are putting in their mouths and swallowing.
This interview covers the era (and error) of the 1st World War where newly concocted chemicals were introduced in armaments etc, that were seen to also have an effect in seemingly speeding up growth in plants.
This onslaught continued into synthetic chemicals and the challenges we have today with industrialised factory farming becoming intoxicated from pesticides and herbicides.
That then turned into industrial agriculture - a particular ‘culture’ (not really farming) and now we are coming to the end of this industrial age plus its ‘so-called’ mythology.
Pesticide and (herbicide) use is everywhere in our civil society, our road and parks management, in conservation and agriculture, and it begs the question:– Are we going to continue to poison our environment, our soil, our food, (that means spray poisons directly onto food), then eat it?
Is this going to be our normal practice, now and into the future? Any sane person has to say, NO I do not think so! This does not make sense!
Thus NZ society is waking up to the realisation we have to clean up our act and quickly.
Few people are aware that the NZ organic movement has been in existence for 75 years and it was on the 7th April this year that Organics NZ celebrated their anniversary in Parliament, in the ‘grand hall’ - sponsored by a pan party Primary Production Select Committee, –where this event actually garnered some media attention. That Parliament was open to this Organic presentation showed that change is coming to the halls of power as a result of decades of honest toil and work by the organic producers sector.
So in the words of Brendan, organics is going “gangbusters” and if we discipline ourselves this sector can grow quickly with huge benefits to people, the country, our health, to the ecology, longevity and our children’s future.
Organics in NZ grew from 2008-2010 by 8% per year –and from 2012 -2015 it is up to 11%, with plenty of room to expand.
Not only that there is more awareness in general, but people are becoming more conscious of what is happening to their food. People are wanting to make a deeper connection to their food source and one of them is ‘through ’certified organic’ products’
The Market Report for Organics Aotearoa NZ that was produced, was sponsored by New World and Countdown, Ceres, Fresh Direct and Vespry. Here is mainstream NZ in behind this report saying this is the way to go. Though Brendan tempers this by telling us that instead of using the organics slogan “We are the answer”, to now saying “We have solutions”. Very real solutions.
Today, Fonterra’s organic milk powder has a value 5 times more than conventional milk powder. This should be an eye opener to NZ dairy farmers! Especially, in a fickle and topsy-turvy world market.
So who is it buying organic products? It’’s Generation Y, born in the 1980s and 1990s, comprising primarily the children of the baby boomers. They want authentic foods and are prepared to pay for it.
Buy Pure New Zealand - why?
Because the world wants what we are growing here, isolated away from the big industrial polluted northern hemisphere.
The big question being, are we prepared to listen to what people want and deliver that back to them in the way that they want it?
The market report is positive and there is a ground swell heading our way.
This interview covers:
How do young NZ people get back on to the land?
What does it mean to identify with place and merge with your land and farm, developing one's intuition, and being at one with the elements, knowing that you are gifting from the soil the highest quality food that retains its life force.
Using appropriate technology and knowledge to be at the forefront of land management. That we can have healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people and are delivering on biodiversity and ecology.
That NZ becomes the biological - ecological producer of nutrient dense organic food for the world.
The new way forward is based more on relationships from –the farmer, to the customer who is the consumer.
The 3 organic keywords are ‘growth, celebrating diversity and confidence’– because Organics Aotearoa see that this is achievable.
Note, that contrary to mainstream media’s message, most food in the world is grown through gardening and not through farming. This is provable.
Having your children work in the garden, do chores etc. Letting them understand the connection that plants grow in fertile soils to produce tomatoes and corn, that eggs come from chooks etc.
That when children spend quality time in the garden they embed themselves in connection to natural systems that is very real - it’s not a fantasy, it’s not a TV show or an iPad game.
Organic standards, what are they in NZ? – Bio Grow being the leading certification agency.
Today Countdown and New World have 77% of organic retail sales across NZ. Countdown has its own organic house brand.
Brendan tells the story of 500 hundred year old trees in the Ureweras here in NZ giving honey to Koreans –but, they don’t see it as ‘just honey’ they see it as medicine from an elder, one that is 500 years old.
When it comes to organic food production and land use the best results by far is when you are inclusive and participative. That your dealings are open and clear and when we involve ourselves in this intent, it becomes a relentless pursuit and endeavour to bring NZ land management, health and wellbeing - into fruition.
Managing continuous 11% growth needs very focused attention and nurturing where you can not take short cuts. Organics engenders integrity of being and of effort.
Now we in NZ need top down assistance, –we have done decades of bottom up grass roots work, now we need support from government to shift the energy for the whole country.
11% each year - it is happening! It may be an intergenerational shift, but it may come faster. If we get some major support from a ‘conscious’ NZ government - magic could happen.
Now we need some enlightened policy, some regulation, and it can not be political.
This is what is best for New Zealand and ultimately, our planet.
WHAT IS THE EARTH CHARTER?
The Earth Charter is an ethical framework for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society during this 21st century.
It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations. It is a vision of hope and a call to action.
The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by a global consultation process, and endorsed by organizations representing millions of people, the Charter "seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the greater community of life, and future generations." It calls upon humanity to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history. The Earth Charter's ethical vision proposes that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible. The Charter attempts to provide a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues.
How do we integrate world citizens into a grassroots movement to bring this into being? Can the people of the Earth promote this idea so as to not lose power to the overriding corporate global resource grab that is ubiquitous and increasing?
With the TPPA the Transpacific Partnership Agreement and the TTIP Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership being foisted upon many countries in their respective regions, is the Earth Charter robust enough to ensure that humanity will be able to have a just and fair future?
We are now also deeply embedded in an era of the Security State of Global Proportions how is this going to affect the Charter?
As we near 2020, we are seeing that the Charter may need some revising and that we as a humanity have to go beyond ecological sustainability and repurpose how we respond to the rapidly increasing ecological, economic and societal challenges that are all presently converging.
Regeneration of the environment has to be a priority of the highest order, as well as looking deeply at the particulates in the air, water and food chain. With geoengineering being played with, what are the repercussions in our fast altering world, where democracy is now being seen as becoming very poorly represented and even problematic? (the two party electoral system in the USA and the UK) Whilst big world media becomes more omnipresent, globally yet concentrated in fewer and fewer hands.
Environmental Modification Convention
There is a need to give more teeth to enforce the rule of law on countries that break these conventions, especially ENMOD.
The Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD), formally the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques is an international treaty prohibiting the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. It opened for signature on 18 May 1977 in Geneva and entered into force on 5 October 1978.
The Convention bans weather warfare, which is the use of weather modification techniques for the purposes of inducing damage or destruction. The Convention on Biological Diversity of 2010 would also ban some forms of weather modification or geoengineering.
Yes, we definitely need regulation to stop unbridled degradation of the earth’s resources, because as most people know the corporate world’s only aim is to make a profit for shareholders. With corporate ‘responsibility’ seen with increasing suspicion we need to have this discussion of how we justly care for the 7.5 billion human inhabitants and the future of our biosphere especially children of today and tomorrow.
This is a repeat of an interview broadcast in 2006 and no doubt this important subject needs to be addressed far more in the public arena - now - 10 years after broadcast.
http://earthcharter.org
Time Banks, Green Dollars, Savings Pools
The interview initially starts with latest topics of Universal basic income, Bitcoin and crypto currencies and that people are awakening to the fact that central bankers don’t have a clue as to solve this ongoing and deteriorating crisis.
In NZ the situation today looks pretty good to the casual observer - listen to MSM and government sources and we are in a stable and robust moderately growing economy - everything is quite good, some of our major trading partners are experiencing some head winds but … ‘she’ll be right.’ If you rule out the dairy shock of the last 14 months and take out the Auckland property bubble but don’t worry about those little wobbles, we as a country are doing just fine!
What this means that we in NZ are going to be following most of the rest of the world into 'debt deflation' which over the coming years is going to take hold with a greater severity.
We have been a lucky country and managed to come through the recent (GFC) Global Financial Crash of 2008 along with Australia and NZ being almost alone in the world because we had many trade ties to China and we did not get hammered like other countries - Australian minerals and NZ dairy were doing very well. China being the last big bubble to implode and it looks like it is going to do so now as well - this is big news, for if China starts to deflate, the rest of the world has nowhere to go … who is going to prop up all the bubbles and asset prices? It appears that there is soon going to be a rush to get out of all the equities markets. As this has all been built on debt finance and short sighted policies.
Most small cities in NZ can do a certain amount of business locally, so that what is produced locally and the money that changes hands, gets recycled through the commercial areas of that town and district. however when it comes to big ticket items, money and goods or materials they may come from a larger more distant source, the money that goes around in a smaller isolated town or city, has a tendency to quickly go back out of town, sometimes very rapidly, hence keeping the area less financial and liquid.
If you have a local currency, like time banks this can cycle through the localised area continuously supporting local community and business, however if you have a national currency it comes and then leaves and if there is a head office overseas, the money actually leaves the country. For example the near on $5 billion in profit from the large Australian trading banks, and the 4.7 million NZ population, gives one cause to realise how much money leaves NZ for other countries.
At present local and regional government are becoming interested in embracing forms of alternative currencies (listen to the interview for more)
Covering the immediacy of putting in a Time Bank, you get the community engaged, working, and creating value and worth.
Time Banks are able to work in very well with voluntary agencies and there are a number of them in NZ and growing from strength to strength.
Project Lyttlelton http://www.lyttelton.net.nz as a time bank example, has become the glue of the community that as they had been established prior to the Christchurch earthquake it was through their tightly associated team and connectivity, that they were able to mobilise within minutes of the earthquake, have people on the ground and assisting hugely with civil defence, police, ambulances and the fire department and council.
Phil also gives a narrative as to how a time bank can be set up. Once you set up with freely available software and you have your team of early adopters you can branch out. Plus, get some of your charitable and non profit organisations onboard early because you can also assist these NGO’s donating ‘numbers of hours’ to them, which means that you can assist them with additional help, because of ‘serial volunteers' - people who like to work and donate their time and effort to the community. These people love to work for community and they are just living their values. This way Time Banks can put their ‘accumulative time’ into a ‘community chest’ which can be called upon and used by various charities etc. But also in a simple situation of a hairdresser swapping hours for their lawns to be mowed or gardening for house painting. Tuition for baby sitting etc.
That Christchurch City at present is looking at the possibility of a council backed regional currency - which is a very interesting concept. Margaret Jeffries is even talking about a UBI Universal Basic Income being included in this discussion.
Software used is called Community Weaver by Time Banks USA http://timebanks.org/get-started/community-weaver/
Also, Community Forge - Hamlets
http://communityforge.net/en/software
Note that the whole of NSW in Australia are on a Community Forge system.
Madison in Dane County is a time bank in Wisconsin USA and has over 2000 members at http://danecountytimebank.org
The founder of Time banks was Edgar S Cahn who was an invalid, yet he could still think and do simple tasks and he set out to create a time bank, because he did not like being seen as in-valid!
https://www.bostonfed.org/commdev/c&b/2005/fall/nonmonetary.pdf
We also cover Professor Thomas Greco who is presently in Greece to educate and assist in creating alternative currencies as Greece’s economy has floundered. That the imposed austerity exacerbates the problem that it is claiming to fix, because the people at the lower socio economic spectrum are the ones who suffer the most because all their money is spent keeping themselves from going under. So austerity starves the economy of liquidity thus you restrict economic activity. Time banks and ‘Green drachma’s’ can really pull the strings of community together and get an economy up and running very quickly and bring more stability and peace to the community. thgreco@mindspring.com for more information.
Phil says that it’s a good idea to have a back up and have a connection to a time banks or some other localised currency system - because you never know when you may need one.
http://www.le.org.nz
A very interesting interview, with one or two seconds of scratchy recording due to a chronic limitation in the use of copper wires in NZ’s telecom system.
Why is this government touting the TPPA, a complex and convoluted path to achieve a $2.7 billion by 2030? In 2015, over $4.5 billion was earned by our four big Australian banks alone which was a 30% increase in returns over a 7 year period. Our country's sovereignty and democracy is about to be lost for such little gain from the TPPA, particularly compared to corporate profit levels.
Since the TPP’s signing on the 4th February the government is steaming ahead with ratification, first reviewing the TPP agreement and the National Interest Analysis (NIA) through the present Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (FADT) Select Committee process.
Over 3000 New Zealanders have provided the government with their views and evidence, at hearings in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, with more through the remainder of April in Wellington. The report from the FADT committee is due before the Parliament in May. If approved the Minister Todd MacClay will introduce enabling legislation to the House which will amend our New Zealand domestic legislation where it is inconsistent with the TPP treaty arrangements agreed by the 12 parties.
Greg Rzesniowiecki, aka Gregfullmoon, has evolved to fill the role of public advocate specifically on behalf of the public interest concerning the TPP. Born in Australia, and having worked in engineering and as a union organiser, Greg moved to Motueka where he was a member of the Renewables a local climate action group. He quickly came to realise that TPP would make government’s ability to regulate for carbon emission reductions problematic.
It was local government in the form of Auckland Council which gave a lead in the struggle with TPP. In December 2012, the Auckland Council adopted a comprehensive 12 point policy in respect to the TPP. This policy has now been adopted by 12 New Zealand Territorial Authorities who in their territories represent 60% of the NZ population. Greg was involved in supporting that effort.
Greg has also been supportive of local TPP Action groups when planning their rallies and actions, assisting in Nelson, Wellington and Hamilton on various occasions.
Greg says we will have several more opportunities to voice our disapproval in the remainder of the year, however if we want to ensure that New Zealand does not ratify the TPP we need to make sure that the Government does not have the numbers in the house for the TPP and its enabling legislation. This means pressuring local MPs and members of the smaller parties such as Peter Dunne.
Activists also are continuing to promote the call for a binding referendum on the TPP prior to final assent. Greg was central in petitioning the Governor General to ask him to demand that the Prime Minister puts the question of the TPP to the people, otherwise the Governor General will refuse to give the legislation the final assent which requires the Governor General’s signature.
For more information on the TPPA See this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwqMp1ykbW8 or go to http://itsourfuture.org.nz/
For more information about New Zealand’s already eroding sovereignty, go to http://canterbury.cyberplace.co.nz/community/CAFCA/cafca-standfor.html
This interview was sponsored by The Awareness Party http://www.theawarenessparty.com/
Permaculture is a designed science system that is the most innovative planetary method available - of pulling all the disparate forces of nature together in a harmonious movement to live within the seasonal flow of the web of life.
Geoff is continually invited to go to many countries from very developed, to others that are environmentally distressed and now, situations of conflict where he finds himself putting both conflict and environmental circumstances back together - in a sustainable form. Even looking towards establishing eco city developments and eco villages as examples, as the permaculture design system covers all climates, all landscapes and virtually all contingencies.
Permaculture to him is essentially a journey of discovery through a career of assisting people towards embedding sustainable knowingness – which has been taught as a subject since 1979 - to over 15,000 students and NZ too has a number of superb students now fully trained as experienced teachers, many working globally as leaders in their field.
There is also a growing awareness that we need to be resilient and self-reliant and though not seen out in the public realm, behind the scenes there are many people who have a feel for the land, and see themselves asking the question how does a human being live on a planet and in community and sustainably.
That the word ‘sustainability’ is today used in every global aid proposal - where conversely when the Clark Labour Government administration here in NZ left power, it is alleged that the new National Government administration passed a memo to all governmental departmental heads, asking them to not use the word sustainability in any ecological or environmental context.
We have empathy. We walk in the shoes of others and care how we affect the world around us.
We have open minds. We value creativity and collaboration when solving problems.
We trust our people. We back people to achieve the remarkable.
We are future focused. Through our actions and behaviour we aim to leave the world in a better place.
The above is what Justin feels is a crucial part of how our future is created – that in a business sense the values are brought to the fore to just remind all the players within the business and around the business, of what we are there for and how we support each other and how we work together to enable better outcomes.
Justin see values as a pivotal issue as he sees our societal values are changing at a deep level and he feels it is quite problematic and is something that has to be addressed so the business is leading the way as they spend a lot of time at work.
Dr Mike Joy, NZ’s most high profile & prolific ecological voice for the waterways and ecology. How his valued insights has him consulting for LandCorp the NZ Government’s holdings that involve 127 properties, close to 1 million acres of land, and 1.6 million animals that need to be environmentally stewarded.
Mike says that the big challenge for NZ farms, especially dairy is through the increasing application of both nitrogen and phosphorus. That in assisting in quadrupling farm production in the last 25 years - that has benefitted the rural sector and the country as a whole, the downside is immense. As these leach out of the soil and into waterways where they feed nuisance plant and algae growth throughout our river and lakes. Also, that we are facing a critical problem with cadmium that is found in the phosphates that are mined overseas and imported into NZ.
We need a whole lot of frontline activists working to challenge this failing neoliberal system that we reside under, where the corporations are taking control, and democracy is likely to die, and where the government fails to listen to the people!
It is possible for brave individuals to make a difference. In this interview Icelandic protest leader Hordur Torfason speaks of what makes an activist, by relating his own experience. First he talks about his gay rights activism, and then onto the Iceland Revolution, of which he was the major initiator. Importantly, he allowed other people to do their own thing, and did not insist that everyone worked with him. This allowed other leaders to express themselves and come to the fore and the movement grew.
We live on a planet of majestic proportions, teaming with life within a biosphere of mega-trillions of beings.
From the microscopic and invisible to the macro-captivating mega fauna, from viruses and bacteria to the great blue whales and kauri and redwoods. To the council of all beings - all breathing in concert and growing and surviving within the seasonal cycles of a fecund yet increasingly stressed mother planet.
However - what of the future, where are we going as a human species? What is the destiny of our planet in these rapidly changing of times? And who best can speak to these challenges, other than the races and cultures who have held onto the old ways - the indigenous, the first nations - the ones who keep the soles of their feet firmly planted on the surface of the great mother, Gaia, Papatuanuku, our profound sustainer.
Listen to an inspiring introduction to what this weekend will share. This engaging discussion with representatives of this forthcoming event is persuasive and captivating. Knowing that there are devoted people, 'being the change we want to see in the world' is heartening. Let's support them by furthering this notion as we mobilise to care for our individual and collective future - for all biota.
Kevin Toomey a Catholic and Daud Azimullah a Moslem of the Auckland Inter Faith Council talk about the benefits and challenges of bringing the ‘interfaith community’ together including all the various strands of the humanity into one unified global family that lives in peace and prosperity.
Their aim is to promote interfaith cooperation around shared religious values to strengthen the public’s commitment to the values of civic participation, freedom of religion, diversity, and civility in public discourse and to encourage the active involvement of people of faith in every countries political life.
Jeff Phillips originally from the USA studied physics as he wanted to be an astronomer, then switched over to zoology and psychology after being inspired by Dr. John C Lilly and his work with cetacean consciousness where he was invited to California to swim with the dolphins.
The word ‘Civilized’ by definition means to live in cities and includes everything associated and linked to living in tightly organised, structureds, law making, stratified and hierarchical systems.
Jeff goes on to describe the differences between indigenous living and civilisation especially with the extractive economy to that of the consumptive economy where mining, from iron, to diamonds, to gold and coal and to today’s big baddie - uranium. It was either the people for the earth or the people against the earth. The indigenous not owning the land but instead being custodians.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management.
As the RMA and the decisions made under it by district and regional councils and in courts affect both individuals and businesses in large numbers, the RMA has variously been attacked for being ineffective in managing adverse environmental effects, or overly time-consuming and expensive and concerned with bureaucratic restrictions on legitimate economic activities.
Dr Mels Barton and Sean Freeman speak about the impact of the recent changes to the RMA
Should central government be able to control decisions made by local government? This seems to be the approach of our current government thus undermining local democracy, generally in favour of business interests. One could ask if the RMA is being turned into an economic development act! Changes to the RMA certainly won't build more homes.
The changes to the RMA from 2009 to 2013 have restricted the ability of local government to protect trees on urban allotments to those trees that have been listed on a scheduled list. In Auckland whilst there is some protection for vegetation that is located within sensitive areas such as riparian margins, coastal cliffs and Significant Ecological Areas (SEA’s) such sensitive areas, are not commonly found within our city's boundary. The current Scheduled List of Notable trees amounts to approximately 6000 trees which is less than 15% of our remarkable urban forest. For the remaining trees on private property there is effectively no protection.
Trees have a unique place in our environment. Without them, human life as we know it would not exist. Trees conserve water, make our air breathable, absorb air pollution, support our slopes and form the hub of enormous underground micro-environments that strengthen soil and foster insect life. In a city trees take up a lot of storm water that otherwise may cause flooding.
At a time when we all know the scale of the predicted intensification of building across our city, we have lost the ability to effectively protect our urban forest from property developers. We have lost the ability to protect those living assets which make our city a liveable place.
The country is divided as it hasn’t been since the South African Springbok tour in 1981. And probably along somewhat similar lines. This time it is over a complex international treaty – the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, TPPA (often referred to as the TPP). The negotiations were kept secret for six years, and for good reasons. Analysis of the final agreement shows that the TPPA is not in our interests. Beyond the spin and myths, there are three hard truths about the impacts of the TPPA on New Zealand.
Reclaiming our country NZ - a call to family and community values of goodwill cooperation & ecological mindfulness.
David Ford, in his own language:
I’m not fond of "blunt language" AND I reckon WE the Royal WE have got to collectively stand up & demand a total course correction to the Human race. If we really want to "save OURSELVES"; I reckon all we have to collectively do is to STOP PARTICIPATING ~ STOP CON~ SUMING ~ and start RE~CREATING & playing (without consuming! ) more.
WE collectively have PILLAGED our MOTHER PLANET ~ therefore WE can COLLECTIVELY HEAL HER. It's pretty SIMPLE.
David Ford describes himself as a simple South Island, NZ farm boy (& ex Red neck National party man) who went on a 3 year OE that has morphed into 42 years as a proud GLOBAL CITIZEN AMBASSADOR for New Zealand's core values of kindness, peace seeking, generosity & can do co-operation.
At the Paris Conference of the Parties - COP21 - almost 200 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gases to levels yielding no more than 1.5 to 2.0 degrees of warming.
Scientists are convinced that anything above the 2 degree mark locks in changes to the planetary climate beyond civilization's adaptive capacity.
For some climate activists, like Gary Cranston, the accord was an exercise in empty, feel-good promise making. For example, a group of climate scientists recently submitted a letter to The Independent calling the agreement "false hope" and full of "deadly flaws." They cited the fact that the CO2 reduction commitments in the agreement don't kick in until 2020. By that time, the scientists argue, so much more CO2 will have been pumped into the atmosphere that we may already be locked into warming, pushing us above the 2 degree line.
In 2016 Christine Jones is coming to live in NZ, to assist farmers and soil scientists understand how biological agriculture can resolve pollution challenges caused by excessive use of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers. She says improvements to soil function will help restore waterways without any need to reduce the number of cows. At the same time, the cows will be healthier!
The book, The Catch:
The awakening in NZ at both Government and industry level that we have to totally change our fishing practices to conserve local and world fishing stocks.
That citizen initiated groups in NZ can make a difference if we commit to organise and make our voices heard.
This is about the exploitation of NZ waters by overseas fishing corporations.
The exploitation and near on slavery of crews working on these boats in NZ waters.
The vacuuming up of the last remaining tuna and large fishing stocks in the Pacific ocean, that last fishery on earth.
Of corruption and irresponsible attitudes at virtually every level in the worlds fishing fleets.
We have to act now.
Part I - (What is a Geomancer and Geopathic Stress)
Nicky describes what a ‘Geomancer’ is and how that relates to what she does. She has the ability to detect ‘Earth Energy’, particularly the Magnetic fields around the earth, also Geopathic Stress caused by underground water, and how this affects your health.
Part II - (Is there any science to go with it and how does it work?)
John asks Nicky if she can explain exactly how she dowses a house.
She explains how she grids through a house or an office or apartment even 40 stories up in an apartment this energy can be detected. So by gridding through the property, she can identify where exactly the noxious energies are.
Part III - Diseases
John is interested in what other diseases are linked with Geopathic Stress.
He asks what about things like ‘Chronic Fatigue’?
Nicky gives an example of a case study she has dealt with of Chronic Fatigue and it was the ‘office’ situation rather than a bed that lowered the immune system that caused this. John asks are there other diseases and also do you have situations where you can’t fix a situation?
Part IV – The Journey work
Nicky has been practicing ‘Journey’ work since 2004 from Brandon Bays. (http://www.thejourney.com/)
She uses this process to help people to deal with health issues based on the ‘Journey’ that Brandon developed over many years.
Should we be more concerned about terrorists or climate change?
What a question!
Climate change can kill with efficacy as huge storms hit with frightening intensity and after the winds go, leave a legacy of flooding and landslides.
More slowly, rising seas will gradually erase whole nations, and droughts will kill many thousands, and even cause wars over resources.
Western governments, however, are making it clear which they think is the issue to worry about. Climate change is taking a back seat, even when there has been a cyclone (cyclone Haiyan) that killed 6300 people in 2013.
However in early December 2015 the largest UN summit of the decade is to take place in Paris. The big question is will the delegates get the message to keep fossil fuel in the ground and to finance a transition to renewable energy by 2050? This is the aim of 350.org. Even that seems too little too late.
Also known as the backbone of LegaSea. (http://www.legasea.co.nz) His passion is to make certain that the vision of 'more fish in the water for future generations' is not something that we just talk about – he wants it to become our reality. He is an active environmentalist, a good fisherman, a talented networker, a successful businessman, a green-fingered gardener & a loving family man.
“We have to claim our oceans and fisheries back before it is too late.”
There are multiple challenges to our fisheries here in NZ. We all know that due to industrial netting, fish numbers are falling, some spectacularly and this is happening both globally and locally. This also includes dwindling stocks of crustaceans as well as shellfish. At the same time we are having to deal with poorer water quality such as increasing acidic levels as well as an increase in the overall NZ population especially in Auckland who are keen consumers of fish.
This is intensifying pressure on the local commons, which translates to the area of sea that all fish-life inhabit and that for the last so many thousands of years there has been a customary right, for anyone to go down to the beach or get into a boat and catch a fish or three, to feed their family and friends.
This interview is in many ways is an exposé of the Fishing Industry in NZ, which is the fourth largest fisheries in area on our planet!
Since 1995 Dita worked for the NZ Herald the largest newspaper in NZ, she is currently a TV Producer for TV One.
"Journalists need to be very independent, always questioning, always probing always saying, why? That’s the journalist's creed.”
Whereas people like Nicky Hager (author of Dirty Politics & many other books) who stands up and asks questions then states the facts, and is painted very effectively as a troublemaker and stirrer - a left wing radical by the government when in reality he is just doing good journalism - that is all he is doing even if the facts are 100% true, he is dismissed as a radical, out to bring down the government.
Is our government becoming so contemptuous of people? Dita states that if the National Party put people before all other considerations, she would be far more favourable to them, but people across the board are seemingly being factored out of the equation in favour of monetarist considerations. Putting people at the centre of what they do, is the foundation of how Dita wishes to see governments govern - without compromise.
Yelena’s methods integrate ancient knowledge and contemporary quantum sciences, providing simple, elegant and practical opportunities for wellness, for young and old.
Yelena says that people suffer because they have forgotten their true origins and lost connection with the deepest part of themselves. Unhappiness, loneliness and lack of joy are the effects of this disconnection, not to mention the personal and planetary health issues we are experiencing today.
We each have the power to change and make a difference. It all starts inside our own consciousness.
Yelena studied economics and worked as a banker before training in natural systems of energy medicine and healthcare so she understands the true value of investing in proactive personalised health.
The discussion includes astrology, plant resonances, the value of New Zealand plants from pristine environments and the effect this can have on your aura, your emotions, and with coaching how this can have positive effects for your ongoing attitudes and lifestyle.
Yelena Kostyugova is a Holistic Life Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, New Zealand Native Flower Essence Therapy Practitioner (Dip.NZNFE) and healer-shaman trained in ancient healing and shamanic arts of working with nature for holistic wellbeing.
Coming from a small village in Siberia in Russia, Yelena runs a life coaching practice in Auckland helping her clients to become connected with their own inner wisdom and live a purposeful life.