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Providing clear, accessible solutions July 7, 2006 Introduction At the opening of the 21st century, we face an enormous, multi-layered, global crisis that combines poverty, disease, oppression and ignorance with overconsumption, waste and ecological exhaustion, and also with frustration, anger, violence and war. Many people feel overwhelmed at the cumulative nature of the problems, and the apparent deficit of progressive, forward-looking solutions. Others turn away and remain absorbed in their own lives, thinking there is nothing they can do. When you dig deeper, however, you discover that there are organizations, businesses and governments all around the world that are already implementing solutions to the many problems that beset us. Their successes are scattered, however, and most people have little awareness that we already possess practical solutions to many of our problems. The Solutions Project aims to address the world’s major problems, one by one, informing people about solutions that are already being practiced, and promoting their adoption. It seeks to inspire people and governments with optimism about the achievability of the solutions, and to shift the global attitude from one of depression and despair to one of steadfast determination and engagement.
1. Background In July 2001, New Society Publishers released Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change, written by Guy Dauncey with Patrick Mazza. The book provides comprehensive, systematic solutions to the challenge of global climate change for each sector of society: 10 Solutions for Individuals Almost all of the solutions in Stormy Weather are drawn from practices and policies that are already being implemented around the world. After laying out the basics of climate change and an overview of the solutions, the book features a comprehensive, illustrated, 2-page illustrated layout for each solution, showing where that solution is taking place and listing relevant websites. Its purpose is to eliminate forever the belief that we do not know how to solve the problems of global climate change, and to give people the tools they need to become engaged. Stormy Weather received critical acclaim both for its contents and for the way it is organized, and it won a Nautilus Award at the New York Book Expo in May 2002. The public has responded very positively to the book’s organization and overall approach, which has inspired the formation of the Solutions Project. 2. Description Adopting the same organizational approach used for Stormy Weather, and in partnership with New Society Publishers, the Solutions Project will undertake three key initiatives:
2.1 Future Titles In partnership with New Society Publishers, the Solutions Project will organize the publication of 25 titles over the next few years, laying out proven solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Each book will be written by a leading author or authors in the field, and will have a global reach, with a view to translation and co-publication in other countries. Each of these books is like a triathlon in its complexity, detail and scope. Having completed the first two books, however, and with two more underway, it is clear that the task can be achieved. Taken together, the solutions will create a cohesive body of practical experience that will foster a comprehensive approach to social, economic and environmental problem-solving, combining individual action, community action, ethical consuming, socially responsible business and investment, environmentally sensitive technologies, appropriate government policies, and global initiatives. The solutions described in each book will be rooted in values of individual fulfillment, community wellbeing, socially responsible business, social justice, respect for human rights, cultural diversity, democratic strength, ecological sustainability, and economic development that embraces the need for a triple bottom line, representing economic, environmental, and social performance. Each book will recognize the obstacles that are placed in the way of positive solutions by vested interests, such as the disruptive tactics used by the coal, oil and auto companies to slow and obstruct progress on global climate change, and will include strategies to overcome the obstacles among the solutions. The series aims to capture the public’s imagination by concentrating on what works. The style is personal and journalistic, but with no loss of scientific rigor or attention to detail. The books are designed to appeal to the widest possible readership - whoever is motivated to try to build a better world - with a special effort to reach out to young people, who are our future. The series has begun with the following titles:
2.2 Partnerships New Society Publishers, based on Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, is lead partner in the Solutions Project. It is their commitment to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society that makes the Solutions Project possible. Like any publisher, however, their attentions are occupied with the 20 – 25 books that they publish annually. It is not easy for books about social and environmental change to win major attention in the media, where they fight for attention among the several thousand books that are published every week. It has been the Project founder’s experience that a new title that deals with social and environmental change requires considerable partnership building and community outreach among supportive NGOs if it is to maximize its reach and penetration. Also, the wider the net is cast to seek input while preparing the title, the easier it is for the book to succeed in its purpose when it is published. The intention behind the Solutions Project is that we can turn the mindset of the world from despair to hope, from negativity to engagement. For each problem that the Project will address, hundreds of NGOs, governments and businesses are already working on the solutions. It is their stories that the Solutions Project will tell, and their involvement that it seeks to engage. To succeed in its task, the Solutions Project will reach out to like-minded individuals and organizations around the world, seeking Project Advisors, Title Advisors, Partner Organizations, and Members. Project Advisors The project needs Advisors who will help it become a success, and advise on:
Title Advisors Each title needs Advisors who will:
Partner Organizations The project also needs NGOs and other organizations who will:
Members The Solutions Project also needs individuals around the world who will:
2.3 Solutions for Leaders For each title, The Solutions Project will develop a "Solutions for Leaders" initiative to reach out to local, national and global leaders, so that they become aware of the solutions to the problems they face, and are encouraged to implement them. The Project will work with members and partners to promote the solutions featured to government, business and community leaders, and encourage them to adopt similar legislation and practices. This initiative will work through two programs:
3. People Guy Dauncey is an author, activist and consultant who works to develop a positive vision of a sustainable future, and translate that vision into action. He is author of Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change and other titles, and publisher of EcoNews, a monthly newsletter serving the vision of a sustainable Vancouver Island. He is co-founder of the Victoria Car-Share Cooperative, President of the BC Sustainable Energy Association (www.bcsea.org), and Co-Chair of Prevent Cancer Now (www.preventcancernow.ca). He lives in Victoria, BC, Canada, where he also works as a consultant in sustainable ecovillage and green building development. Project Advisors:
4. Future Title Themes There is no set method for choosing an author for a new title. They come from a mix of chance, serendipity, and personal invitations. Social and Economic Change
Environmental Change
Personal and Family Change
* Outline notes available Guy Dauncey, The Solutions Project |
