The Unholy Trinity: What We Can Do To Survive and Prosper

The "unholy trinity" is a worst case scenario where three global problems occur at the same time to create widespread disruption to environmental, political and economic systems. The Institute for Alternative Futures, one of the leading scientifically-based futurist organizations first described this scenario in their March, 2008 Newsletter. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to look into today’s headlines and recognize that we are in deep trouble. In fact, what we are seeing is the end of an unsustainable world based on the pursuit of empire and the birth of a new earth-centered world based on cooperative local economies. Here’s what you need to know in order to survive and prosper in this new world.

Even with our focus on population control, the earth's population will quickly grow to seven, eight and eventually nine billion people this century. The way these billions of people are relating to the earth has created the “holy trinity.”

• The challenge of peak oil will force us to alter the way we use energy for power generation, transmission and transportation. The choice will be regression to a simpler, older way of life that uses less energy or accelerated research into ways to conserve energy and improve the efficiency of alternatives to oil and coal.
• The second unholy problem comes when our use of oil and coal accelerates the climate change that has already started. Global warming will spark widespread environmental problems including water shortages in the American West, flooding due to melting ice caps in India, severe drought cycles in Africa and widespread disruption in Europe due to international migration.
• The third problem in "the unholy trinity" is a global economic downturn that pulls people everywhere into a cycle of stagnation and inflation that lands us somewhere between recession and depression. The cost of energy surging makes food and travel ever more expensive, and more businesses see costs rise and sales fall which leads them to cut their workforce.

The good news is that this economic downturn is likely to stop our unsustainable use of the earth’s resources. The even better news is that it will help turn us toward a way of life that is simpler, greener, more local, less stressful, and more fun. I just heard an interview on New Dimensions Radio with Barbara Leger, Science of Mind Minister, who offered five simple guidelines for surviving and prospering in the world that we are moving into:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Rid your mind of worry.
3. Live more simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

I’d amend her last suggestion to say. “Expect less of the things that money can buy, but expect more of the things that we don’t need money to have including peace of mind, more time for love and friendship, greater connection to the natural world.”

Al Gore recently gave a speech that lays the foundation for a major change of focus that can address all three of these seemingly intractable crises. I found it quite incredible. You can read about and see the video of the talk at: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/91902/.

He is saying what many of us know to be true. "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change." He calls on us all to commit ourselves to a new path. "Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years."

Outside the forum, a cavalcade of anti-Gore protest organizations lined the streets, trying to make their counter-arguments. Lyndon LaRouche's partisans handed out a glossy flier entitled "The Implications of the Gore Hoax for International Policy." Other wags took up mock-collection plates to pay for Gore's own carbon footprint. But inside the hall, Gore's references to such past government efforts as the Marshall Plan and President Kennedy's call to reach the moon tapped a vein of enthusiasm in the crowd that resulted in a standing ovation as he left the stage.

In a statement released after Gore's speech, Barack Obama registered his support:

For decades, Al Gore has challenged the skeptics in Washington on climate change and awakened the conscience of a nation to the urgency of this threat. I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President. It's a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer.

As I sit here in my California office, surrounded by fires that are still burning as a result of freak lightening strikes that are clearly related to global warming and its effects on our weather, I know we need change now.

What do you think? Do we need a Marshall Plan type effort to combat these problems? Is Gore on the right track? Which Presidential nominee would more likely help in these efforts if he were elected?

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