2020 Climate Solutions: Too Much Television

Aleksandar Malečić
796 days ago

What could you read in a newspaper from the 20th century? It's probably more or less the same things we consider today historically relevant. There are probably some articles from old newspapers for example about medicine (eugenics, lobotomy) or politics (capitalists, communists, fascists, good and bad guys) that would look strange, but it's nothing if we compare it with our current situation. The way our journalists see the world is totally different than how it will look to our offspring. This is one of bigger reasons why we need this meshwork (or some very similar virtual place) - instead of the illusion that no one cares about sustainability, we need the experience that everyone cares. I think that probably everyone more or less does care (see Copenhagen), but we are stuck.

Aleksandar Malečić

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Aleksandar Malečić
796 days ago

I live in Serbia. What makes headlines here? It's things like European Union, NATO, war crimes, corruption. From the point of view of this planet's ecosystem, these things are irrelevant. I suppose they are important, but political integrations and disintegrations won't make us more sustainable. It doesn't mean that we need green politics. We need functional politics and society.

Also, to the rest of the world: the "blame Serbs for everything" (global warming included) approach won't work. It won't work with other nations, too.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
763 days ago

The activities in this group should make headlines. Look at the profiles here. Mine is empty because I am still trying to find a relevant offline activity related to sustainability. But, one can find here scientists who have published papers. They could post them here. Even better, they could make their researches visible in a rough form. Believe me, there is really nothing to lose. Not anymore.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
754 days ago

You can't expect that something with slow and unpredictable dynamics, with not so clear causes and effects, has, no matter how important it is, significant media coverage. Some members of this meshwork (e.g. Lester Brown) are semi-celebrities, but even they hesitate to inform us about their daily activities. This meshwork desperately needs active members who will suddenly become well-known. I underlined the word "active" because people might come here to check what were sudden celebrities among us (we are discussing about some huge topics here, so it is inevitable) doing in this meshwork (content, discussions, pages, documents) before they became well known. No, I am not a future celebrity. I can't do this work for you.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
730 days ago

For this thought experiment you need a television and many TV channels. What can you watch at the moment? Funny videos? Probably. TV shows allowing people to earn money easily (lottery, reality shows, find the longest word or answer a question)? Any time. Animals entertaining people (pigs swimming, sheep and cows running, elephants dancing)? Of course. Violence (in a cage - boxing is for girls) or egocentrism (shopping, competition, popularity)? On more than one channel. Politicians seeing enemies in each other before elections? Yes. What do you think - how will this century be remembered? Is that the whole reality?

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
728 days ago

This meshwork (or something very, very similar) should be an oasis, a parallel world to the latest news and TV shows. There is too much noise (opposite from signal) out there in the media. We should occasionally readjust our filters of reality and ask ourselves now and then what really matters and what makes a difference.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
719 days ago

Forget for a second about that number 2020 on the top of this webpage (Climate Solutions Meshwork). No matter what the latest news claim, this decade will be remembered as a decade of weak politicians (they are mere humans after all), corporations guiding us through another vicious circle, green technologies and their success or failure and social online networks and their unpredictable behaviour (whatever that means). Also, we can expect a stupid and totally senseless war here and there. Are you ready? Will you anticipate or react?

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
660 days ago

Bad news should serve as warning signs that something terrible might happen. But, we should feed our thoughts, ideas and activities on positive news and on a hope that something positive still can happen.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
539 days ago

I don't know about the rest of the world, but here in Serbia are Cancun and COP16 virtually invisible in the media. Everyone knew about COP15 in Copenhagen (pathetically named Hopenhagen for that occasion). Does it mean that the situation is not as urgent as it used to be? Are people, the media and journalists tired of environmentalism?

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
533 days ago

I recommend you to read (with understanding) "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Don't react - anticipate.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
522 days ago

It's much easier to attract the media with embarrassing or "entertaining" behaviour than with something that has a lasting value. There is a beautiful analogy in the above mentioned (beautiful) book "The Black Swan" - journalists wouldn't report about the invention of wheel. Journalists, while reporting on daily basis, can't follow huge events as they emerge. Huge events are "black swans". Chances are that you are, while reading this text, about to do something big. Make your story visible.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
510 days ago

How many times have you heard or read the words permafrost, peak oil (huge time-bombs with uncertain timing) and tipping point in the media? If I recall correctly, it has never happened. My sources of relevant information are somewhere else.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
508 days ago

Different televisions offer to their viewers more of the same. They can't turn things upside down. When something radically new emerges, daily news can report only after the event. Static media and websites can help us fix communities loosened after many years of competition and globalization. Interactive websites can do that if we let them.

Aleksandar Malečić

Aleksandar Malečić
375 days ago

People sometimes passively watch TV. Staring at it is like a daily ritual in some houses. People who select "relevant" information for the audience are paid to find and serve the latest entertainment or version of truth. I don't know how it works from the point of view of copyrights, but many films and TV series are uploaded on Youtube. It's an enormous disparity between the audience being accumulated there for years (sometimes one person watches the same video more than once) and the audience watching it on TV. Somewhere between the previous and this century economist were using the term New Economy and the Internet was supposed to play the main role. Also, some people use terms such as Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and similar in order to define different stages in development of the Internet. Such a process doesn't really exist or, if it does, it's very difficult to identify its stages. Some people prefer the Web as their source of information to the mainstream media. They are rare, but this is the place where the transition from unsustainable behaviour will succeed or fail. It won't happen where we have more of the same.

People can be very stupid after a few misunderstandings, especially if they rely on the media and hierarchy as usual. Television and newspapers are filters for information, but wrong filters because they rely on the past instead the future. Don't use them for any relevant anticipation.