Green Councillor Chris McFarling finds the lack of progress in reducing our
carbon emissions to prevent catastrophic climate chaos, can be
disturbing to some. “The current government appears to lack the imagination
needed to grow a greener economy whilst protecting the natural
environment and making the climate safer for our children.”
At a recent Zoom presentation, organised by Councillor Jackie Dale, local
Green Party members and supporters were enthused by Rob Hopkins, the
founder and figurehead of the Transition movement. He emphasized the
need to be creative and imagine the future, and not to get caught up by
barriers and negative thinking.
In his book From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination
to Create the Future We Want, Hopkins explores what we must do to
revive our collective imagination. If we can rekindle that precious creative
spark whole societies and cultures can change rapidly, dramatically and
unexpectedly for the better.
Adrienne Buller in her book The Value of a Whale (Manchester University
Press, 2022) defines this clash of cultures and, like Hopkins, appeals to our
imagination.
“For as long as the climate and nature crises have featured
on the political agenda, a fixation with markets and narrow economic
priorities has shaped not only how those in positions of power –
governments, policymakers, even prominent NGOs – respond to them,
but the very way they (and many of us) engage with and conceive of
them. In doing so, this tunnel vision has diminished our collective ability
to imagine alternatives.”
If you want some new, alternative and exciting thinking, join our local
Green Party. We imagine, believe in and work for a fairer, greener Forest
of Dean.
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