BUCKYIDEAS

Don’t blame the rich, blame the fossil fools.

Screen Shot 2016-03-20 at 2.17.47 PM Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore and other celebrity environmentalists constantly get hit in press for their “do as I say, not as I do” behavior. This is misguided. Smart writers hoping to be part of the solution should stop doing it. Instead, let’s spend that precious media time asking questions like:

Why are Leo’s yachts and jets still not solar powered?

Big oil has blocked solar and wind development for decades, using every drop of energy it had. Hiring the same PR folks that big tobacco did. Some of us have been watching this despicable behavior for forty years. Meanwhile, the technology has long existed for a smooth and orderly transition to clean energy. It is long past time to demand it.

Never forget there were solar panels on the White House in the 1970’s, and that Ronald Reagan (Trump.0) took them off, under corporate pressures so covert we are only now learning the extent of them. There is now proof Exxon and others lied for decades, denying climate dangers from carbon that they full well existed. Bucky would call this the greatest crime ever committed against humanity.

So don’t blame it on the rich guys. The fossil fools are the ones who fucked everything up. Can’t we agree their time is up?

#fossilfools #cleanenergynow #leaveitintheground

Determined leadership replaces itself

President Obama’s brilliance as a leader was on display at SXSW today in Austin. He called on tech to move beyond fascination with the next cool thing, to harnessing that next cool thing to solve serious problems.

Maybe once he is out the door,President Obama will be able to actually get something done when it comes to fixing our broken government system.

Screen Shot 2016-03-11 at 2.42.34 PM As Bucky said, “Don’t try to fix something that’s broken. Create a new model that renders the old one obsolete.” This is exactly what Obama spoke about doing today, in reference to America’s government, at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas. His mission: to bring about a more effective and organized system of civic engagement. A system which can exert influence and create solutions to help government perform better.

For example, on how to defeat ISIS, Obama explained the desperate need to infiltrate and (somehow) interfere with the recruitment activity of America’s young people by ISIS. “Now this isn’t always appropriate for the government to do,” he said, “since it can be seen as propaganda or espionage. What I would like to do is get all you great creative thinkers into a room, and together we can figure out what we need to do.”

Obama says this approach has had some recent success, for example, with diapers. “The problem was that diapers were so expensive, people weren’t buying them. This created a serious health issue. So the White House brought together a variety of leaders and thinkers from various related fields, and asked them to solve it. Deals were made. They figured out a solution. Today, for those who need it, a new form of diaper distribution, which passes on wholesale prices, is underway.

The President was fired up about what kinds of problems might be solved working with tech. He wants to make it possible for people to vote online. (Isn’t there an app for that yet, Bucky would ask?) Screen Shot 2015-12-08 at 4.49.11 PM He called on the tech industry to look beyond their fascination with the next cool thing, and work to harness that next cool thing for the good of the world.

He asked creative tech leaders to sign up now on the Whitehouse.gov page to learn what role they can play. He got a great response today; the biggest applause of all was when he said he would continue his work to improve government, even after his term was over. Here’s a link to the full program outlined by Obama on the Whitehouse.gov site. Take a look. Obama’s not leaving the government. He’s taking it with him! Now that’s leadership.

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http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/11/11207288/obama-sxsw-2016-livestream-wach

Bucky would be for Bernie. Here’s why.

Bernie Sanders is the only path to necessary and inevitable change with a tolerable outcome.

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It is becoming increasingly clear to many of us that Bernie Sanders is the only path to necessary and inevitable change with a tolerable outcome.

The revolution berning in America and all over the world sounds uncannily like Buckminster Fuller‘s number one stated goal from the twentieth century: “To make the world work for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”

The resemblance between the late Bucky and today’s Bernie Sanders is remarkable. They think alike and they even look alike, although Bernie has a bit more hair. They get grumpy when people cannot or will not understand the truth, especially when they have financial motivation to do otherwise. Bucky and Bernie have each said in their own way that the system is rigged. Bucky wrote extensively about this in his “GRUNCH – Gross United Cash Heist” and Bernie, having watched the antics of Wall Street for five decades, has honed his ideas well. They ring true to so many who have been watching recent world events unfold.

The recent exit of England from the EU shows how people are awakening to the need for dramatic change. To many Americans, Donald Trump appears as the only path to that change. To them, Hillary embodies the system that is currently crumbling under its own weight. If America’s Democratic party is smart, it will switch its allegiances to Bernie Sanders in time, which means it must happen this month, at the Democratic convention.

To make this happen will require some dramatic news, such as an indictment of Hillary over security or financial issues, or that vast new numbers of us begin to do as Bucky implored: To speak the truth, at every opportunity. To demand our leaders take the only responsible path to the inevitable. Individual integrity is the key.

Wield your mighty keyboard everyday, in every way you can think of, to let the world know that a Bernie Sanders presidency is the only plausible solution which is also tolerable. In this new world of ours, a Hillary Clinton presidency becomes increasingly unlikely with every passing week.

Whether or not a successful and tolerable revolution happens (which works for 100% of humanity) is right under your fingertips.

The problem with Capitalism.

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Bucky would be for Bernie!

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There is a revolution berning in America, and it sounds uncannily like what Bucky used to pine for: A world that works for everybody. A just and sustainable world. A world we can achieve if we simply apply ourselves to that task!

The resemblance between the late Bucky and Bernie Sanders is remarkable. They look alike, and they think alike. They get grumpy when people are too stupid to understand the truth. They both have hearts as big as planets. Most importantly, as Bucky and Bernie have each said in their own way that we must understand that the system is rigged, against the people. Bucky wrote extensively about this in his “GRUNCH – Gross United Cash Heist” and Bernie, having watched the antics of Wall Street for five decades, has honed his ideas well. They ring true to so many, because they are the truth.

Every time Bernie speaks, I hear Bucky.

Bucky. Bernie. Surely we are beginning to make progress and there could be an American Revolution in 2016? It’s all starting to sound possible. But to actually make it happen will require the best of all of us. We must each wield our mighty keyboards. We must each let the world know what we think. Whether you want to call it Democratic Socialism or We the People, what’s important is that you must dare to speak truth to power.

Whether or not the revolution happen depends on you.

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Films to Inspire Activism

A one night Wild & Scenic Film Festival held recently in Sausalito, California, featured eleven short films selected for their ability to inspire and inform environmental activism. FullSizeRender-9

Inspire & inform they did! Each of these beautiful films illustrated the challenges facing our planet and the work underway by various communities to protect beloved places. Each gave a sense of what it means to be a responsible steward of Earth.

There were comedies, mini-documentaries, portraits of heroism and remarkable stories of treks and climbs that will take your breath away — with their spectacular cinematography, and even more beautiful ideas about how we can better take care of our planet. Bucky would love them all!

A few of my favorites were: A Line Across the Sky, Pride of Namibia, The Accidental Environmentalist , and Xboundary. Most are six to ten minutes long.

The festival was founded in 2003 by the South Yuba River Citizens League, a non profit river conservation organization located in Nevada City, CA, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was formed by a small group of citizens opposed to construction of several proposed dams. The Sausalito event was part of a tour for 150+ communities worldwide. The tour is building a grassroots network of organizations connected by the goal of using film to inspire activism.

Take a look and be inspired. For a complete list of films, go to the Wild & Scenic Film Festival Site.

Please do your share for Spaceship Earth. Speak truth to power, and share BuckyIdeas!

A big year for Spaceship Earth?

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Things are looking up in Bucky’s world. A true leader has emerged in US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. He knows the importance of the statement above. And why government must be returned to the people. In addition, the climate deal in Paris appears to have been a turning point. Wall Street is wobbling, no doubt in fear of Bernie.

But there are serious challenges. Exxon lied effectively for thirty years, derailing Humanity’s most important task, that of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels. Monsanto is still suing California to stop it from labeling RoundUp as a cancer causer, while they greedily buy up non-GMO seeds and refuse to label GMOs. Methane plumes beyond our fathoming are still poisoning the skies in Southern California. Fracking is still screwing up water supplies and lives throughout America are being derailed by irresponsible corporate powers only concerned with their own profits.

Removing the current corporate control over America’s government is key. Bernie Sanders is the only one willing to take this on. The only one even talking about it.

This didn’t start out to be a Bernie ad, but darned if it didn’t become one. Surely Bucky would be #feelingthebern. 2016 could be the year.