[Peakoil] Re: Formalisation of roles

[Keith Thomas]

Go for it, Leigh!  The amount of thought you have put into this augurs 
well for the future of the group.  And - as I said - we can always 
change a mission statement - it's not carved in stone.

> We still have nothing to say because we don't know the answers 
> ourselves!

This is true only if you take the pre-peak assumption that for every 
problem there is a solution. And we can guide people into understanding 
the breadth and depth of the impact so they can 'join the dots' in a 
way that fits in with their abilities and limitations. We can also 
assure despairing new arrivals that the future is looking very 
different, but could, eventually, be pretty good.

> One of the first campaigns we'll probably launch will be something of 
> a "how do I develop a fossil fuel independance to ease the transition 
> when it starts to really sting" kind of thing.

This is a good start.  Time to deal with it in detail later, but in the 
meantime I would add that the biggest changes will not be on how 
individuals use energy, but on their expectations for the future. Real 
estate investments in outer suburbia is one example.  There are dollars 
tied up in that, but also dreams. There'll still be some dollars, but 
the dreams - esp those that had a fantasy component anyway - will be 
dashed. The sheet we loaded at www.natsoc.org.au is designed to empower 
people to prepare for a different society, not just less dependence on 
fossil fuels.

--------------------------------------------
Keith Thomas
www.evfit.com
--------------------------------------------
On 09/09/2005, at 6:49 PM, Leigh Kite wrote:

> If anyone doesn't agree with all this, now is the time to sing up.  :)
>
> To assist in understanding the thought process behind the mission 
> statement: -
>
> The first draft didn't have the "environment" and "sustainability" 
> wording because the primary
> thrust of members has been "Peak Oil within a framework of 
> (environmental) sustainability",
> and we've identified the fact that "sustainability" opens up an entire 
> can of worms (eg the entire energy crisis, environmental destruction, 
> a poor system of economics, etc).
>
> Regarding "public, political and corporate": -
>
> In order to run campaigns, you need an "engagement strategy" produced 
> by public affairs/marketing lead, technical lead and strategic 
> management.  We haven't done this yet, but the entire target audience 
> should fit
> into these three categories: -
>
> *    General public (the average, below average and above average 
> Aussie just living their lives);
>
> *    Political (Federal, state, local);
>
> *    Corporate (all business's and industry).
>
> Regarding "raising awareness": -
>
> The most strategic thing the ACTOAG can do for now is focus on raising 
> awareness of Peak Oil to the Australian people.
>
> The reasons for this are: -
>
> *    A high enough level of expertise and experience or seniority in 
> pertinent fields doesn't yet exist
>      within the group for full scale political and corporate 
> engagement;
>
> *    There doesn't yet exist a high enough level of group cohesion and 
> organisation to consider
>      complex and risky campaigns (such as aggressive 
> political/industrial engagement).
>
> Most of us are in our earlyish 20's and don't have a great deal of 
> experience NGOing.  It wouldn't be a good idea to be in a position 
> where we find ourselves going head to head with senior economists and 
> ministers only to be blown out of the water.  We also don't want the 
> advice we dispense to the Australian
> people too heavily criticised by various squeezers from the 
> antidepletionist camp and develop a bad reputation.
>
> Regarding "welcome mats and new comers etc"...
>
> Yes, we are going to help people out with ideas for what they can do 
> and give them support etc etc, but what Keith has said raises an 
> important issue: - We still have nothing to say because we don't know 
> the answers ourselves!
>
> One of the first campaigns we'll probably launch will be something of 
> a "how do I develop a fossil fuel independance to ease the transition 
> when it starts to really sting" kind of thing.
>
> When that ramps up, we can have a two paragraph mission statement with 
> the second bit saying something along the lines of "To assist the 
> Australian people with the transition by developing and presenting 
> strategies for a post carbon lifestyle" or whatever.
>
> <snip>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 4414 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://act-peakoil.org/pipermail/peakoil/attachments/20050909/27db08ae/attachment.bin