DEGREES OF DEPENDENCE - FOOD

Getting food into ones body is an absorbing and time consuming process for most species. Man is no different. The process of acquiring, storing, preparing and eating food is considered in a step-wise fashion to locate the dependencies and the connections with lifestyle.

Here is a diagram setting out the degrees of food dependence that can be seen in many modern lifestyles. The colours refer to a "rough" chromatic scale where the warm colours represent high levels of dependence and the cool end represents high levels of self sufficiency. The diagram is not intended to precisely model every particular lifestyle but to organise a few archetypes on paper.

The spectrum we occupy are largely based on many unconscious choices. Knowing what options are available is the first step to thinking about where one is best positioned.

- Which slots best describe your food routines?
- Is it financially sustainable in the medium term?
- Will it be sustainable as the depletion of fossil fuels starts to enfeeble our industrial agricultural system?

36 States of the Nation - March 2008

Here is my view of the state of NZ to end March 2008. Very little change evident, but it looks like the drought is easing off most of the country.


Here is my view of the state of NZ to end March 2008. Very little change evident, but it looks like the drought is easing off most of the country.

CHROMATIC SCALING - 1

The words - meltdown, collapse, tsunami, bubble burst, train wreck have appeared in news items across the world in connection with financial markets.

Those who don't live in a fabricated reality of denial understand that systems that we depend on are not only suffering stress, but are being deformed. What follows is an essay on the subject of system collapse and the ways we might be able to get a rough fix on the state of things. This is presented in 7 pages.

CHROMATIC SCALING - 6

CHROMATIC SCALING - 7

An example of a Chromatic Scale below:
http://comingculturalrevolution.blogspot.com/2008/02/state-of-nz-february.html

This will be updated over the coming months.

STATE OF NZ FEBRUARY

36 States of the Nation

The Great Cultural Revolution will be a life changing era to all who live through it, and its affects cannot be under-estimated.

The changes that are likely to happen will also trigger bitter reactions from the general public - a public who are ill-informed of the bigger picture and the inevitability of the events that will be precipitated. It is certain that the vast majority will be unprepared and will look for simple solutions in order to maintain the status quo. These solutions are likely to be counter-productive and potentially as damaging as the changes. Accompanying the reactions of those who seek to grasp that which cannot cannot be held on to, will be a profound shock of such depth that it will dissipate any remaining mental energies to reduce the daily impacts of change.

In order to counter these two fatal responses people need to be able to see where "things are at" and where "things are headed". This at least may facilitate some life saving abstract thinking which might work itself out in sound decision making.

I propose to track the status of some 36 aspects of national life under the following six headings:

- Environmental Wealth
- Economic Health
- Social Cohesion
- International Relations
- Cultural Vitality
- Spiritual Integrity

This will be done with the crude but highly evolved (or beautifully designed) metric of subjectivity. The results will be published monthly and the status of each aspect will be shown as a colour from a "Chromatic scale". - This all sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

Each of the six headings will have six features critical to the common wealth of the nation. The list is an educated guess at what is important and is intended to capture the broad sweep of national health and activity. Because this is a work in progress some aspects may be replaced with others that are deemed more appropriate.

The list of Headings and aspects follows:

ENVIRONMENTAL WEALTH
- Geological stability
- Meteorological Stability
- Natural asset stocks
- Bio-diversity
- Bio-hazards
- Ability to manage waste

ECONOMIC HEALTH
- Essential services (power/water etc)
- Inflation
- Concentration of wealth
- Paid employment
- Living within means
- Balance of trade

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Continuity of oil supply
- Access to markets
- War and peace
- Continuity of communications
- International reputation
- Ability to service treaties

SOCIAL COHESION
- Ability to govern
- Stratification in society
- Law and order
- Crime and decency
- Family life
- Individual rights

CULTURAL VITALITY
- Health and fitness
- Ability to reason
- Education system
- Health system
- Research and development
- Lucidity of expression

SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY
- Lordship of Christ
- Focus of belief
- Unity of believers
- Principalities and powers
- Manifestations of integrity
- Persecution

This list could be longer or shorter and six sets of six is somewhat arbitrary. There is no defining way to model the life of humans in society. If it is found to be useful all very well. If not there are plenty of other blogs to choose from - but time is shor . . .