This piece was co-authored by Ollie Oelofse, Founder and CEO of True North Bridged Technologies, Inc.
More than participating in "Going Green" initiatives around the globe, or becoming a member of an elite clique of high minded Green Revolutionaries who now-more-than-ever proactively engage in sustainable capitalism, the crisis we face is that time is no longer on our side to convince the masses to make an attitude adjustment towards authentic social consciousness for change. The clock has struck Midnight. Our very base level existence is in jeopardy. According to the United Nations Environment Agency, within 50-years over 3 billion humans will be in dire straights because they will have limited or no access to water. Inclusive of the developed world, Food Insecurity will continue to rise and take a poll position in the lives of children and families. Abraham Maslow's first hierarchy of need -- food, shelter and clothing are a dying luxury.
The world as we have known it is crumbling. A revolutionary world shift is taking place. The so-called smart people or those in authority have no grasp on what is really happening. No one wants to admit that there is no assured answer on why the world markets have run off the rails of an already crazy train. There is certainly a fear that if anyone would just tell the truth and admit "they don't know," the masses will lose their minds to the reality that stability will not be in the distant future. In the most technologically advanced time of our lives we live in a Hobbesian State of Nature.
What about nature? It seems our nonchalant, narcissistic and nihilist approach to a woman called Environment more powerful than humanity has rebelled fiercely with her revolt -- hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, fires and tornado devastation. A woman scorned, she has no forgiveness for the never kept promise to respect, honor and nurture her. All that she has received was lip service and action less deeds by her Homo sapiens partner.The fidelity of our planet has become lost.
Those with the economic where-with-all and dexterity pretend they are gliding through the massive turbulence, make believe they have enough currency to shield them, but it is a mask covering their ojida. Many in depressed states are in the same life raft of most less fortunate teetering on the edge of a destiny no one asked to be a part of, but certainly helped to create.
For those of us who are called to evangelize, invent and innovate as sustainable social entrepreneurs giving the world responsible technologies, a concentrated effort must be made towards social consciousness rising in people. Social consciousness in green requires all of us to let go of traditional archetypal ways of thinking that have dominated and frankly controlled our culture.
Recognizing the need for a greater social consciousness is to facilitate the awareness that where we are headed right now is an injustice to humankind. This social consciousness awareness is facilitated by praxis (speech and action simultaneously). We must talk about what it means to be socially conscious, but more importantly fully engage, demonstrate and teach others how to really do it.
We can no longer create a product, give a service, and prove to consumers it is superior and will never corrode or have less carbon footprint, if we don't challenge the consumer to internalize a change in their mind set. Like a tobacco warning label on a cigarette pack, we must make a declarative statement and embrace a green culture means our survival, and having a new mental model is a moral imperative.
Einstein stated, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." We need a revolutionary paradigmatic shift that will forever change how we live in our "civilized" societies; social consciousness in green will do just that.
We challenge everyone who says they are committed to the "Green Revolution," that more than altruism towards our earth, we must make a visceral commitment to testify as long as the planet remains on loan to us (we do not own it ladies and gentlemen), our jobs must be to lead others think and act differently.It is a matter of our future. It is a matter of life and death.