Oct 15th, 2009 by Easton Ellsworth | 2 Comments

oasis-reiki-dojo-logoBlog Action Day 2009 isn’t just about getting a bunch of big organizations to take action. It’s about involving individuals like you and me to work together to make a difference.

For example, Pamir Kiciman runs the Reiki Help Blog. We asked him what he thought of Blog Action Day and what he plans to do for this unique event. Here’s what he had to say.

How did you find out about Blog Action Day 2009? What made you decide to participate?

This will be my third year. The first year I joined, the topic was the Environment. Last year it was Poverty. BAD picks really good topics! Climate change is in our face and not to participate would simply be irresponsible. There’s one thing we can all agree on: The health of the planet we call home is crucial to the quality of our lives, and our very existence.

What are you planning to write about or do for Blog Action Day on October 15?

I’m not planning on doing anything too different than what I’m already doing. I’m raising my son as a vegetarian (massive numbers of livestock raised only for human consumption is a contributor to global warming), and he is going to be the starting spark of what I will write.

We do our best to live with awareness of what it is to be human, and human footprint on the planet. There are about 6.5 billion of us now. That has to have an impact. There’s just no way we can have free reign to do anything and everything we want in a resource-limited ecosystem without serious consequences.

So I’m going to write an educational post about recent climate change findings, various recent news from high-level meetings, and the gearing up to COP15 in Copenhagen in December.

To me, the first step is becoming informed. This is what “awareness” is all about. In anticipation of the next question, let me say that awareness is what I’m mostly engaged with. With the proliferation of Web 2.0 information is more than available, so not being educated is inexcusable. But there’s another side. Information is useless if not acted upon, or actions remain the same as before despite strong indicators to change.

Being educated first takes the form of self-awareness. The world is made up of individuals. If each individual becomes truly self-reflective, we may not need to always get to a point of desperate outer action which often begins too late and can be ineffective.

In health, everyone talks about prevention. Why can’t we be proactive with our ecosystem too?

How do you think the topic of climate change relates to your profession? What impact do you see this issue having on your industry in the next 10 or 20 years?

It’s hard to talk about something as large-scale as climate change from the narrow lens of a profession or industry. James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia theory which considers planet Earth a self-regulated living being, has been making extremely dire and fairly accurate predictions for years.

We don’t know what can happen, except that the status quo is certainly a sure way of dooming our future.

If Earth remains livable, I predict my line of work will be in great demand as it is even now because of rising fears, dissatisfaction, and an increasing search for meaning and belonging.

How do you think bloggers can make a difference in social issues like this in the offline world?

Bloggers and everyone else for that matter have to become responsible and global-minded citizens. While we still have leaders who want to do the right thing, Big Oil, Coal, Finance, Agriculture and even Big Politics (to cite a few examples) continue to pursue narrow short-term and self-serving agendas, and actively conceal and spin the truth.

So it’s up to us to live in a way that promotes values and practices which will perpetuate a balanced and healthy life for all of us, and the planet. The era of indulgence and self-interest is over. It’s now so evident that humans are all one living organism with each other and the planet in undeniable symbiosis, that hopefully this will propel cooperation, consideration and the sustainability of the future.

Any other thoughts or ideas you’d like to share?

Yes. As great as the BAD venture is, as a blogger of certain topics I find it frustrating that I’m not represented well in platforms such as this. For instance, I had to select “Other” as my blog topic when registering, whereas my ‘topic’ is much more colorful and crucial.

Ironically, there isn’t even a “Green” or “Environment” topic. Since numbers are often respected let me quote one: There are 50 million adult Americans who can be considered what sociologist Paul Ray has termed “Cultural Creatives.”

Briefly, “The Cultural Creatives care deeply about ecology and saving the planet, about relationships, peace, social justice, and about self actualization, spirituality and self-expression.” Ray also has a book by the same title, detailing 13 years of survey research.

This is an already deeply engaged group of people. When people are engaged, there’s tremendous motive power.

Thanks to Pamir for putting so much thought and effort into his participation for Blog Action Day 2009!

What are you going to do? :)


Comments
  1. Pamir | Reiki Help Blog

    Thank you BAD team for such a great effort! Truly powerful. Climate change needs our concentrated willingness and commitment. Events such as this one generate information and motivation. Tomorrow and the day after we must continue to live responsibly and with greater awareness.

  2. Bruce Miller

    Really appreciate the strength I what was said here. Every person, organisation and big business needs to start heeding the warnings of people like James Lovelock and indeed Pamir Kiciman. Just because we are single entities in giantdom doesn’t matter. We are, every one of us accountable to tomorrow.



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