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13. Develop reality based currencies, web-based direct value trading and traditional barter systems to replace the inflationary/imaginary global money system. As the sub-prime mortgage crash is painfully demonstrating, a sustainable economy must be based on the trade of real goods and services, not just financial "paper". Sustainable societies can only be operated on real resources and real capital, not false credit conjured up out of thin air.

14. A local community works best if connections are built with other local communities. Live locally, and connect globally for knowledge exchange. An interconnected "global village" is possible with our present electronic voice and web communication. Knowledge is the most viable resource to transport over long distance in an energy scarce era. “Best practice” in permaculture, energy conservation and production of real value can be shared in this way. We need to see the survival of the entire human enterprise as a shared global responsibility. A fear based “survivalist” mentality is deadly. Life only works when we understand the multiple layers of our global ecology.

15. Maintain the human community without despoiling any adjacent or distant ecosystem. It is all connected.

16. As we plan the operating systems of our sustainable economy, we must include the entire natural living system; The local ecology of land, water, air, native fauna and flora are full members of the community. We need a “whole systems perspective” to decide the best course of action for each community and the human species as a whole.

17. Account for real ecological costs now hidden. Have those that cause these costs pay for the cost. No more corporate or governmental deferral of real and measurable costs to future generations. Our children deserve this.

18. Always think about how our actions contribute to measurable economic value, not just the movement of cash. An industry may in fact generate a lot of cash, but create huge long term loss to the community in social and ecological costs and damage. We need a new economic measure; RPP, Real Productive Product to replace GDP.

19. Start to reclaim our democracy at the local level first, then as a local populist power base is established, real citizens can reclaim their birthright of political power that’s been usurped by our present political mercenaries that are controlled by special interest groups and multi-national corporations at the state, federal and global level.

20. Work with all of our local business and industries to shift out of economic connections to the military/industrial complex. 60% of all public funds are spent on military largesse and outright waste. Huge portions of the general economy are hard wired into the military industrial complex. This is not sustainable and it will crash. We can maintain real "defense" with an intelligent and effective alternative to our current corrupt empire building oligarchy. We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

---President Dwight D. Eisenhower January 17, 1961 “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone, it is spending the sweat of its laborers the genius of its scientists and the hopes of children” -Dwight Eisenhower, WWII General/US President Empire is always based on violence and economic overreach through military exploits. There’s never been a sustainable empire in human history. The current U.S. empire is no exception. We’re at an epochal crossroads; Make a conscious choice to shift into a sustainable economy, or let history repeat itself one more time with collapse. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Essay by Michael Richards, founder of Sustainable Ecological Economic Development (S.E.E.D.)author of SUSTAINABLE OPERATING SYSTEMS/The Post Petrol Paradigm (available at www. Amazon. com)For speaking engagements, contact the author by e mail at; postpetrol @ aol. com or phone at; 319-363-1774.

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Michael Richards is a life long innovator, entrepreneur and author. His most recent book is; SUSTAINABLE OPERATING SYSTEMS/The Post Petrol Paradigm (available on line at; www.amazon.com Mr. Richards has presented as an author, speaker and (more...)

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