Schools for a Sustainable Future - Editorial Issue 2, October 1999

SFSF - Schools For a Sustainable Future
Joseph Natoli, SFSF Project Director, surrounded by happy, enthusiastic children

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"There are none so blind as those who will not see"

We do not face an environmental crisis.
Global warming, destruction of the environment, water shortages etc are not the real issues that confront us.
Editorial by Joseph Natoli

We could, with purpose and effort, ensure our children's environmental future. But to do this our leaders - political, business and social must first recognise the problems.

But in the privatised world of 1999 making as much money as possible is the only game. In this environment all else is ignored distorted or denied.

Examples?

International stock markets and money markets in which rampant speculation is the major force. The results are huge crashes which destroy lives and economies of millions of people.
The continual downsizing of companies until the remaining employees are run ragged to ensure ever increasing profits. Meanwhile thousands of sacked people struggle to survive. No CEO sees a limit to their profits or the means used to generate them.
The race to continually produce new technology that initially becomes indispensable and then is designed to become obsolete. What is the working life of a computer or computer program in 1999?
A rush to encourage and promote profitable addictive behaviours. For example casinos and poker machines have been embraced as great generators of wealth and jobs. This is a lie. They simply seduce and strip money from the desperate and vulnerable and deliver it to the operators. Meanwhile our governments accept their cut of the action while ignoring the social costs.

Pretending these current activities are okay makes it impossible to take the farsighted steps essential to turning the Titanic. The key to creating a successful common future is to start by recognising and rejecting the destructive parts of what we currently call progress. It will be this honesty and decisiveness that gives us the moral courage and economic resources to tackle the critical environmental issues of the 21st century.

One person with this honesty and decisiveness is Helen Tyas Tunggal, the hands-on Learnscapes lady, whose story follows.

What does it mean?

Top of Page

Lantern THE ESSENCE OF SYNERGY is in the saying 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts'.

When people or groups respect and understand each other and create a shared vision and agreed values then new solutions and better alternatives will be the result.

The new result is bigger, better and far more powerful than any of the individual components. The mutual agreement creates a new dimension to the situation - a third force if you like.

We believe that creating Synergy between the various sectors of our society will be the basis on which we can develop a Sustainable Future. We cannot see how the current philosophy of global competition which rewards a few winners at the cost of many losers is going to create a stable and sustainable future. That is why Schools For a Sustainable Future is attempting to develop the positive synergy's which can help our citizens use human resources, technology capital and our natural resources in a constructive rather than destructive way.

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

Be proactive
Begin with the end in mind
Put first things first
Think "win-win"
Seek first to understand... then to be understood!
Synergize
Sharpen the saw

For further information on Synergy see Steven R Coveys book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The book has been a best seller for many years with its emphasis on character centred personal development.

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SFSF
Schools For a Sustainable Future

1 Curdies St.
E. Bentleigh Vic. 3165
Email: Joe Natoli
Ph: (03) 9579-7224 Fax: (03) 9579-6153 Mobile: 0411-568-523

Website designed & maintained by

		SFSF - Schools For a Sustainable Future synergy vol 1 issue 2
	whats new whats old about us our stories get involved home

		"There are none so blind as those who will not see" We do not face an environmental crisis. Global warming, destruction of the environment, water shortages etc are not the real issues that confront us. Editorial by Joseph Natoli
	We could, with purpose and effort, ensure our children's environmental future. But to do this our leaders - political, business and social must first recognise the problems. But in the privatised world of 1999 making as much money as possible is the only game. In this environment all else is ignored distorted or denied. Examples? International stock markets and money markets in which rampant speculation is the major force. The results are huge crashes which destroy lives and economies of millions of people. The continual downsizing of companies until the remaining employees are run ragged to ensure ever increasing profits. Meanwhile thousands of sacked people struggle to survive. No CEO sees a limit to their profits or the means used to generate them. The race to continually produce new technology that initially becomes indispensable and then is designed to become obsolete. What is the working life of a computer or computer program in 1999? A rush to encourage and promote profitable addictive behaviours. For example casinos and poker machines have been embraced as great generators of wealth and jobs. This is a lie. They simply seduce and strip money from the desperate and vulnerable and deliver it to the operators. Meanwhile our governments accept their cut of the action while ignoring the social costs. Pretending these current activities are okay makes it impossible to take the farsighted steps essential to turning the Titanic. The key to creating a successful common future is to start by recognising and rejecting the destructive parts of what we currently call progress. It will be this honesty and decisiveness that gives us the moral courage and economic resources to tackle the critical environmental issues of the 21st century. One person with this honesty and decisiveness is Helen Tyas Tunggal, the hands-on Learnscapes lady, whose story follows. What does it mean? Top of Page THE ESSENCE OF SYNERGY is in the saying 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts'. When people or groups respect and understand each other and create a shared vision and agreed values then new solutions and better alternatives will be the result. The new result is bigger, better and far more powerful than any of the individual components. The mutual agreement creates a new dimension to the situation - a third force if you like. We believe that creating Synergy between the various sectors of our society will be the basis on which we can develop a Sustainable Future. We cannot see how the current philosophy of global competition which rewards a few winners at the cost of many losers is going to create a stable and sustainable future. That is why Schools For a Sustainable Future is attempting to develop the positive synergy's which can help our citizens use human resources, technology capital and our natural resources in a constructive rather than destructive way. THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE Be proactive Begin with the end in mind Put first things first Think "win-win" Seek first to understand... then to be understood! Synergize Sharpen the saw For further information on Synergy see Steven R Coveys book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The book has been a best seller for many years with its emphasis on character centred personal development.
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	SFSF Schools For a Sustainable Future 1 Curdies St. E. Bentleigh Vic. 3165 Email: Joe Natoli Ph: (03) 9579-7224 Fax: (03) 9579-6153 Mobile: 0411-568-523 Website designed & maintained by
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