Conflict Competence

A remarkable thing happened. The Ninevahians (or whatever they were called) believed Jonah. Each of them, from the king to the commoner, repented from wickedness. So, they weren’t destroyed after all. This annoyed Jonah, for now his prediction was demonstrably wrong . He must have felt foolish; how could he prove that Divine forgiveness, and not bad prophecying, had spared Ninevah?

That is our current situation. In 1972, The Report to the Club of Rome, called Limits to Growth,  predicted doom and destruction. People heard and some repented. We bought a bit of time, and the naysayers could point out that the predictors were foolish. Business could carry on as usual. In 1987, The Brundtland Report, called Our Common Future,  predicted doom and destruction. People heard and some more repented. We bought a bit more time, and the naysayers could again point out that the predictors were foolish. Business could carry on as usual.

Now, we are in 2008, and many more people have to hear the predictions and respond by reducing their green house gas emissions, decreasing their impact on the biosphere, and helping save their cities. According to the international and local experts we consulted at this meeting in Edmonton, a lot more people have to do a lot more than saved Ninevah. Prayers alone will not do it. Like Ninevah, we need positive actions for change immediately.

Facilitators of the group processes we are planning to roll out across Alberta are committing to doing our part to get the conversations going. The University of Alberta, Athabaska University, City of Edmonton and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium funded the expenses of this weekend’s work. We hope now to find the resources, people, and action to make the province-wide community based conversations for action possible. If enough people make enough positive changes in their greenhouse gas emission footprints, and our predictions are made to look foolish becxause we bought more time, that seems better than the alternative.