Ian Graham of Kitchener is an example of a forerunner who has perceived the “season” we are in and has moved into it. He is the only son of a man who ran a successful insurance business but decided to move to Manitoulin Island and get off the grid. He bought a property with no hydro, but it did have a waterfall. He built a hydro-electric system to generate electricity for their satellite TV, lighting, and some of the heating.  He was a forerunner – living a forerunner life.

Ian followed his father’s innovative lifestyle and applied this same creativity to his love of music. He was traveling the country as a singer and musician and realized that one of his greatest expenses was fuel. He began investigating alternatives and settled on buying a diesel van which he could run on discarded vegetable oil (deep fryer oil). The research and the conversion took some time but the benefits of driving for free outweighed the time spent. Even though his fuel costs are zero, he has recently installed a hydrogen cell which uses electricity to convert water into hydrogen, a clean and powerful fuel for diesel or gas engines. A typical forerunner, he is interested in finding new and better ways to do things.

In the old economy, jobs have been more important than innovation, efficiency, impact, and effectiveness. We have avoided change in order to keep things the way they have always have been (safe), and it has backfired on us. Our intervention in the natural process of change has brought us to collapse. In a truly free market, innovation and creativity are rewarded, not seen as threats. The new economy will dramatically change our lifestyle and our values. Consumption has been the engine of growth; however, that has proven to be counter-productive in the big picture. Oil companies create jobs but healthcare costs skyrocket. Conservation will drive the new economy. Through reduction of consumption a new economy will emerge. Ian Graham has reduced his consumption, and the net result for him has been the freedom to make other choices. The less it costs him to live, the more freedom (time and money) he has to do what he wants – innovate, create, and build.

Ian has begun growing his own food in his basement and outdoors. He has been converting his recording studio to solar power. He has built his solar panels and innovated a sun tracking system to improve efficiency. He has been able to do most of this through cooperating and networking with other like-minded forerunners who have helped, advised, and cheered him on.

Getting off the grid means reducing our dependency on others for the important things in life. Most of our life we spend working for what we need to live. By being self-sufficient, we can create more freedom, money, time, and choices in which to live our life. The new era will reward conservation and innovation and penalize unbridled consumption. The sooner we learn this the better off we all will be.

For Ian, this has been a journey of discovery and problem solving. He was helped by others who were themselves on this journey. You may choose to get off the grid in some other way, but whatever it is, there is likely a group of people who can help you reach your goal to make your life more free, safe, and efficient in the new economy.

In the meantime, I would like to inspire you with the potential of moving into this new economy through a film which we consider at the Forerunner Project a “Forerunner Classic” and an award winner at our Forerunner Film Festival last fall – Garbage Warrior. Michael Reynolds has been building “out-of-box” sustainable housing for 30+ years. He is a forerunner who looks at life quite differently than most. He is a very interesting person with interesting values and ideals. We are considering bringing Mr. Reynolds to Waterloo Region for the Forerunner Inspire Festival in November, so please send us your comments, and suggestions.

Recommended viewing: Garbage Warrior – ask your local video retailer or visit the film site at: http://www.garbagewarrior.com/

Paul Weigel

Your comments and suggestions are needed. Email me: paul@paulweigel.com  or visit our web site at www.theforerunnerproject.com

The word revolution may seem to be misused here because it brings to mind men with rifles storming a fortress; but revolutions are going on everyday in the quiet of offices, schools, and businesses. Every time someone revises the way of doing something to improve efficiency and effectiveness, there is a mini revolution. Revolution is change which comes by force. It is human nature to resist change; therefore, most change comes because it is forced upon us, and that is revolution.

In a previous column I outlined how technology is the leader in social revolution. Technological advancements change the way we live our life, then this new lifestyle changes how we perceive our life. In other words, new technology forces social revolution.  Although technology leads social innovation, it is not the foundation on which change is built. It is the cultural industries which create an atmosphere of creativity, flexibility, and innovation in a community on which other forerunners “feed”. The atmosphere or the “vibe” (short for vibration, a term commonly used by jazz musicians) is the catalyst for creativity and creativity and innovation are the foundation of enterprise and the prerequisite for wealth.

Art and music create the vibe of a community. A vibrant local arts community builds an atmosphere of “possibility” and is critical in attracting forerunners who are the main agents of change, innovation, and new enterprise. Their motivation is increased exponentially by the synergy of coming together with many forerunners in one place. The greater the public expression of creativity in a community, the greater the motivation to create is expressed by the community.

Good art causes us to look at everyday objects in entirely new ways. It challenges the boundaries, breaks the rules, and expands our boundaries to include ideas and perceptions that have not been previously considered. Art is a celebration of the capacity of humanity to create, build, and innovate. It interprets our emotions, our hopes, our failures and when it is successful on a personal level, it inspires us to aim higher, dig deeper, and break out of our self-induced limitations and think broader.
Good art lifts us out of the “way it is” into the realm of possibility. It challenges us to ask “why” and answer the question with, “why not”.  Art IS the foundation of the economic health of a community – it is not the other way around. The arts community creates the vibe for forward, innovative thinking, and it attracts forward-thinkers to the community.

One of those forward-thinkers is Isabella Stefanescu – a founder and forerunner in our arts community. She came to the Waterloo Region on a mathematics scholarship from Romania. She had, however, been identified as a gifted artist as a child and had also been trained in visual art. In 1994, recognizing that visual artists required community, collaboration, and inexpensive studio space, Isabella and a small group of artists formed Globe Studios. The not-for-profit group has enhanced the viability of the arts and artists in our community, but not without a great deal of risk taking and personal sacrifice. The upside is that the existence of Globe Studios has made possible the proliferation of a local expression of visual art in our community, by making it a viable industry for artists. The existence of this artist cooperative under the Globe Studios banner has been inspiration for many arts assistance programs and numerous arts expressions, galleries, and events within Waterloo Region.

CAFKA
The Globe Studio success was not only inspiration to other arts groups but also an incubator for new ideas within art. One of those ideas became CAFKA (Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener and Area – pronounced calf-ca). Artists and forerunners in general who are in the business of creating are challenged by the human tendency to undervalue local artists and overvalue those who come from far away. For local art to exist it must first have local support; therefore, the premise that you must be accepted far away to be accepted at home is a dead end street for all but a very few artists. Local art is an expression of who we are and best tells our story and is, therefore, most valuable to us.

CAFKA attempted to address the problem of resistence to local artists by taking the creation of art into the market place. The public creation of art and artist talks in unexpected locations and in unexpected ways was bold, effective, and it impacted the community in many ways.  The festival has become one of the most important art events in Ontario and a forerunner for many other public art creation festivals. The taking of art and artists to the community has been an important step in building an “art culture” within the region, and it has contributed to the community’s image in the minds of Canadians, as well as built the vibe. From its success has come the Open Ears (music) Festival, New Hamburg Live and numerous other music and arts festivals, theatre companies, galleries, and music and arts events all of which contribute to the wealth of our community in numerous ways.

It is the artists which lead their generation and every generation of artists must find an effective way of impacting their peers. Isabella Stefanescu and her colleagues at the Globe Studio are forerunners. Their vision, sacrifice, and persistence have helped build the arts community and has in turn contributed to the economic and cultural wealth of our region. All the artists and arts organizations in the Region are building the culture of innovation and change, and that is valuable to all of us. The appreciation of the arts and the importance of their role in the health and wealth of our community has been largely underestimated by the community. Artists and their contribution are interconnected to our economic, social, and cultural welfare. They deserve our support and honour for their important contribution to our region.
For more information about Globe Studios, visit: www.globestudios.org or CAFKA Visit:
www.contemporaryartforum.ca and New Hamburg Live www.newhamburglive.ca
© Paul Weigel 2009

There are many types of forerunners characterized by an array of talents and abilities but they all have the same motivation to build, create, innovate and reform in whatever area they are engaged. A forerunner may be wearing a suit in an office, marching on the street in a protest, tinkering in their backyard with an invention, or doing research in a laboratory. Each of these forerunners looks very different when you look at their areas of interest, talents and abilities but they are all motivated by the same deep desire to make change. For this reason, forerunners live with one foot in the future and the other in the present.

Forerunners are risk takers because they are motivated by ideas and ideals. They don’t gravitate to groups because they are rarely willing to conform in order to belong. They commonly reject routines and the safe and secure path in order to pioneer, explore, and conquer the unknown. They don’t assimilate well into organizations. They have been called “outsiders” because they hold views outside of the mainstream. They are the early-early adopters of our society. They shape our culture rather than conform to it. They willingly sacrifice a piece of the present for what they see in the future. They have been called “dreamers” and “misfits” because they love change and they pursue it with tenacity, and they do their best to drag us all into it. They irritate the comfortable and challenge our traditions and those people who are resistant to change. These conflicts, their woundedness, and sometimes their lack of skill cause forerunners to be viewed with suspicion. They play an important part in our communities and in the world. A skilled leader recognizes their value and encourages and nurtures the forerunners in their community.

Why are Forerunners Important?
For every important technological advancement in history, there has been a corresponding social revolution. The printing press, for example, made books available to the common person, and they precipitated, with a host of forerunners including Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation. Television has given us firsthand experiences of far away events, and as a result, governments have been forced to end wars, racial inequality has been confronted, and tsunami victims have been helped. Technological advancement is the forerunner of social reform. In the past 60 years, we have experienced unprecedented technological advancement, and now we are in the equivalent period of unprecedented social reformation. In the past century, the world has focused on new technology. The focus, I believe, has already shifted to social reform. This reformation will affect every domain of society including the Church. The collapse of our financial institutions is only one sign of the world being in the greatest period of reformation in its history. Rather than fear and fight change, we must embrace it, and prepare for it, because it can not be stopped.

At the heart of technological and sociological reformation are the forerunners who have a very unique set of strengths, talents, and motivation. Martin Luther King had a “dream” of justice for all people. He, along with other forerunners, through much travail, “birthed” change in the world. Forerunners see a vision of the future and fight to make it a reality. They are the change-makers and we ignore them at our peril.

We have polluted and pillaged the earth, destroyed our institutions through greed and corruption and we now face challenges of monumental proportion. There is however hope, because within the hearts and minds of forerunners all over the world are the seeds of change in the form of ideas which can be the solutions to these problems. The question is: will our leaders listen?

Pundits say there is a lack of leadership in our institutions. What they mean, however, is that there is a lack of innovative ideas and creative insight that can simplify and solve complex problems. I would like to suggest that there is no lack of leaders, but rather an inability to recognize them as such. Voices from outside the circle of authority need not threaten. Evaluating the advice based on its source, minimizes the forerunner and narrows the field of choices. A prudent leader ponders all the advice and gleans from it the wisdom to determine the best course of action. The greatest reformation in the history of man is just getting underway. Leaders must learn to recognize, accept, appreciate, nurture and engage forerunners in the process of change.

For years the FDA defended Aspartame, and made it difficult for competitors to get access to the market. Then in mid December (2008) they approved Stevia which Coca Cola has developed as an alternative to Aspartame. Coke would be jointly liable for the damage Nutri-Sweet (Aspartame) has caused and needed an alternative to give discerning consumers confidence in their products.

Stevia was approved under the “Substantially Equivalency” provision of the Food and Drug Act. By claiming the product is found in nature it is exempt from scrutiny or study. I point out that lots of toxins and poisons occur in nature. What needs consideration is how these ingredients affect humans. I am not convinced Coke hasn’t jumped from the frying pan into the fire, and that Stevia is safe for human consumption. I also think a prudent person shouldn’t assume because the FDA says its OK, that it is! The only people who can prove Stevia is safe are the scientists. Politicians and bureaucrats are not very convincing to me!!! In matters of food safety, manufactured products should be judged dangerous until proven safe.

By the way Searle is a subsidiary of Monsanto, and the Aspartame approval is the work of former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfelt of the Bush Administration (that in itself should say enough).

Arrogance and fear are the stock and trade of most bureaucrats and they prove it every time anything out of their routine of shuffling paper from one deck to another, challenges them to be more.

I liked this film! It is human, alive and thought provoking. I recommend you see it……

The Comment:
Everyone is jocking for position in the battle for control of the greatest field of resources to be harvested in this century. The arctic may contain 25% of the world energy resources. These are new resources, yet to be tapped. The oil companies and the Peak Oil promoters claim they haven’t found any new oil in 25 years. Oddly enough they don’t include the oil found off the coast of Brazil estimated to be as much as in Saudi Arabia (a lot), or the heavy oil of Canada (a very lot), or what they are expected to find in the Arctic (a ton).

It is odd that they don’t include ANY of the new finds and still base their peak theory only on existing reserves which by-the-way are project to last for another 100 years in some cases. Furthermore, when investigating the sources of the data that support the Peak Oil theory, I could only find oil company source data. There is NO independent data available. Apparently, only the oil companies know for sure how much oil they have available to them, and they don’t let others do independent research on their reserves.

I am not suggesting that the oil companies are lying to us, but I am saying that the mouse is clearly in charge of the cheese.

Here is a question that needs answering. Everyone knows how outrageously profitable the oil business is, yet they haven’t built a single refinery in 20+ years. They also don’t seem to concerned about finding more oil. So it would appear that they are not reinvesting in this very profitable business. Instead they are taking all the profits and doing something else with them. So why???

I laugh and cry when the daily news asserts that “prices climbed to record highs today on concerns about supplies or refining capabilities.” But the thing that makes me the most mad is the common attitude that if you question the peak oil theory you are either an idiot or an enemy of humanity. The corporate owned media is brainwashing the entire population into thinking that if you challenge their story, you must be minimized. The most diabolic thing is that the people who reject legitimate discussion on the topic are those who are promoted as rationale and progressive by the establishment.

The thought control is evident in a few other areas such as the theory of evolution verses intelligent design(see the film Expelled), and Global Warming. Where are the forerunners and boat rockers who don’t mind asking the tough questions.

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The problem: there has been so much inflation, in this case caused by the illegal printing of money, that the local currency has nominal value and food has huge value. The local people only have local currency and they are now out of the running to buy the food on world markets. (is globalism really good?)

This quote says a lot about the state of desperation that exists in Somalia and many other countries as inflation and a failing currency are rejected by world market traders.

The fundamental problem with rising prices for commodities throughout the world is that investors and middlemen are trying to either make or preserve their money. If the food stocks were in the hands of the individuals who grew it, it would be a different situation, they would sell food, instead of hoarding it.

The situation is sad, but this is the result of globalized markets where there is always someone who has the money to pay more. The poor are out bid by the rich for the only thing that really matters – food. Globalization has turned food into a commodity and that commodity is traded for gain to the highest bidder.

In this climate, one would ask themselves what can I do? How should I respond to this crisis? What is moral? What is ethical? How can I impact this bidding war.

We live in a culture that considers unbridled consumption the pinnacle of success. It is our right to consume just because we are able. We wear our consumption like a badge of honour. However, here is another way to look at life and this crisis that is taking place throughout the world. Whenever we bid on energy or food we bid with a currency which has many times the power other countries and people do not have. They have no chance of competing with us. Their work is worth one/one-hundredths of ours just because of the country they were born in. When we out bid them for the food they need to live, we sentence them and their families to malnutrition, sickness, and a shortened life.

What Can You Do?

When we reduce our consumption levels we take the pressure off the demand side of the supply/demand equation thereby freeing up food for others. If we grow as much of our own food as possible we take our consumption off the world market. We are no longer bidding for the limited supply of food on the world market. By reducing our consumption in the area of energy and food we can literally save thousands of lives. By getting off the grid as it were, we are eliminating or minimizing our consumption of energy and food from world supplies. We are literally taking food out of the hand of the hungry. Our level of consumption is literally a life death matter for some people in countries less fortunate then the one you were lucky enough to be born in. Our culture is driven by the media the media is programmed by the proponents of consumption. Our consumption is indirectly but literally killing people in countries around the world. I think we should know that and do something about it. More on ways to reduce our consumption in upcoming posts.

P.S. I have been hypermiling (see the previous post) and it really works!!! I have reduced my consumption by at least 25%. Currently fuel is $1.20 a litre ($5.00 a gallon). I have also reduced miles driven by a least 25%. I didn’t think it possible to cut my consumption in half but it has been easier than I thought.

Paul Weigel

Every human is gifted with talents and abilities which when they are inspired, sharpened through use and nurtured, can transformation every area of our world. Never has their been a time in history where we have needed the reformation and wisdom of inspired men and women to reform our institutions. We must alleviate poverty, needless suffering and disease. We must take a stand for justice and equality, and push the boundaries of knowledge and understanding to new heights. Everyone of us is positioned to make a contribution to making our world what we image it to be, and beyond!

As stewards of the Earth it is our responsibility and destiny to manage its resources and develop its potential. As forerunners of the age-to-come it is our pleasure to create, reform and to set new benchmarks for standards in every area of our world starting with government, education, religion, entertainment, media, the arts, science and business. It is with wisdom we can transform every area we touch, though creativity, integrity, and the pursuit of excellence. We must reform what exists and discover what does not.

Every purpose we undertake will have challenges that require our mental, emotional and spiritual strength. Every objective has its difficulties which we must learn to let transform us rather than defeat us. They are to teach us and make us into the people we need to be to accomplish the purpose we set out to achieve. It is in the valleys when we can not see our objective that we gain or lose our dream. It is in these moments we must strengthen ourselves and believe we have the resources to overcome every obstacle. If we can do this, we can overcome anything. Our choices in crisis will determine our success. We therefore must learn to overcome doubt, disappointment and feelings of defeat. When we do, there is nothing which will be impossible for us.