The Forerunner Project

Health Canada recently predicted that 3 million Canadians who are alive today will die due to this preventable problem. The situation has been described as an epidemic of unequaled proportions. To put this into perspective, the Walkerton water scandal claimed 7 lives, SARS claimed 37 lives, and the Listeria scare 20 lives. There were public inquiries about each of these problems and hundreds of thousands of words written in the media. These tragedies reformed our utility systems, governments, food processing and our health care delivery systems, as it well should have. It is therefore astounding that 9% of the population will die needlessly with relatively little intervention which could stop this senseless loss. For some people, that is not only wrong, but a call to action!

As a young boy growing up in Brantford Ontario, Garfield Mahood discovered his talent for sales. In university, he became fascinated with the principles of social change. In his budding career, his passion for justice emerged. He had been engaged in the fight against the Vietnam war, and later he took on environmental pollution in an era when activists were seen by many Canadians as threats to order and progress. But forerunners don’t measure the value of their objective by the opposition to it. They are “wired” for overcoming and they prefer to follow their own path. Garfield Mahood’s life, however, took a definitive turn when a young nurse decided she needed him to advise her in the founding of her campaign for non-smokers’ rights. He was reluctant at first to take on another battle but her persistence was remarkable, and the potential of the challenge inspired him. In 1976, when the budding group was just 2 years old, Garfield became their Executive Director. The challenge was among the biggest that any activist group had undertaken. In order to be successful in their mission to educate people about the known but suppressed dangers of smoking, they would have to take on the entire tobacco industry who were spending billions of dollars to hide the truth about smoking from the Canadian public.

It may have seemed to be overly optimistic to make the industry their target but it was the industry that Garfield and others insisted was the problem. The tobacco industry’s operating structure and tactics have been compared in court to the mafia. Scientists have deemed their products to be more addictive than cocaine and more deadly than heroine. Numerous times it has been proven that the industry has lied to the courts, deceived the public, and subverted regulators about the known dangers of their products and their tactics to get people, particularly young people, to use them. For these reasons, many people believe that the tobacco industry is not a legitimate industry. The result of the use of tobacco world-wide has been more than 50 million deaths – the biggest genocide in the history of mankind!

In the early days of the non-smokers’ rights campaign, it would have been an exaggeration to call this a David and Goliath battle. Garfield was the only employee and periodically the organization didn’t have enough money to pay his salary. On several occasions, he lent money to the association to keep it going without knowing if, or when, it would be possible to pay him back. The tobacco companies, on the other hand, were spending millions of dollars to openly promote the use of tobacco. Furthermore, television, radio and print media were hostile to the group’s message because they were the recipients of millions of dollars for advertising campaigns, and they were reluctant to “bite the hand that was feeding them”. The chances of success would have seemed slim in the eyes of any rational person; however, the size of the battle didn’t overwhelm Garfield, nor was he depending on the naysayer’s for their predictions of the likelihood of his winning this war.  Year after year they persisted, expanded, and built their case before the Canadian people. They educated the public, bureaucrats and politicians about the growing mountain of proof that tobacco use is the cause of numerous health conditions and premature death. It was a landmark when scientific research supported what they had learned from personal observation. Second-hand smoke was 6 times more dangerous than inhaled smoke, and people were at extreme risk when being exposed to it.

Attitudes about smoking and second hand smoke began to change. Scientists, researchers, and soon forerunner politicians were no longer afraid to say what they knew was the truth – but that was still the beginning. Until the public was aware and concerned about the problem, there was no political will to change the laws to protect non-smokers or to make smoking less appealing.

The stones they were throwing at Goliath seemed to be relatively harmless but they threw them with deadly accuracy. They proposed increased taxation on cigarette sales which angered some smokers, but discouraged many others from smoking. This proved to be among the single most effective strategy. It was so successful, the tobacco companies resorted to smuggling cigarettes into the country to avoid the impact of high prices. In 1999 the City of Toronto’s ground breaking ban on smoking in restaurants and later all public and workplaces was a milestone victory for non smokers’ rights and public health in Canada. The ban spread across the country and around the world. Toronto has recently banned smoking in cars when children are passengers and are considering a ban in areas where children play. The earlier bans on advertising and the warnings on packages also contributed to the incremental reduction in smoking over the past two decades from 50% to 19%.

When Garfield began this war, his small team seemed to have little chance of success. They drew very little attention, but with success came other problems. On a trip to Argentina to speak about tobacco use, his life was threatened. He was warned not to cause any problems for the industry. Later, confiscated files from a high ranking tobacco industry executive revealed that blackmail had been contemplated as a way of “neutralizing” Garfield. In some countries, fighting against the tobacco industry is a very deadly business.

The battle isn’t over. Tobacco smuggling continues to be a problem, and the glamorization of smoking in films is an area of concern. However, countless millions of people have been rescued from the deadly effects of smoking, and there are numerous legal proceeding in Canada against the tobacco companies to reclaim damages to public health. In spite of the struggles, uncertainty, and the risks, the 30+ year battle has been rewarding for Garfield . He and his team have accomplished more than they ever dreamed. Canadian attitudes toward smoking have changed. Our policies on tobacco control have been the forerunner of smoking regulation around the world.  That is in part due to Garfield and his team and others like him who have fought long and hard for justice and the truth about tobacco. He is an exceptional forerunner who has built, served and overcome. In May 2007, Garfield Mahood was awarded the Order of Canada for his contribution to justice for non smokers and public health in Canada.
(C) Paul Weigel 2009

I recently saw a “Saving Luna” a powerful documentary film which involved the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and their administrative bungling in the rather insignificant matter of dealing with a over-friendly Orca whale. The whale was just trying to be friendly with humans because it had become separated from its pod. The Baby whale just wanted to have fun and he wasn’t opposed to doing it with humans. The DFO was dogmatic, inflexible, out of touch with the situation to name only a few of its rather obvious failings. What they all lacked was courage. Nobody wanted to make a decision, and by not making a decision they were totally ineffective. Fearful, authoritarian, and lacking wisdom these people blundered their way through almost 3 years of painfully destructive bullying of the public. Everyone knew the answer, but the people who thought they knew it all.

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……

Most projects start with a picture in a person’s mind of what they want to achieve, but others begin with a motivation to do something. Those projects that are founded on a motivation to serve have no destination in mind other than to satisfy the simple thirst within the heart.

No one sets out to be a forerunner – they just follow their heart and use their head and for Edna Ruth Byler, she was no different. She was living in Puerto Rico in 1946 with her husband working with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). They were there to help and they offered a number of programs to educate and encourage the local people. As their 3 year term came to a close, Edna began to think about how she could help the people of Puerto Rico after she left the island. She became intrigued by the beautiful embroidered table cloths, napkins and other crafts the women were making which featured their traditional designs. Upon leaving Puerto Rico, she bought a supply of their work for her friends back in America, unknowingly beginning a movement which would one day circle the earth.

Discovering The Model
When Edna and her husband got back to the US, they began selling the arts and crafts they had brought from the island. Soon they were contacting their friends in Puerto Rico for more products and eventually they contacted other MCC projects in other locations, for products as well. Edna was beginning to see how work for fair wages could transform a community, and as she communicated the impact people could have by selling these products, they began joining the cause. They started selling the crafts at community events, church bazaars, and even home parties. The sales of products doubled then quadrupled. I am not sure how it happened, but I can imagine that one day, with a garage full of boxes and the neighbours wondering what was going on, Edna realized that this work was bigger than she was – she needed help. MCC was the perfect candidate to take over the importing and managing of the day-to-day operations. The amazing growth the work had experienced produced many benefits, but not without its trials.

….Making THE Difference!
Entering a new chapter in the work’s growth produced new challenges that tested both their values and their determination. The main premise of “SelfHelp Crafts” was to partner with artisans to build the community by offering work for fair pay; however, large retail companies observed the demand for indigenous products. Their drive for profits caused problems in the communities in which MCC was working. They offered the artisans large orders and sometimes cancelled them if they thought trends in American had changed. Some promised huge orders but left the producers to figure out how they would finance the material costs and equipment and then never reordered. Most workers didn’t understand how they should price their work leaving them vulnerable to profiteers. In contrast, MCC viewed their work as a long term partnership in developing the community. They began lending up to 50% of the cost of their orders to the artisans and also taught workers about pricing. They further helped them to form cooperatives to assist artisans and to get export licenses. With every “good” there is potential for otherwise. On a few occasions, funds vanished with individuals, leaving workers with nothing. Once an entire shipment was destroyed in a boating accident, without which the community would have become bankrupt and all that had been built would have been lost. In the “business” of making a difference, it is times like these that make THE difference. MCC absorbed the losses, learned, and persisted in creating opportunities for people to work for fair pay in communities around the world.

Buying Fair Trade is Voting for Your Values
About this time someone coined the phrase“fair trade” as a description of what they were doing. As forerunners in fair trade, MCC had demonstrated the value and potential of treating workers justly and showed that a significant number of buyers cared about those values, too. Fair trade became a popular movement which spread notably to the coffee and chocolate industries. Speaking with your money is one of the most powerful ways to make a statement in support of your values.

SelfHelp Canada
In the early 1980s, Herman Neff reorganized the Canadian operation under the name “SelfHelp Crafts” and established its head office in New Hamburg. The generous support of several local businessmen firmly rooted the organization in the area at a time when other locations were being considered. Their help and the vision and support of thousands of people for fair trade have been some of MCC’s  greatest assets. More than 2000 volunteers, many of them in the Waterloo Region, work to support the 50 retail stores across Canada. Sales have steadily grown to $18M in 2007 employing 110 full time staff. MCC workers in more than 30 countries mentor and assist the 120 artisan cooperatives that have been formed to employ more than 60,000 people. Of equal importance is the example that has been set, as MCC/SelfHelp has stood for justice and equality for workers and demonstrated to the world what can be accomplished by providing a means for people to support themselves and their families.

Fair Trade Towns
In 1996 “SelfHelp Crafts” became “Ten Thousand Villages” reflecting the objective of building communities through partnerships. Today, they are building on that premise by launching their new “Fair Trade Towns Campaign” which invites the participation of communities in 5 important ways. The campaign asks firstly for the support of community leaders including city council; secondly, the involvement of local businesses which offer fair trade products in their stores; thirdly, the engagement of groups who promote fair trade in their workplace, places of worship, and schools; fourthly, the support of local media; and fifthly, the development of a core group of fair trade enthusiasts who support ethical and sustainable initiatives within the community. This campaign has the power to transform our communities the way the opportunity to work for a fair pay has transformed hundreds of communities abroad. Shouldn’t our community be the first to support this campaign? If you believe it should, find out how you can help.

There are other ways to support the work of MCC and Ten Thousand Villages. Their stores in Waterloo Region are located at 80 King Street, South in Waterloo, and 65 Heritage Drive in New Hamburg. You can also make purchases from their web store at: www.tenthousandvillages.ca. Volunteers are always welcomed and there are opportunities to host events which feature fair trade merchandise. Contact the store nearest you for more details.

Send Your Ripple Of Hope Through The World!
Edna Ruth Byler was a forerunner but no one would have figured her as such at the time she began her work. Neither would they have imagined the passion her uncalculated actions would spark in people who caught her vision. She discovered the model, but many forerunners built the vision. Edna’s greatness was hidden in her sincere desire to help others. It was this that made her a candidate to ignite a bigger than self contribution to humanity. It was the seed which grew into a powerful force that sent, and is sending ripples of change and hope throughout the world. Edna’s life and that of thousands of her co-worker who followed their heart is an example to us that every one can make a difference.

I welcome your comments! Do you know a forerunner?  Send us an email at:
paul@theforerunnerproject.com

Paul Weigel is the founder of the Forerunner Project, a non-profit corporation dedicated to research and education about forerunners. For more information on the Forerunner Project and its monthly Forerunner Inspire Film Series visit: www.theforerunnerproject.com
(c)  Paul Weigel December, 2008

John and Mary Theberge have been studying wolves for more than 40 years. They discovered early in their career that some people look at a wolf and see beauty, and others see an evil menace which should be destroyed. That single contrast in views has been at the heart of a lifelong struggle to save the wolves of Algonquin Park.

Over the past 100 years, the wolf has been villianized as a threat to farm animals, pets and humans. Fear of them has been the justification for the near annihilation of the species with the approval of the government agencies which are mandated to protect our wildlife. The wolf plays an important role in the balance of nature yet it has been exempt from protection even as some sub species have become extinct in North America. Why is the wolf so hated?

In 1970 John Theberge was one of the University of Waterloo’s newest professors. He had been hired because of his extensive knowledge of wolves. John began his “wolf life” as a high school student doing research for Dr. Douglas Pimlott, Canada’s leading expert on wolves and one of the most vocal advocates for conservation of the environment and wildlife. In the mid 70s, Dr. Pimlott and his grad students had been banned from Algonquian Park as punishment for critizing the government’s policies on logging and conservation of wildlife in the park. Twenty years later, John Theberge would experience the same injustice in an attempt to silence his public plea to save one of the most important wolf populations in North America.

One of the unique aspects of the Algonquin Park wolf population is that it is one of the most pure strains of wolves on the continent. Wolves will interbreed with coyottes in certain circumstances. A trap line could in one night kill an entire pack leaving the territory open for coyettes to move into. Eventually, inbreeding will result. But the protection within the park helped to keep the population from interbreeding and these wolf packs were the last and best example of a pure wolf in North America.

Over the years John and his wife Mary tracked, observed and became familiar with many of the individual wolves in the park. They were as familiar with their traits, personalities and habits as any of their co-workers and even their family. Their “Predator and Prey” studies revealed the wolf’s importance to the stability of the wildlife resource in the park and in Canada. Time and time again wolf packs would follow migrating deer outside of the park and be senselessly destroyed by hunters or trappers. Nothing was more disturbing than to find an entire pack killed by the cruel and painful neck choke trap-lines often set up just outside the boundaries of the park. No doubt the hardest part of the Theberge work was discovering that the wolves they knew, loved and were studying were killed just because they were wolves.

John and Mary believed that if protection for wildlife in the park was to be effective it had to include the townships which surrounded Algonquin Park. Their proposal would have brought the protected area for wolves in Canada to 3% of the country. In spite of the meager plan, the Ontario Anglers and Hunters Association and the Ontario Trappers Association opposed any additional protection for wolves. The Ministry seemed unmoved by the killing of wolves and disregarded the research which showed that the wolf population within the park was threatened. Furthermore, they would soon prove to be the Theberge’s worst enemy.

In 1987 about 50% of the cost of the Theberge’s research was funded by the Ministry. From that position of power, they demanded that the research project be changed to focus on only one pack instead of the whole population of wolves. That was impossible at that point and made most of the research they had done of little value. They realized they had to find another source of support which wouldn’t try to manipulate the research. The World Wildlife Fund of Canada, a private charity, recognized the importance of the Theberge’s work and provided the needed funds. They had succeeded in eliminating the government’s interference, but only for a time.

John and Mary continued to speak out about the destruction of the wolves and the habitat in Algonquin Park. The government responded by trying to stop the research.
While the Thebergs’s were away, a conservation officer in the park approached 2 graduate students and confiscated their research notes. They eventually returned the notes but had used them to determine that the team had collared a bear which the Ministry asserted was a violation of their research mandate. The President of U of W intervened but to no avail until the Theberge’s lawyer was able to prove that the collaring had been authorized by another office of the Ministry – check! He also encouraged them to consider how the Ministry would appear to the public if one department testified in court against another – checkmate!!  They dropped the charges.

John was a scientist and never imagined he would have to direct a battle like a general. The fight between the conservationists and the government had become an all out war! The government had resorted to what is known as the 4 D’s. First, they Denied there was a problem. When they couldn’t deny the facts any longer, they Delayed taking significant action; and when that didn’t work, they tried to diminish the momentum by proposing a compromise to Divide the group. As a last resort, they tried to Discredit the Theberges. The war had reached the discredit stage.

The Ministry took the position that the Theberge research was flawed and unreliable. To counter this attack on their credibility, they invited scientists from all over North America to review and analyze their data. The scientists confirmed that without intervention the wolves would disappear from the park and it was only a matter of time.

The Ministry was losing, and losing badly, but they did succeed in wearing out John and Mary. They needed a change, so and in 2000 they moved to B.C. to undertake a new research project. They had no idea when they left who would take up the fight or if they  would win the war for the wolves. But an unexcepted event turned the battle in their favour. There was a provincial election in 2003 and the McGuinty government came to power. Unknown to the Theberges, someone had shown Mr. McGuinty a neck snare that was legal in Ontario but outlawed in many other countries and he was moved by the cruel destruction it could bring. They also didn’t know that the soon to be Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay, had read John and Mary’s book, Wolf Country.
In 2004, Minister Ramsay announced a permanent ban on the killing of wolves in the townships around Algonquin Park. It was an unexpected victory but a hard fought battle which had taken more than 30 years.

The Theberges thought they were tired of fighting, but apparently they were wrong. In B.C. they have launched a movement to establish the first National Park in the province. They promoted a 20,000 person petition and are writing another proactive book in the continued fight to end the destruction of the wolf population in Canada and in the US. They are passionate and compassionate forerunners. They live by and for their values and have given their lives for something important to all Canadians. They have also taught us to fight for right, the beauty and value of all of nature and to accept our duty to protect it.

In the overview, it appears that the Theberges didn’t choose this battle, it chose them. But once engaged, they fought it well. They were uniquely positioned, prepared and equipped for the battle. It is not over yet. Their opponents have recently asked for a review of the law. In the long view of history, however, John and Mary Theberge will be remembered as timely visionaries who led the fight for justice for wildlife and the environment and as forerunners of conservation in Canada.

For more information about the Theberges and their work check these resources -  Book: “Wolf Country: Eleven Years Tracking The Algonquin Wolves”, Web site: www.wolfstudies.ca, Video: “Language of Wolves” by Canadian Geographic, and their new book: “Life Support – 17 Major Themes of Conservation” to be released Spring, 2009.

Leaders can not lead unless they can see where they are going and that takes vision. This ability to see what “can be” is what makes forerunners convincing leaders because they are passionate about where they are going. Our subject in this edition of The Forerunner is an historical figure renowned in this community in the early 1900s. He, along with a group of other visionaries saw the potential that electricity had to advance industry in the province. Sir Adam Beck seized a moment of opportunity to bring publicly owned electrical power to Ontario. His controversial and hard fought victory became the foundation of the wealth of the province for the next 70 years.

The story begins when visionary E.W. B. Snider, owner of the St. Jacobs Mill, first began promoting the need for cheap energy throughout the region and the potential of producing it using Niagara Falls. He formed a group called the Western Ontario Power Commission who produced a report presented to the provincial government outlining the need for power and the untapped potential of Niagara Falls. There was a small private power company selling electricity to local companies using the Falls. The Commission’s recommendations were to expand supply and create distribution of power to the outlying communities. Snider was able to rally 1500 people from Waterloo County to travel to Queen’s Park to advocate for his new plan. This was 1906, and the human and economic cost of traveling to Toronto was significantly higher than it is today, and yet I find that hard to imagine in 2008. Their optimism and passion would prove to be more important than they imagined.
Some people look at a light bulb and see only the light it produces, others see what the light illuminates.
An idea has numerous stages in its unfolding. In the early stage, it must build momentum. If it makes it through this stage, it must then overcome organized opposition and attempts to destroy it. Adam Beck was the man who could take the idea and helm it through this next stage of development. He was tough minded, successful, honest and trusted, and he saw what Snider saw. Originally from Baden, he was now both Mayor and MPP for London, Ontario. He introduced a bill to the legislature founded on his slogan, “Power at Cost”. The debate was fierce. By then, Beck wasn’t the only one who saw the potential of hydro electric production. His vision for a publicly owned utility was in direct conflict with private enterprise which wanted electricity to be their next “golden goose”. Beck strongly advocated that cheap power would give the province’s manufacturing sector a competitive advantage. However, there were enormous political and economic risks for him, the province and the municipalities. Beck was a fighter and he was able to wrench the Hydro-Electric project from the hands of profiteers. The bill passed and the Hydro-Electric Power Commission was formed, with Beck at its helm. He now had to get the municipalities to agree to commit to buy a fixed amount of power and underwrite the cost of the transmission lines. No one had ever transmitted high volumes of electricity. It wasn’t an easy sell. The cities would be on the financial “hook”, even if the project failed for technical reasons. Beck was able to overcome this potential “deal killer”. Thirteen communities went “double-or-nothing” on Beck and his plan. He cut a 40 year deal with The Niagara Power Company to supply electricity and build the transmission lines. Sounds easy but it wasn’t; however, they did succeed.

On Oct. 11, 1910, Kitchener (then Berlin) became the first city in the world to receive hydro-electrical power. The slogan had become: “For the People”. Premier Whitney said at the opening ceremonies where 4000 people gathered for the official “turning on”.

“it is befitting that Niagara Power should be first turned on in Berlin for it is the home of men of vision.” He went on to say:

“….an experiment has been brought into practical operation. It is one of the most important of modern times. I say that no government in Canada ever took such risks on behalf of the people. We have been attacked, vilified and slandered. Men from the lowest in the land to the Prime Minister of Great Britain were approached by our opponents to destroy our power legislation. Men who pretended to be friendly to the Hydro-Electric project made secret efforts to have the Laurier government disallow our legislation. All their plans, however, failed. We can now breathe easy. Looking on the accomplished fact, it is no disparagement for the men who laboured early and late for this service to express our appreciation of the heavy sacrifices and service rendered by Mr. Beck.  We, his fellow ministers, can never forget his confidence in the outcome, and the pluck with which he stood up against all attacks.”

Beck responded to his victoy with: “….the work of the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission is just begun. We shall not rest until we have no more coal-oil, no more gas, and I hope no more coal.”

Like most men and women he was a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. What made Beck an example for us all was what he was able to accomplish through his strengths and in spite of his weaknesses. His tough-mindedness, character, and courage coupled with the forerunner vision and dedication served the cause well. What he lacked in people skills, he made up for in honesty, dedication, courage, and motivation. Because of these traits, he gained the people’s trust when he needed it. In spite of his contribution and caring, he still had many opponents. Weak men who despised his courage and success assailed him with his short-comings. However, there was far more good than fault. He often defended the poor, the sick and the weak in society and was generous on their behalf. He also served almost his entire political career without any compensation, donating his salary to charity. In 1914, Adam Beck was knighted for his contributions to his country.

A successful entrepreneur, Beck believed that some services essential to the common good should not be shaped and controlled by the pursuit of profit. A typical forerunner, he was motivated by his values and ideals. He believed that the benefits of achieving his dream of forming the public utility far out weighed the risks. I doubt if he ever measured the personal cost of realizing his dream.

Beck alone could not have accomplished this dream. All the people of Waterloo County share in the credit for this success because without their support, the plan would have failed. We have in this community a rich heritage of forerunners, visionaries and risk takers and there continues to be an abundance of creativity, passion, courage and vision that will lead the province and the nation into a prosperous future.
For more information about Sir Adam Beck search online: “A Dictionary of Canadian Biography” – Page 60

Originally Published in the Elmira Independent, and New Hamburg Independent, October 2008.
I welcome your comments!

Paul Weigel is the founder of the Forerunner Project, a non-profit corporation dedicated to research and education about forerunners. For more information on the Forerunner Project and its upcoming Forerunner Inspire Film Festival visit: www.theforerunnerproject.com

A handshake is a common cultural tradition in the western world. It has been used to start friendships, seal binding agreements, and show “no malice” in competitive sports. But for David Wang (pronounced Wong) Professor of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, a handshake has become a symbol of realizing a dream.
In the early 1990s when the Internet was still a baby, he and his students challenged themselves to transmit a handshake digitally over a network, just for fun. At the time, the dream to communicate touch over a digital network was an “out-the-box” idea. In fact, it was way out-of-the “box”! But ideas were their stock and trade, and this idea  they believed had potential to change the world, generate a lot money and make a name for themselves. What they didn’t know was this was the beginning of a journey that would take them to new worlds, literally.
When Alexander Graham Bell succeeded in transmitting sound through a wire, the resulting telephone eventually expanded our ability to communicate one-on-one world-wide. The invention of the telephone, in hindsight, was like throwing a rock into a tranquil pool. It has made possible collaboration resulting in the development of technology and the reformation of society that has advanced humanity on a myriad of fronts.
Historically, when a new form of communication has been discovered such as the printing press, moveable type, radio, television, and the Internet, it has precipitated a tsunami of cultural, social and technological advancements. When people trade ideas and build on their knowledge collectively and work together, there is a synergy which stimulates creativity, discovery and social change. Each technological discovery sends a ripple of cultural and social reform through humanity, and we are in the midst of a sustained technological revolution unlike anything in recorded history.
Transmitting a handshake over the Internet may sound rather trivial, but its impact  could be likened to transmitting sound over a wire in 1876. It has the potential to vault technology and society forward. Virtual realities are not very real without the ability to touch something in that reality. So developing touch in a virtual reality (called haptics) is a monumental advancement in human knowledge and David Wang and his team stood on the doorstep of creating virtual worlds which would soon include touch.
In the early stages they experimented with being able to feel a cup with a curser on a computer screen through a joystick – remember those? From there, they explored creating a virtual pool game which calculated the angle and force the virtual cue ball would strike the other balls, and at what angle they would deflect off the cushions of the table. It wasn’t a telephone, but it was a series of incremental steps toward the objective.
It became apparent that it was time to take the technology into the private sector and commercialize it. By doing so, they could build on the knowledge they had, create a bonafide product and fund the research and development with the capital provided by investors.
They formed Handshake Interactive Technologies. Dave Wang left the University and hired his team of graduate students to pursue the dream of communicating touch in a virtual reality.  The company quickly became the darling of the high tech investment world. They had been on time and on budget in their early stage development, and their target of entering the 5 billion dollar gaming industry with a whole new experience had investors salivating. In a personal and corporate high point, David and his team realized their initial dream by demonstrating a groundbreaking transmission over the Internet of a handshake between Waterloo, Ontario and Orlando, Florida in December, 2003. Now they had the steak and they had the sizzle, too; but in the midst of their success, things got complicated.
They needed more money – a lot more money to take them to the next step of bringing their product to market. Furthermore, they began to wonder if the electronic gaming market driven by adolescents was going to be able to pay what they had to charge for their technology. They went from moments of triumph to feelings of defeat. They were running out of money and they couldn’t “see” where they were going. In their weakest moment, their values were tested. Touch in a virtual reality could be used in pornography and there was lots of money available to them to fund the research and product development. As a team, they rejected those offers, in spite of the 3 occasions they came within 2 weeks of having no money in the bank – bankrupt! In each case, they found an investor just in time to save the company and their dream of producing a viable beneficial product from the technology.
Their were many applications for the technology in medicine, automotive, tele-medicine, and training. They began to direct the technology toward training surgeons complicated medical procedures using virtual patients. It would, however, take even more money to develop and market the product. In desperate need of financing, the founders agreed to sell most of the ownership of the company to a venture capital group. They provided the much needed money and they also took control of the company. David eventually decided to leave his position as President and return to teaching and the needs of his family of 9 children. Over the next three years, he would direct his creative energy to his love of music, co-producing his 3rd and 4th albums under the name, “Critical Mass”. Handskake would run out of favour with its new owners and close in June 2007, leaving a void in the world of haptics and virtual reality.
David wasn’t discouraged by what happened to the company. He is unwavering in his belief that virtual realities can and will be used to serve, protect and inspire people. He and his team are the “fathers” of a technology which continues to have phenomenal potential. There are solutions to human need which can only be solved through haptics and he and others will build on the foundation of knowledge laid at Handshake. He has a new team of some of the brightest young minds at the University, working on a new dream. They are creating tools which allow anyone to create their own virtual realities. He believes it is another step in making virtual realities as common as using the telephone.

To listen to an audio interview with Professor David Wang visit www.wisdom-radio.com

Originally Published in the New Hamburg Independent September, 2008

When Linda Laepple (nee Schabel) came to Canada in 1980 from Germany, she had no idea of the importance the next 11 years would have in preparing her for what lay ahead. Her experience working on a horse farm near Stratford laid a foundation and appreciation for Canada which would later become an important part of her life. When she returned to Germany, she met and married Fritz Laepple whose dream it was to come to Canada and farm.

In 1998 the family of 2 adults and 6 kids purchased a 187 acre farm on Bleams Road and began organic farming. The Laepples were living their dream.

Bigger is Better in Wind Turbines
In Germany, wind energy is common so Linda and Fritz decided to explore the possibility of using wind energy on their farm. What they discovered was that bigger is better in wind turbines and that to be efficient and make a significant impact, their new dream would have to get a lot bigger. It would have to include more people, more money, and more time.

The vision had grown to include a 2 MW (megawatt) wind turbine which was very efficient and could profitably service the electrical needs of 600 homes. They were  challenged, however, by the $4 million dollars in capital it required, the mountain of licenses and regulations they faced, and building a team of like-minded visionaries who wanted to see wind energy succeed in Wilmot township as much as they did. If that wasn’t a big enough challenge, there was seed capital to raise, feasibility studies to complete and an Offering Memorandum to file – most of which is distasteful to forerunners.

In spite of the size the project had become, Linda and the growing number of supporters took courage in the many advantages their project offered. The research revealed that Ontario has a lot of wind compared to Germany. Furthermore, the wind was constant all year long and blew primarily during the highest demand for electricity (10 am – 5pm). With the price of wind at free and a guaranteed 11¢ KW/hour price for any electricity they supplied to the electrical grid, the financial picture looked good. They also had the conviction that there needed to be an alternative to nuclear energy which makes up 95% of Ontario’s energy supply. If there ever was a problem with the existing system, wind energy would be able to supply some of the community’s critical needs. Each wind turbine installation was also a concrete step into the future of zero environmental impact energy. Linda and her group believed they were on the right track so they set a course to realize their dream.

It takes a lot of money to build a 2 Megawatt turbine and in order to get the money, the newly formed LIFE cooperative (Local Initiative of Future Energy Co-op Inc.) had to have investors. That meant that they had to prove every assumption as far as was possible and document every observation with data in their Offering. This is tedious detail work which takes time and is an irritant for visionaries. They like to get things moving, realize the vision and move on to climb the next mountain; however, there was no choice, it had to be done.

A Dark Day for Alternative Energy In Ontario
The political climate in Ontario is supportive of green energy, but Linda and her friends learned that there are two governments in Ontario. Politicians make the laws but bureaucrats regulate them and they can seemingly be going in opposite directions. Linda found out that what politicians were saying wasn’t what regulators were doing. The good news was that the government would guarantee the price of wind electricity to help small groups get investors and build turbines. The bad news was that the regulators set up large geographic areas where you couldn’t connect to the grid and sell wind generated energy. Many of the places that were restricted were the best places for wind turbines and almost all of Northern Ontario. Fortunately, the LIFE cooperative’s project was located just inside the boundary and was unrestricted, but a group in Milverton with whom they had collaborated were shut down, as well as many other small groups working to bring wind power to the province. It was a dark day for alternative energy in Ontario.

Barriers are road signs that should redirect, rather than defeat
Still reeling from the unexpected and fatal blow this regulation imposed on the wind energy community, the LIFE coop decided to diversify its efforts into biogas energy. Biogas would be insurance against possible future regulatory changes to wind energy. Barriers are road signs that should redirect, rather than defeat. The development of biogas energy from farm manure has many advantages. It reduces greenhouse emissions and produces both heat and electricity.  LIFE believes both forms of energy will help our township become leaders in alternative energy and minimize the environmental impact on the plants, animals, and people of our community.

The vison of building a wind turbine on the Laepple farm has grown to become a community dream where together we move forward into new sources of energy from which we all will benefit. We have been empowered by the dream to create our own energy. We have also been challenged by their example to take ownership in creating and shaping the type of community in which we want to live. It took a spark of visionary light and the persistence and diligence of forerunners like Linda and Fritz Laepple to infect us with that dream and to lead us into “what could be”.

For more information on the LIFE cooperative visit their web site at: www.lifecoop.ca, email ritch_ca@yahoo.com or mail to P.O. Box 5158, Baden, ON.

Originally published in the New Hamburg Independent and other newspapers.

Forerunners are people who walk the path that is revealed by the light they receive.
In our first column about forerunners we introduced some of their characteristics and personality traits. Although they may come from many different domains within our society, they have a few common character qualities. They passionately and tenaciously pursue something they see that doesn’t exist in the present and they are motivated by the challenge to overcome the problems that stand between them and making their dream a reality. For a forerunner, following the vision is everything.
When Murray Bast took over the management of the family farm in Wellesley from his father, he had a lot of ideas about how to do things better, but very little experience. It took just three years for him to prove that “good” ideas don’t always work. His herd was sick and so was his land. His ideas obviously needed some adjustment. Although the situation was serious, it didn’t destroy him. It became the “oyster’s sand” which propelled him into an area which would become his life’s work. What looked like a disaster was, in hindsight, the single most important event in his working career.
“We ultimately are the Earth. So if we dump poison on the Earth, we’re dumping poison on our livestock and we’re eating it in (our) meat, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables.” M.B.
What Murray discovered in the early 1980′s was that there were a lot of things he didn’t know about how his farm worked. He learned that it was a micro culture of the Earth and that his soil, his crops and his livestock were delicately interconnected. He discovered that what he was doing to his soil, he was doing to his plants and ultimately his animals – an idea which wasn’t held by mainstream science at the time and often considered the leverage of kooks and “snake oil” salesmen. He learned that there were solutions to his problems and better alternatives to the drugs and chemicals which were commonly being used. The problem was that there were few suppliers of the products he needed and most of them were not specifically formulated for his requirements.
Murray reckoned that the new things he was learning would quickly be embraced by other farmers and they, too, would want and need products that increased the health of the soil, plants and livestock of their farms. He believed that he could meet those needs by developing products which would make it easy for farmers to choose this alternative. He was wrong. Most farmers were unimpressed by the first hand stories of the success others were having using these alternative methods of soil, crop and livestock management. These facts seemed less important to them than the slick advertising campaigns of the large chemical companies. Resources seemed more important than results. Murray Bast’s Bio Ag company would prove to be so ahead of its time that only other forerunners could see the value he saw in what he was doing. Twenty-six years ago, his primary work was educating farmers about the benefits of non-chemical farming. His opponents, however, had advertising agencies and multi-million dollar campaigns to convince the public and farmers otherwise. That didn’t stop Murray. He believed he was right and that eventually people would discover what he had discovered and join him. And he was right!
Bio Ag was slowly building a community of “believers” in the alternative approach to farming. Their customer base was expanding, but Murray wasn’t content to coast because he had a new vision. He had read about keylates and their role in the absorption of nutrients in the digestive system and he wondered if they could assist in providing better nutrition for livestock. It took some time but eventually they found a way to produce a highly effective keylate which would significantly increase the absorption of minerals in the intestine of his test animals. The result was stronger healthier animals. Over the next 2 decades the Bio Ag innovation and development of the use of keylates became a widely used and effective product which has since been copied by most of his competition.
“There is still so much that can be done.” M.B.
Murray also became a leader, educator and innovator in the development and use of homeopathic medicines for the treatment of livestock. Many of the systems he and his team developed have become widely used in organic farming. He has also researched and tested natural products that bolster the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases and is currently working on a non-chemical, anti-bacterial product which will be the foundation for an array of products which will provide many benefits never before available to people world-wide. Although Bio Ag tried to get the government’s support for their research and product development, they have had to fund all of it themselves; however, recently the Chinese have recognized the value of their work and have offered their assistance. Forerunners are rarely recognized at home.

True greatness isn’t measured in life by what a person takes for themselves, but by what they leave behind for others.
Murray Bast has paid a huge price to follow his dream. His journey has been a struggle to discover, educate and overcome unbelief, ignorance and overt opposition. The very fact that he has survived is an inspiration to those who choose the alternate path. His survival and the discoveries he has made are a foundation on which others will build.  They are pieces in a mosaic which makes up the future for the next generation. He has played a significant role in the development of natural medicines, nutrition and organic farming world-wide. In the short-sight, the significance of Murray Bast’s contributions is not completely seen, but eventually history will reveal his role as a forerunner in the development of environmentally friendly farming.

For an audio interview with Murray Bast visit: www.wisdom-radio.com

Originally Published in the New Hamburg Independent and other newspapers.

(originally Published in the New Hamburg Independent – June, 2008)

By Paul Weigel

The Independent is beginning a new monthly column and I am pleased to have the opportunity to communicate a fascinating aspect of our world about which I have grown to be very passionate. This new column will feature stories of local and regional forerunners.

The term forerunner isn’t used much in our culture. It has been associated with a brand of SUV and GPS, but the meaning of a forerunner has been lost in North America.

What is A Forerunner?

For the past 30 years, I have been fascinated with how individuals are gifted with certain strengths, and how all people have a unique set of talents, abilities, and motivation. It was in this quest for understanding that I discovered the forerunner. The only reference to forerunners I had heard of was in the Bible. Elijah, John the Baptist, and the forerunner, Jesus Christ, were given these titles because they went ahead of others into something new. I was to discover that the term “forerunner” was more than a title, but rather a deep motivation with which between 10 and 20% of people are born.

I also discovered that for every important technological advancement, there has been a corresponding social revolution. The printing press, for example, made books available to the common person, and the impact of that one technological advancement has sent ripples of social reform through society for centuries. Television has given us first hand experiences of events far away, and as a result people have responded and forced governments to end wars, fought for true racial equality, and been moved with compassion for tsunami victims on the other side of the earth. Television has been a tool which has changed us for good and bad, but it has changed us.

Technology has increased our ability to communicate with each other and increased communication has been a flash point for new ideas and an increase in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Communication has also been a powerful tool in reforming our institutions. By linking like-minded and motivated individuals, humanity has been able to tackle injustices, disease, and world issues. The book, telephone, television, and the Internet have exponentially increased our ability to communicate and because of this our government, education system, entertainment and media, the arts, and the church have been, and are being reformed from the outside in.

At the heart of technological and sociological change are the forerunners who have a very unique set of strengths, talents, and motivation. The term “forerunners” is an appropriate name for these people because they see “what can be” and fight to make it “what is”. They bring what they “see” in another dimension into the present. They are pioneers who go before the majority of society and tackle the obstacles in order to make a way for you and me.

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/or reform whatever area in which they are engaged. They may be the 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. Some famous forerunners include Martin Luther King, Alexander Graham Bell, and Dr. Jane Goodall. They look very different but they all have one thing in common. They live with one foot in the present and the other in the future.

As important as they are to the advancement of society, they have been widely misunderstood. They have been disparagingly called “square pegs”, “boat rockers”, and “egg heads”. For those who prefer the safe and familiar path, they are “trouble-makers”.. Like them or not, it is forerunners who move us forward.

Forerunners are risk takers. They are motivated by ideas and ideals. They don’t gravitate to groups because they usually are not willing to conform in order to belong. They often reject the routine of the safe and secure because most establishments are not forerunner friendly. 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. The have been called “dreamers” and “misfits” because they love change and they pursue it with tenacity, and drag us all into it, because without them, we would squander our full potential.

We have polluted and pillaged the earth and face challenges of monumental proportion. Within the hearts and minds of forerunners all over the world are the seeds of hope in the form of ideas which can be the solutions to these problems, if they are valued, nurtured, acted on, and supported by others. Commentators say there is a lack of leadership in our institutions. What they are saying is that there is a lack of innovative ideas, solutions, and creative insight that can simplify complex problems. I am convinced that it is the forerunners who have the answers we need. The question is, are our leaders willing to listen?

Through this column I hope to challenge and inspire people to better understand forerunners and to value their own ideas and encourage them to live their dreams. I plan to bring outstanding stories of forerunners who have fought their way through the resistance to new ideas and have overcome the hurdles to arrive in the victory circle. I will tell the forerunner story and honour those who make the world one little bit better for all of us. It will be an exciting journey and I invite you to come along.

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Within every society there are people who are motived to build, innovate, create, and reform. These are the visionaries, pioneers, leaders and reformers and they can be found in every occupation, institution, and strata of society. They are the non-conformists who question everything and who are passionate about finding a better way to do things. Some of them seem like misfits and oddballs but they are motivated by different values and goals than most of us. They are sometimes called “boat-rockers” and “square pegs” but we call them “forerunners” because they are the forerunners of the age-to-come. They see a vision of the future and use their talents and passion to bring it into the present. They are truly our greatest natural resource.

Many of our institutions are not equipped to deal with these forerunners. Most businesses and schools are threatened by their attempt to reform them. They are widely misunderstand, often isolated, sometimes suppressed and frequently minimized; however, it is these people who are responsible for most of the advancement in technology, education, government, law, arts and entertainment and communications. Forerunners are compelled to bring change and expand the boundaries of knowledge and professional practice in ever domain of society.

We are changing the world faster
than we can change ourselves,
and we are applying to the present
the habits of the past
Winston Churchill

For the past 60 years, the western world has experienced a sustained technological revolution unlike anything in the past. Historically, after every technological revolution there is a social reformation which follows closely behind. Observation will reveal that business, science, government, education, media, entertainment, the arts, and religion are all in various stages of reformation. Considering the significance of the technological revolution, this could be the greatest social reformation in recorded history, and it is the forerunners who will lead it. Reformation and transformation is the passion and the gifted ability of Forerunners. If the past 40 years have been the era of the “geek”, then the next 40 years will be the era of the “forerunner generation”.

This revolution is timely considering the many serious challenges which lay ahead of us. This generation of forerunners will have to discover solutions to problems of cataclysmic proportion. They are, however, intrinsically equipped to develop the technologies, concepts, and strategies which will advance mankind and save the earth from ecological destruction. It is of critical importance to our country, our people, and our planet to invest in developing knowledge and systems to assist, encourage and nurture forerunners.