Transition Plan

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Posted by: transitionplan on Mar 15, 2009

Zeitgeist Monetary Transition Plan

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Life.
Life is what brings us together.
Life is what separates us.
Life is what makes us so special.
And yet, life is so common.
We decide what to do with our lives.
It is our choice.
Or is it?
In 1943, Abraham Maslow released a paper called "A Theory of Human Motivation".
This paper outlines hierarchy levels for human needs.
Humanity collectively shares these needs and everyone of them relies on money.
Money that buys our food.
Money that buys our health.
Money that buys our admittance to a group.
And money that represents our achievements and goals in life.
Yet this subject is rarely known to us.
Where does money come from?
And why is it so important to act now?
We should act because of poverty,
lack of morals in education,
and that we are trashing our brains with TV, our bodies with junk food,
exploiting children in third-world countries, and polluting our environment.
There are three major factors that require us to act right now.
They are money, energy, and global climate change.
These three, linked together in a chaos of interests.
We will review each of these three subjects in order to understand what they are.
First, we have money.
What is money?
Money, in simple words, is a claim of human labor.
How much human labor has been invested in your work?
It could be carpentry, delivery, advertising and so on.
It all sums up to one single thing, which is labor.
But money, as money, is not the only factor in this formula.
There are also people who create, what we call, economy.
Money is created out of thin air. Believe it or not, out of nothing.
You might ask yourself, "Why should that necessarily be a bad thing?"
Well, let me tell you a little story.
Let's say, one day,
you get up in the morning and everything around you is gold.
A golden table, a golden tree, the trash becomes gold
and you can even swim in a golden pool.
Sure it would be cool at first.
But after awhile, everyone agrees that the gold is not rare anymore.
With the amount of gold there is, it is actually worth nothing.
You certainly can't sell it.
It is scarcity that gives it value.
Money can be looked at like this as well.
When there is too much money in circulation,
inflation occurs, and your money is worth less.
To further increase inflation,
banks issue loans, keeping only 10% of the money as a reserve,
and then add interest to this, further multiplying the money available.
To better understand the mechanics of money,
you need to watch the movie "Zeitgeist Addendum" at www.zeitgeistmovie.com.
There is a lot of material on this subject,
and we recommend that you discover more.
Second is energy.
Currently, energy is a necessary tool to run the world.
We consume, transport and harvest our food with energy.
More than 50% of all our total energy currently comes from oil.
Oil is a finite resource and works in a certain way.
In the beginning of drilling, oil was very cheap.
Yet, after the peak, it's completely reversed---very expensive.
We are entering a phase that is beyond easily accessible oil, globally.
For example, the last large oil find in the United States occurred in the 1930's.
But the really scary thing is,
our population growth has rapidly multiplied over recent years.
In the upcoming year, 70 million people are predicted to be born into this world.
That's almost one-quarter of the current U.S. population.
This means more food, more steel, more cars, more oil, more energy
that needs to be produced to fulfill this growing need.
The need for energy is far greater than our current supply of oil.
Soon, oil will be so expensive that only the rich will be wealthy enough to use it.
And with that, everything else that oil produces---
which includes transportation, plastics and food, as well---
where will that leave us then?
Third, is the environment.
Meanwhile we consume like there is no tomorrow,
exploit the land and its limited resources.
We pollute the air we breathe, we pollute the water we drink
and create irreversible damage to precious ecosystems.
And, on top of that, we are changing our climate.
Experts and scientists say we are rapidly approaching the point of no return.
We need to ask ourselves a few fundamental questions.
This is happening in our lifetime, and we need a solution.
Because we CAN have a sustainable economy.
We can have a clean, sustainable energy.
And we can stop the world from inevitable destruction.
But we need a vision, and we need a plan.
Our ultimate goal
is to complete a transformation of consciousness in humanity,
from our current world view, that we are all separate entities on this planet,
competing against each other for resources,
to being fully emerged in a vision that we are, in fact, all here together,
in essence, one.
Hence we must work together. There is no scarcity if we all work in a symbiosis
to preserve and nurture our environment and fellow people.
This can be accomplished when we all unite together,
under a collective banner,
to create a resource-based economy instead of a monetary one.
Just imagine, for a second, the best money can't buy,
unhindered technologies, free to access for millions;
a society where equality is more important than the bottom line.
It's time to put aside an outdated method of division
and embrace a moneyless society
where mundane labor jobs are a thing of the past.
Robots and computers shouldn't be something we fear. Instead we should view them as an extension of human ability.
Just think of the things that really have allowed for daily improvements in your life:
dishwashers, reading glasses, lightbulbs, etc. All these are technically created devices.
The idea of allowing technology to flourish will improve all of our lives dramatically.
This will free up humans to spend time on things we really love, like our children, creative outlets and fostering community projects.
The RBE is not simply some idealist's dream.
It represents the life work of man called Jacque Fresco in the form of The Venus Project.
The Venus Project is a veritable blueprint for the genesis of a new world civilization.
One that is based on human concern and environmental reclamation.
The plans for The Venus Project offer society a broader spectrum of choices
based on the scientific possibilities directed toward a new era of peace and sustainability for all.
Through the implementation of a resource-based economy, and a multitude of innovative and environmentally friendly technologies
directly applied to the social system, The Venus Project proposal will dramatically reduce crime,
poverty, hunger, homelessness and many other pressing problems that are common throughout the world today.
This project also introduces a set of workable and practical values.
You will now hear a step-by-step proposal for how we go about making this paradigm shift a reality in our lifetime.
From the previous short review, the Zeitgeist movies and many other films and documents, you know the situation.
Thanks to Jacques Fresco's vision, you know the ultimate goal.
Now, how do we move there? What is our path? What is our plan?
Please take a look at the following presentation of the Transition Plan.
What we propose is the evolution from a monetary system to a resource-based economy step-by-step.
The idea is that this progress will accelerate itself in time.
It is a transformation from the full, 100% dependency on money
to sustainable, self-sufficient and, in terms of resources, profitable communities.
Of course, we are all aware of all other necessary steps on the global level,
like evaluation of the Earth's resources and cooperation between governments.
What if we work from the ground up, somehow outside the system,
create a peaceful, global, people's revolution
while influencing the top by systematically removing our contributions to the monetary system?
We plan to do it piece by piece, step-by-step.
You can think about it as taking one puzzle piece from the monetary system and adding it to our resource-based economy.
In time, all the puzzle pieces will become part of our picture.
How fast it will happen depends entirely upon us.
Individual action is required, as well as unification of different organizations working together towards the common goal.
You are probably wondering, "What are these elements? And which puzzle pieces should we take first? Second? Third?
And how do we make sure they fit nicely into the new picture and, at the same time, not destroy the first.
Simply speaking, how do we make this transformation smooth? What are the steps?"
Well, frankly, there is still a lot of work and calculation to do.
But here is our idea for such a transformation.
Step 1: Establishing self-sufficient farms.
The first step is to establish automated farms and communities in a few locations
powered by clean, free energy such as solar, geothermal or wind.
This will ensure the basic needs and provide resources and funding for further development.
Another part of this stage is the linking up and unificaton of existing communities, world-wide.
This first step requires significant investment, and therefore
it should be achieved by using support from available programs, such as EU donations,
university research programs, local government subsidies and other existing foundations.
Step 2: Providing energy.
The next step is establishing a clean energy-producing company, for example a solar panel manufacturer.
It reduces the cost of starting new communities and provides margin for equipment.
Step 3: Construction of the Automated Factory.
With basic resources, food and energy secured, the next step will be to
establish and operate automated factories
where all necessary machines can be designed and manufactured.
Step 4: Creating Transport
The automated and globally coordinated connections between these colonies
will be established.
It will reduce the need for outsourcing our shipping services
and allow direct resource exchange between the projects.
Step 5: Securing Raw Materials.
This step involves establishing facilities to ensure necessary resources.
It is also important to notice that every community shall be established according
to the rules of recycling and intelligent waste management.
Step 6: Further Development.
With a network of advanced, self-sufficient communities,
production facilities and global transport,
we finally will be able to focus on the next fields and final outsourcing of
services like education, healthcare, space program and ocean cities.
Chapter 4. Resource Based Economy Foundation (RBEF)
This chapter is dedicated to a description of the global tool
that can be used to achieve the Transition Plan.
It is called the Resource Based Economy Foundation, or RBEF.
Before we proceed further we would like to point out some very important facts
and differences making this foundation unique.
The Resource Based Economy Foundation is to be created
from the ground up, within the monetary system, using existing mechanisms.
Through the coordination of multiple activities,
projects and enterprises in a fully transparent way,
the RBE Foundation will provide resources, including funds
and a coordination platform for various projects
aiming on introduction of a resource-based economy.
RBEF, later called Foundation,
exists as a tool for the Resourced Based Economy Project
during the transition period and provides the necessary resources and funding.
According to the principles, all work shall be done on a voluntary basis.
All acquired resources, including money,
shall be redistributed among the RBE projects.
The Foundation serves as a transition-based link
between the current monetary system and the future resource-based economy.
The Foundation is a center for all projects
which require and/or generate resources and funds.
All decisions concerning the funds and management
shall be as automated as possible and made in scientific ways
in order to acheive 100% transparency about the funds.
The Foundation shall exist as long as the money is necessary
and an irreplaceable resource,
for the initiation and efficient operation of RBE projects.
Let's go over some of the values that the Foundation stands for.
1. Resource Base Economy
The Foundation exists solely because of and for the RBE projects.
2. Volunteer Work
Work and time is much better contributed than money, therefore
the operation of the RBEF will be primarily based on the work of volunteers.
Management of this work shall be done in scientific and organized manner.
3. Scientific Management.
Much of the fundamental management of the Foundation
will be left to the Foundation's computerized system
rather than to human decisions.
4. Transparency
All funds are fully transparent
and accounted for from the moment they enter
the system to the moment they are spent.
5. Automated Funds Distribution
Distribution of the funds shall be done in an automated and
pre-defined way leaving no space for individual human errors.
6. Respect
is a must for everyone, their opinions, abilities
and unique approaches to solutions.
So how does it all work?
Describing the whole mechanism
would take much more time than we have here.
Therefore we would like to present the general idea instead.
Nevertheless, we hope to work together with you on the RBEF details
in the near future to cooperate with your own project.
Well, frankly speaking, the RBEF is a tool to buy us out from the monetary system
to the resource-based economy.
Also a tool to accept and use existing mechanisms and donations,
like EU Funds, government grants, etc.
It of course varies from country to country.
The idea is that everyone has a full control over their donations and
can track each donation all the time.
Donators can also choose to fund a specific project of their choice directly.
So, if you decided to buy a shovel for project A,
which posted it as a request as part of the startup package,
you can actually see the scanned receipt, bank transfer
and even the very shovel at the project through an on-site, real-time webcam.
100% transparency is one of the main values of the Foundation.
It is as simple as that.
The goal is to build the first cities by the common effort of humanity
and therefore buy us out from the current corrupted system.
Here's a specific example in relation to US taxes.
In most countries,
when a person or organization donates money to a non-profit organization,
the donating entity doesn't have to pay tax.
They're able to write-off the amount on a donated sum.
What this also means
is that entities can donate their tax directly to the Foundation
instead of their host government.
It is the simplest way to have control over your tax
and dedicate it to something worthy rather than sponsoring corporations.
We will have an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide
for contributers to be able to do this online.
Taxes.
A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or legal entity
by a state or a functional equivalent of a state.
The monetary system heavily depends on taxation and thus cannot
exist without this, and this is what the Transition Plan takes advantage of.
In the United States, any person who possesses any kind of property
or earns a wage can legally write off any donation to a non-profit bank.
It holds true for most countries as well
and differs by some local rules and regulations.
In any case this will legally allow people to donate around 50% of their tax money
and support a resource-based economy.
The New Z-Land project is a practical first step towards creating a resource-based economy,
based on the concept of Jacque Fresco's at "The Venus Project".
During the initial transition period
we aim to build a sustainable community in Northland, New Zealand.
The community will build its way up to having a population of approximately 500 people.
This community will not only function as a prototype for future development
but also a research and development center for new RBE technologies within itself.
The goal is to create a workable model to then create similar developments across the world.
Eventually we will be able to create a web of interconnected, self-sufficient communities
making the transition to a resource-based economy.
New Zealand's geographical location, combined with ideal weather conditions
and island isolation with a small population that allows for ease and adaptability,
has huge potential for transformation.
Through examining the viability and implementing the logistics including
resource and energy usage, carrying capacity and economic barriers,
the resource-based economy will see its first fruitation project in the next three years.
See our website for further details.
At the New Z-land project
all possibilities to relieve humans of labor, scarcity and control, are tried,
tested and implemented. The project, in itself, is a living, evolving experiment.
Once researched, these technologies will be shared with the world
to improve other like-minded cities.
Once completely automated and operational,
the project will serve as the first working model of a resource-centric city
as depicted by "The Venus Project."
Success of this city will serve as a tribute to all resource-based economies
and will lead to further developments of this nature.
The creation of the resource-based economy dream can unravel into reality.
a Child's Voice
Losing my future is not like losing an electon
or a few points on the stock market.
I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in our ozone.
I'm afraid to breathe the air, because I don't know what chemicals are in it.
I used to go fishing in Vancouver, my home, with my dad
until just a few years ago we found a fish full of cancers.
And now we hear of animals and plants going extinct, every day,
vanishing forever.
In my life, I have dreamt of seeing great herds of wild animals,
jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies
but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.
Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age?
All this is happening before our eyes, and yet
we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions.
I'm only a child, and I don't have all the solutions,
but I want you to realize: neither do you.
You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.
You don't know how to bring the salmon back up a dead stream.
You don't know how to bring back an animal, now extinct.
And you can't bring back the forest that once grew where there is now a desert.
If you don't know how to fix it, please, stop breaking it.
Here, you may be delagates of your governments,
business people, organizers, reporters or politicians,
but really, you're mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles,
and all of you are someone's child.
I'm only a child and yet I know that we are part of a family, 5 billion strong,
in fact, 30 million species strong,
and borders and goverments will never change that.
I'm only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act
as one single world towards one single goal.
In my anger, I am not blind
and in my fear, I'm not afraid of telling the world how I feel.
In my country, we make so much waste,
we buy and throw away, buy and throw away,
and yet, northern countries will not share with the needy.
Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to share.
We are afraid to let go of some of our wealth.
In Canada, we live the privileged life, with plenty of food, water and shelter.
We have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets.
The list could go on for two days.
Two days ago, here in Brazil,
we were shocked when we spent time with some children living on the streets.
This is what one child told us.
"I wish I was rich. And if I were, I would give all the street children food,
clothes, medicines, shelter and love and affection."
If a child on the streets who has nothing, is willing to share,
why are we who have everything still so greedy?
I can't stop thinking that these are children my own age,
that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born.
That I, could be one of those children living in the "favelas" of Rio.
I could be a child starving in Somalia.
Or a victim of war in the Middle East
or a beggar in India.
I am only a child, yet I know if all the money spent on war
was spent on finding environmental answers,
ending poverty and finding treaties,
what a wonderful place this Earth would be.
At school, even in kindergarten,
you teach us how to behave in the world.
You teach us to not fight with others, to work things out.
To respect others. To clean up our mess.
Not hurt other creatures. To share, not to be greedy.
Then why you go out and do...
do the things you tell us not to do?
Do not forget why you're attending these conferences.
Who you're doing this for.
We are your own children.
You are deciding what kind of world we're growing up in.
Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying:
"Everything is going to be alright."
"It's not the end of the world."
and "We're doing the best we can."
But I don't think you can say that to us anymore.
Are we even on your list of priorities?
My dad always says:
"You are what you do, not what you say."
Well, what you do makes me cry at night.
You grownups say you love us,
but I challenge you, please,
make your actions reflect your words.
Thank you.
Chapter 6. How to get involved
"United we stand, divided we fall"
Basically we need to cooperate together instead of fragment in groups,
chipping away at the impossibly huge, bureaucratic mountain.
The only real way is by dedicated members.
Hopefully we can all band together under a united project that will define us all.
Everyone watching this presentation knows
things are not right about the current system,
preventable things.
The problem is we often feel powerless as individuals.
This plan gives us the tools to take affirmative, positive action.
All we need is you to help further enhance and develop these ideas.
What can you do?
First, arm yourself with information.
Read the "Orientation Guide" at the Zeitgeist website, located at
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
There's also a very informative digital presentation located there as well.
Also checkout: www.storyofstuff.com
This is a brilliant summary of the current consumer driven situation,
by following the history of stuff.
From extraction, through sale, use and disposal.
All the stuff, and how it affects communities at home and abroad.
Also, register your skills and resources at: www.zeitgeistresources.com
Enlist your resume, name, and anything else you think would be helpful.
You can also join the transition plan,
and resource based economy foundation groups at:
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
And join our team to allow further action, knowledge exchange and coordination.
And last but not least: SPREAD THE WORD
Tell everyone you know, encourage them to participate.
So we can gather momentum with other movements and organizations.
Chapter 7. Call for Unification
Don't ask "how much does it cost?",
ask: "Do we have resources?"
It's time to do the right thing, instead of the profitable thing.
This is the first time, in the human history, that we are all connected
on this one blue planet.
For the first time, our communication knows almost no barriers.
Multicultural exchange of ideas is possible, now, more than ever.
In the past we able to achieve great things, as one race.
Things that made us proud, no matter the nation, religion,
or the color of the skin.
It is time to unite.
Time to start use a technology that help our lives.
Time to finally grow up, focus on our main similarities,
and stop fighting on our small differences.
Time to start helping each other because it is the right thing to do,
rather than it is profitable.
We call for unification and international cooperation.
Not as a nation.
Not because we can share profits, or we are told to do so
but as a human being.
You, me... US.
Over our differences, and because it is the right thing to do.
For a common future.
Visit Our Websites
Transition Plan

Transition Plan

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