Strategist & educator on social change, focused on Deep Adaptation to societal breakdown
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Every three months, this newsletter summarises activities happening under the banner of Deep Adaptation, as well as highlighting some relevant news and resources. We do not cover news on the latest climate science, weather, or impacts, as there are many other sources for such information. Continue reading “Deep Adaptation Quarterly Winter 2020”
If you come to a realisation that our civilisation is crumbling in the face of climate chaos, then it opens a vast and challenging agenda. Because it affects all aspects of life. Therefore, in our Deep Adaptation Q&As, the originator of the Deep Adaptation framework, Professor Jem Bendell, discusses insights from people who offer a variety of perspectives. In 2019, Jem discussed Deep Adaptation with Joanna Macy, Gail Bradbrook, Vanessa Andreotti and others. They were joined by participants of the Professions’ Network of the Deep Adaptation Forum, who also asked questions.
Each month in 2020, Jem will be discussing with the following people. If you want to participate to ask a question live, please join the free Professions’ Network of the Deep Adaptation Forum. Continue reading “Deep Adaptation Q&As for 2020”
A guest blog by Matthew Slater, Founder of Community Forge and General Assistant with the Deep Adaptation Forum.
As Professor Jem Bendell and I discussed recently on this blog, localisation is an essential element of attempts at adapting to climate change. Reasons include how working at the local level is often easier than at the national level, local initiatives are often more appropriate than initiatives determined at a higher level, and a plethora of local initiatives creates diversity, which means the larger system can become more resilient.
One of the things we don’t often hear about being localised is finance. In the context of relocalising things like food, health, education, infrastructure, governance, localising finance is an obvious complement. That can involve giving local authorities more control over taxation, monetary policy, government debt, investment in infrastructure and the risk management that goes with all that.
It is possible to do all of this with national money, such as the pound, dollar or euro, but not is not optimal because national money is created and made available with somebody else’s intentions and for their profit. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, money is not simply a neutral form of ‘value’, like a lump of metal, that we use to trade. Money is designed to serve the same powerful political and economic interests who have imposed global capitalism on us. This becomes apparent when one comes to understand that in most modern economies, 97% of money is our debt to commercial banks (mortgages, business loans and government borrowing). The quantity, the price and the availability of that money is determined by their commercial interests. This global money has built-in biases which make it very difficult to use it to finance relocalisation, because it determines, through pricing and other mechanisms that, for instance, Chinese manufacturing with all its pollution and poor labour conditions, is ‘more efficient’, while local sourcing, which might entail a more circular economy, local jobs, more responsible waste management, more resilient supply chains, less transportation costs, is ‘unaffordable’.
So in the spirit of imagining ‘deep’ change, let us envisage how an economy with more local financial sovereignty might be different.
First of all, in contrast to global money which is issued (lent) to the least risky most profitable enterprises, local money would more likely be issued to finance local businesses. The choice of which businesses to finance and whether to use equity or debt would be an important political power which, devolved to the local level would enable appropriate decisions about risk. For example if a coastal town wanted to raise its sea defenses, instead of going to the bank and borrowing at commercial rates and paying back twice the amount from taxes, they might prefer other options like spreading the cost amongst the most low lying property owners, creating a financial instrument tied to the property insurance, or factoring in the cost of rehousing those people in later decades. On the other hand a new bakery might be widely expected to succeed unless badly mismanaged, so perhaps a local share issuance would be a good way to share risks and rewards within face-to-face relationships without anonymous intermediaries.
A local currency gives citizens and businesses a way to create credit amongst themselves, i.e. credit that is only acceptable in town. This credit can be used to settle debts incurred through local trade without recourse to borrowing from banks. Flexible amounts of ‘Money’ can be created this way to facilitate trade beneficial to all, as much as creditors are prepared to bare the risk of their neighbour debtors going broke or dying. A thriving local currency which can buy lots of local goods and services, would find itself being accepted in neighbouring communities.
Turning away from the global market would change the mood, attitudes and behaviours of producers and consumers. This could be viewed both positively and negatively. If consumers have less choice and producers would have less competition, this could be seen as correcting one of the injustices of globalisation – but the differences would be more profound than that. Localisation would bind producers and consumers more closely to one another, which would hopefully translate into better relationships and better customer service.
On the macro-scale, locally issued money would create a kind of diversity we are not used to, which provides resilience to national monetary policy made by banks for banks. The next banking crash is feared by some to bring down the whole global economy – a single system which ultimately depends on the dollar, the Federal Reserve, and US domestic policy. While there is no good reason why feckless speculation by hedge funds and others should obstruct the essential and stable process of growing grain, or baking bread and consuming it, because both ‘real’ and ‘speculative’ economies occupy the same marketplace and use the same money, they interfere with each other. We have a financial system which is super-efficient at channelling profits into stagnant money lakes of the tax havens, but a single spanner thrown in the works stops production! If spanners were anticipated and if the long term was seen as important, we would choose a more diverse, less efficient money system in which policy failures were contained, affecting only those markets who voted for those policies.
What would it mean to live in an economy not optimised for efficiency? To offer a very simplistic example: what if, instead of three clicks to summon a product to your doorstep in fifteen minutes, your purchase took more time and effort? Would the extra time be wasted? You might meet the producer, give somebody a lift on the way, talk to them, get some sunlight, exercise your eyes, gain knowledge which can be shared with others, learn something about your locality etc etc. Plus the Deliveroo and Amazon warehouse worker would be freed up to do other things. The increased effort you put into the purchase is dissipated over all the economy like ‘waste’ heat, except it needn’t be seen it as waste. It is greasing relationships, building trust, spreading information, improving mood increasing social and physical health, all of which is more valuable than the difference in price, if you want to measure it that way. The ‘slack’ in the system and the slowness also means the system can better absorb shocks. These ideas are explored more by Helena Norberg Hodge in the Economics of Happiness.
In saying the above I’m not proposing that the economy should slow down so that we can all have a nicer life, indeed that might not be the case. I believe, in spite of the GDP that the real global economy has been slowing down since 2008, and will continue to do so; it would be better for us if our policies and behaviours reflected the reality that global growth is over.
Prof Bendell and I have been fascinated by money for many years, and so we are proposing two monetary innovations for adaptation-oriented policy-makers. Both ideas could help local communities develop local economic resilience in the face of initial phases of climate chaos
I know that these innovations are just shallow techo-fixes without deeper changes in the sociopolitical fabric. Their value at the moment is to show that another economy is possible, and bold policy-makers and citizen advocacy is very much required to manifest such ideas in the face of globalised neoliberal economics.
In this this Q&A with Matthew Slater covers some of the background to these ideas.
To discuss this, please join the Community Action group on the Professions Network of the Deep Adaptation Forum.
If you liked these ideas, did you know about the other work that Jem Bendell and Matthew Slater have done on the topic of money in the last decade?
The Deep Adaptation Forum would welcome any financial support you can offer via patreon.com.
By Matthew Slater (Community Forge & Deep Adaptation Forum) and Jem Bendell (University of Cumbria & Deep Adaptation Forum).
Deep Adaptation is firstly and mainly about coming to terms with the end of our way of life, and finding in ourselves and each other loving responses in place of fear and blame. Many people, having dwelled in that space for a while, then seek various forms of meaningful action, usually around living more fully and trying to reduce future harm. Increasingly, people are putting energy into re-localising their societies and economies. The rationale for such action is often quite personal. In our experience of engaging with people who are seeking to localise their lives as part of their deep adaptation, the following ideas often come up:
It is not that all globalisation is all bad, but that there has been a huge imbalance in power at the global level, with the interests of corporations and banks shaping the agendas. Progressive internationalists can point to many benefits. For instance, global technical standards make the internet available to everyone, our electronic devices (somewhat) compatible, and other infrastructure like GPS means no-one (carrying a phone) gets lost any more. Global law like the human rights charter is a fantastic political achievement despite many countries’ neglect of it. Intergovernmental cooperation is also essential for both cutting and drawing down carbon emissions, as well as adapting to the effects of extreme weather on our societies. So it is important to clarify which aspects of life most need to be local, and indeed, regional and national.
There is one really important reason why we need to rebuild local life, which has been hollowed out by the needs of the economic machine in recent decades, and indeed centuries: that reason is resilience.
There are growing debates about how society will respond, breakdown or collapse through the impact of global heating. Probably the most referenced theory of previous societal collapses is Joseph Tainter’s theory of complex societies. He alleges that when the base conditions change, the layer and layers of governance, bureaucracy built up during long periods of stability come crashing down. That means that our means of global governance, global infrastructure, and global trade, are at the greatest risk – ironically the very things our prevailing ideologies have been driving us towards, in the name of efficiency.
Of course Tainter’s collapse is an interpretation of history, not necessarily a prediction of the future, but it gives grounds for thought. It suggests that if say food, or fuel were to become generally scarce, flows of resources towards the most abstract, and complex organs of society would wither. From that theory, perhaps the Bretton Woods institutions, complex trade agreements, international law, the most complex financial instruments, airlines, computer hardware and social networks, could be amongst the first things to fail?
This could be a matter of ‘falling back’, but it could be worse if we have come to depend on those things. For example much food is imported by air, interest rates in all mortgages are globally linked to high risk finance, and we may struggle to imagine life without mobile phones and social networks. If national infrastructure should start to crumble, life could become very difficult.
A great explanation for all this vulnerability can be found in a biology / economics study which shows that efficiency and resilience lie at opposite ends of a spectrum. Generally, more diverse systems encourage more redundancy and more linkages between components, and more uses for each component. Imagine running across a tightrope – you can go pretty fast unless you fall off! Running across the safety net is less efficient but you are less likely to die. The authors stressed that this principle applied in economics as in other fields. “Economics seems in pursuit of monistic goals and all too willing to sacrifice everything for the betterment of market efficiency… Preoccupation with efficiency could propel into disaster.” Capitalism has always been about building greater efficiency (maximising GDP for a given population), and within that the regular financial mishaps have been regarded as mere abberations. The theoretical cost of super-efficiency is the risk of super-accidents, which implies that economic globalisation is setting us up for the mother of all collapses.
There are several formulations of resilience in general terms. Key amongst them is the need avoid single points of failure, by distributing the work and the processing throughout the system. A related goal for resilience is that the same functions should be fulfilled by different mechanisms so that when conditions change in unforseeable ways, some mechanisms are likely still to work. Localisation is desirable for many reasons, but it is systemically important for these reasons, so after that somewhat long introduction to the topic of localisation for deep adaptation, in the remainder of this blog we will look closer at what it could involve. If you would like to engage on this topic, we recommend joining the Community Action discussion group of the Deep Adaptation Forum.
The most prominent localisation movement in UK at the moment is the Transition Town network, which grew out of the systemic thinking of permaculture. That movement has thoroughly explored what localisation entails in the modern context, and piloted many projects. Ecovillages also play an important role in pioneering deeply different ways of life, which many of them can do, as intentional communities.
So let’s take a closer look. The Transition movement emphasises several areas of life in need of localisation, which we will now expound upon, sometimes using examples from other movements:
Food
Food is usually the highest priority because humans require lots of it, every day, and it requires months of preparation and often lots of organisation to produce and prepare it. The industrialised food system depends on massive inputs of fossil fuels, both to power machinery and for fertiliser, and results in high waste, pollution and often poor nutrition. And yet by growing food in gardens, allotments or on public land, families and communities can dramatically reduce dependence on imports and industry. In most countries there is a large informal food scene, consisting of farmers’ markets and part-time, self-sufficient growers alongside people drying, preserving, baking and occasionally serving labour intensive foods – and those who wish to pay the price. Those who want to support local growers and eat organic food with the seasons can find more and more veggie box schemes, formally known as Community Supported Agriculture.
Energy
Energy prices are increasing over the long term, and our supplies in the West have depended on militarised subjugation of people in other countries. Much energy generated in power stations is lost in transit. The imperative to reduce or stop fossil fuel consumption can involve four approaches: reducing energy consumption and changing usage patterns, nuclear power to which many object forcefully, massive solar and wind farms, and small scale renewable energy, owned by individuals or local communities.
Government
In these kinds of matters, the hand of government is everywhere from creating minimum standards, to reporting requirements, and market influence through taxes, grants, and subsidies. Governments, especially local governments are under enormous pressure to cut costs and sell assets, and this creates an environment, not accidentally, favourable to enterprises led by large corporations with better access to credit, lobbying power, cheap labour etc. Many elected representatives and civil servants don’t really understand the full extent of this process, or if they do, they don’t or can’t organise, stick their necks out, and change it. A recent phenomenon in UK, dubbed flatpack democracy has seen citizens organise, get themselves elected, and accomplish useful things at the local level.
Finance
Modern capitalism favours large institutions which can spread risk and maximise profit for shareholders, which means that small and local businesses find it very hard to get loans. Other non-commercial community institutions, including government struggle for viability, especially after a decade of austerity. Philanthropic funding increasing comes with demands that revenue streams be developed. UK has a law called ‘community right to bid’ which allows local groups to purchase local assets and amenities like post offices, village shops or community pubs. The Plukett foundation helps communities to organise themselves, and the UK government helps them to issue shares for such purposes. We are watching another initiative which aims to create local care cooperatives as an alternative to crumbling state care system. All of this is a far cry from reversing the centralising effect of the last forty years of capitalism.
Currency
The difficulty of all of these things points towards deeper drivers. A number of local money projects in UK were spawned from Transition Towns initiatives, which helped to show the public that money is not the simple/neutral tool it may appear to be to the casual user, but could be designed differently. But the low traction of these projects also showed just how intractable money and assumptions about it are. We critiqued these projects elsewhere. Other initiatives like LETS and timebanking reimagine non-monetary currencies, supporting value-flows and exchange within communities, without banks, debt or government behind the accounting unit. In a forthcoming blog, we will offer two new ideas for local monetary innovation which build on these efforts, while focusing particularly on currency and payment systems that would survive an economic (and banking) collapse.
Leisure
In an era of fuel scarcity we shall have to re-learn how to holiday and play closer to home. In the UK, hardworking people often escape to the sunshine, but a more resilient attitude might be to focus on building quality relationships and having fun with other people, sometimes called ‘staycationing’. Cultivating musical talent, group activities and festivals, form another thread in the transition culture.
Our minds
For the Transition movement, “inner transition” is the mental, psychological and spiritual processes that accompany the social, economic and political transition to a post-peak oil world. It can be a personal or collective process and bears a lot in common with Deep Adaptation. These practices and ideas can be more intense in intentional communities, where living more closely together requires a higher degree of knowledge of self and trust of others.
Learning from the Limits of Localisation Past
There’s one more reason the localisation agenda chimes with Deep Adaptation. We don’t know how meaningful any of our efforts will be on trajectory of climate or the global response of humanity. Perhaps the future will disagree with Tainter and our society will collapse from the bottom up! So what is important to us about the localisation agenda and the practical things people are doing in relation to it, is that it is about a more vibrant way of living right now. Localisation points towards a more grounded, more connected, more human way of life in contrast with the ‘alienation’ many people feel from their work, families and neighbours. Helena Norberg Hodge promotes it for this reason, calling it “The Economics of Happiness”.
In Western countries, these efforts at environmentally-friendly localisation have been around for decades. So as we reflect on the implications for Deep Adaptation, it is useful to consider the limitations of current and past initiatives. Many of them have failed to spread to economically disadvantaged communities. The accusation then heard from some critics is that movements like Transition are elitist and excluding. While the limited extent or diversity of any movement can seem like an unfair criticism of hard-working, well-meaning volunteers, it is nevertheless a central issue for an agenda as all-encompassing as Deep Adaptation. Therefore, a key question for people interested in localisation to promote resilience for unfolding societal breakdowns and likely collapse is to learn from those limitations.
We can learn from situations in other countries where resilience has been improved in the past. In Cuba, for instance, where the past trade embargo led to self-reliant organic agriculture across the whole country. Or in Kenya, where people living on only a few dollars (equivalent) a day in informal settlements have reduced poverty without foreign aid money by issuing their own currencies. We do not know for certain the reasons for these successes, but the answers might be found in:
a) Community leaders convening those local people with the capacity to explore issues, prioritise actions and implement them in ways that reduce dependence on support from outside.
b) Focusing those initial actions on acknowledging and mobilising existing community assets, in order to collaboratively meet immediate needs.
Unfortunately, when funders get involved, they often start by bringing a deficit mindset, characterising communities by what is lacking. External funders’ agendas and mechanisms then privilege a few people in a community who are best able to look outside the community for answers and, once funded, begin to think on behalf of the funder as much as the community. It is why one of us has argued previously for a more solidarity-based approach from grant makers in the face of climate-induced collapse.
For more on this subject, see this Poetry of Predicament podcast.
The Deep Adaptation Forum would welcome any financial support you can offer via patreon.com.
The following are some of the films and audios of Jem Bendell and/or others talking about aspects of Deep Adaptation to impending societal breakdowns due to climate disruption. It is not the happiest of topics and yet these recordings can be empowering if one has been struggling with difficult emotions arising from the latest environmental and humanitarian news.
Audio (interviews/podcasts)
BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth, half hour documentary with Jem Bendell and others discussing the new phenomenon of eco-anxiety. (July 2019)
Interview with Toni Spencer about the emotional and spiritual implications: Deep Adaptation, Leaning into Liberation & Climate Change with Toni Spencer. (May 2019)
Radio 5 Live interview about the spreading concern about social implications of the climate emergency, (only 6 mins) with Alex Lockwood & Naresh Giangrande. (May 2019)
Interview about the emotional and psychological implications of our predicament with Jem Bendell by Amisha Ghadiali, for the Future is Beautiful podcast: Acceptance and evolution in the face of global meltdoown. (December 2018)
Interview with Jem Bendell by Dean Spillane Walker about the personal challenge of having these conversations in personal and professional life: What does it mean to engage in Deep Adaptation. (February 2019)
Interview with Jem Bendell, for a US radio show, on the activist implications of our climate predicament: This is Hell. (April 2019)
Interview on the potential spiritual implications of our predicament, with Jem Bendell by Daniel Thorson for the Emerge podcast: The Meaning and Joy of Inevitable Social Collapse. (March 2019)
Videos (talks and interviews)
First public lecture by Prof Jem Bendell on Deep Adaptation in Bristol, UK with Toni Spencer, presenting the general arguments. (December 2018)
Speech at Preston New Road anti-fracking protest, by Jem Bendell, focusing on the need for extending the rebellion into our working lives, and including adaptation within it: Come clean or step down. (April 2019)
Speech to launch the International Rebellion of Extinction Rebellion, in Oxford Circus, by Jem Bendell. The shorter version, showing protests as well and the full version: Mother earth says #metoo. (April 2019)
Speech at the UN about the climate emergency, by Prof Jem Bendell. (October 2018)
Interview with Jem Bendell by Scientists Warning, as a montage video. (January 2019)
Videos (short films)
Grieve Play Love, a short film by Prof Bendell about the psycho-spiritual impacts of coming to terms with the disruptions from climate chaos. (March 2019)
Sand Castle, a short film on ecological breakdown through the eyes of a 13 year old. (June 2019)
Videos (Deep Adaptation Forum Q & A, hosted by Prof Jem Bendell)
Jem Bendell (April 2019).
Carolyn Baker, author of Collapsing Consciously and Return to Joy (May (2019).
Joanna Macy, author of Coming Back to Life and founder of The Work That Reconnects facilitation methods (June 2019).
Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (July 2019).
Deb Ozarko, former host of the Unplug podcast and the author of Beyond Hope: Letting Go of a World in Collapse (August 2019).
Adrian Tait, cofounder of the Climate Psychology Alliance (September 2019).
More on Jem’s YouTube channel.
Audio (monologues)
The original Deep Adaptation paper
Other languages to download are here.
If you would like to propose an AV resource to be considered here, please use the contact form and say why it will be helpful to include.
In the Deep Adaptation Forum we have convened 700 people so far from around the world who want to collaborate around different adaptation themes. But Deep Adaptation implies learning and coordination at the local level perhaps more than the global level. It requires building real working relationships, understanding the local sentiment, local risks and local government. Therefore the Forum made available some funding and support for several local events called Deep Adaptation Dialogues.
We invited Forum members to submit their ideas, and are proud to announce the following 6 events, all of which are either free to attend or low cost. They will use the Open Space approach to participatory dialogue. To attend these events you should join the forum and click ‘Going’ on the relevant event page.
Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Tipperary, Ireland, Jun 8, 2019 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Cloughjordan Ecovillage / Cultivate / Extinction Rebellion Ireland (XRI)
Many of us in Cloughjordan Ecovillage now feel that Extinction Rebellion and adapting for imminent societal hardship and collapse will be the most appropriate focus for our own livelihoods. We see the Ecovillage being a sort of life-boat destination in the coming years and feel that Deep Adaptation thinking is absolutely needed to ensure the most support can be offered to the existing and future community. To register.
Edinburgh Scotland, Jun 15, 2019 from 1:00pm to 4:30pm.
Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace EH1 2JL.
Climate Psychology Alliance & Green House think tank
Both the CPA and Green House have been discussing and communicating about facing up to the reality of climate change and impacts for some time. We have close links with: Extinction Rebellion (Edinburgh and UK), Transition movement, Scottish Green Party, Adaptation Scotland and the Scottish Government, the Centre for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University and various practitioners and academics in Scotland interested in transformational change, resilience and adaptation. We sense the interest, desire and need for engaging in the kinds of conversations that this event will make possible. We would like to see a community of interest form around these topics that works to shape policy and action in Scotland. Scotland is different to England/UK in that citizens are closer to government/politicians so there is greater potential to influence change. To register.
Lancaster, Jul 14, 2019 from 9:30am to 5:00pm (at University of Cumbria)
Hosted by Jem Bendell & Katie Carr. This is an Open Space dialogue, convening peoppe from the NW of UK. Register here.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (date to be decided)
Convene group of individuals concerned about collapse to discuss what this means for our lives and work. NOTE: This is in an early stage of planning so details to follow.
Cape Town, Nov 7, 2019 to Nov 8, 2019
Yes and no: Africa Clockwise/Harlequin Foundation for eMzantsi community-building project/Diversatile
We will spend two days frankly analysing the local context and model respectful and nurturing ways of interacting with emphasis on inclusivity and representation from outset. We will take stock of our strengths as a collective and share expertise and ideas. We will lay the foundations of a wide trust-network, ready to face of a crisis such as Day Zero or Cyclone Idai. Registration info to follow.
USA, Great Barrington MA, Oct 13, 2019 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm EDT
Bard College at Simon’s Rock
We want to build connections in our local community around ways to support emotional, spiritual, and practical well-being in these challenging times. While one of the focii will be regenerative and sustainable agriculture as we live in an agricultural area, we are interested in supporting deep adaptation on many levels. We welcome all voices in our community to these very significant conversations. This is a coalition effort, including three local initiatives in addition to the college: Living the Change, the South Berkshires Climate Change and Consciousness Hub, and Alliance for a Viable Future. Registration info to follow.
Stockon-upon-Tees, Sep 14, 2019 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
University of Sunderland
Stockon-upon-Tees is an area of relative urban deprivation with a high concentration of artists, writers and creative professionals from working class backgrounds. We will bring together 15-20 such people to create a dialogue around Deep Adaptation themes while provided with a meal, so we can particularly think about food security and sustainability in areas of relative deprivation. This will take place in the SEEK Bakery, an environmentally-focused, bicycle-run artist/artisan food project that works to make links between food, ecology, art, feminism, trauma and mental health. Registration info to follow.
Read more about the dialogues, and about our approach to facilitation of gatherings.
In addition to these free dialogues, Prof Bendell is also leading a course in the Lake District in July. Information here.
Read the paper itself (2020 revision)
Listen (via SoundCloud)
Apple Book (epub 2018)
Kindle (mobi 2018)
Chinese PDF (2020 ed) with the help of Shu Liang
Czech PDF (2020 ed.) by Nick Zeller
German PDF (2018 ed.) by Carsten Zwolferschritte
French PDF (2018 ed.) by Marc Boyer, with the help of Sophie Leader & Julien Lecaille
Greek PDF (2018 ed.) by Tryfon Farmakakis
Hungarian PDF (2018 ed.)by Emese Orosz et al with Kata Visy
Italian PDF (2020 ed.) by Emanuele Coluccia and Pierfilippo Pierucci. Revision by Marta Dorigo Salamon.
Lithuanian web page by Simona Vaitkute
Polish PDF (2018 ed.) by Arkadiusz Wierzba
Portuguese PDF (2018 ed.)
Russian PDF (2020 ed.) by Arseny Konnov and Dimitry Khalyullin. Editors: Diana Shalyapina and Igor Polsky
Spanish PDF (2020 ed.) by Eva Calleja, Fernando García Ferreiro, Julio James, Rebeca Robles, César García Valderrama.
Thai PDF (2018 ed.) by Wanchat Theeranaew
Translations of the DA Paper are alleged to be in process for the following languages:
To check on the state of advancement of these translations, or to collaborate with other translators, please see here.
Hundreds of professionals are gathering on the Deep Adapation Forum to find each other and collaborate. A new monthly online Q&A series gives you an opportunity to put a question to a leading thinker on personal and collective responses to anticipated collapse due to climate chaos. Each session will be hosted by Professor Jem Bendell.
This year we’ll be talking to:
Carolyn Baker (May)
Watch here
Continue reading “Deep Adaptation Q&As hosted by Jem Bendell”
This is the first recorded lecture on Deep Adaptation, to 300 people in Bristol, UK. It uses a more informal format than a University lecture, inviting the audience to explore forms of action additional to cutting and drawing down carbon from the atmosphere – actions associated with personal and collective preparedness for coming disruption.
The lecture was accompanied by Toni Spencer, a facilitator who works on Deep Adaptation and Transition. She led the audience in a reflective process to explore feelings and ideas emerging. She also offered some poems and reflections during the process.
Members of the Climate Psychology Alliance spoke from the floor, explaining their new initiative to provide therapeutic support to people working on or affected by this agenda.
The event was organized by the local Constituency Labour Party and Momentum group, but made open to anyone with any political interest or none. To engage on this topic see http://www.deepadaptation.info
We thank Emilio Mula for filming and editing and Seeding Our Future for support to make it possible.
Prof Bendell will speak at several more public events in 2019.
Prof Bendell previously appeared on Scientists Warning TV in this collage.
Online, March 27th. Deep Adaptation Q&A Online with Prof Jem Bendell. Bring your questions for a moderated conversation with the originator of the Deep Adaptation framework. 9am to 10am GMT. March 27th. Limited places available.
London. April 13th. Social Collapse: Probability and Psychological Challenges (Climate Psychology Alliance)
London, April 15th. Rebellion Day, Extinction Rebellion.
Preston, UK. April 29th. Green Monday Anti-fracking protest.
Ambleside, UK. April 30th. Q&A meeting with Ambleside Action For A Future. (By invitation only, apply here)
Findhorn ecovillage, Scotland. April 22nd. Climate Change & consciousness (via videolink)
Connect University, Brussels. May 13th. Climate Change: Resilience, Uncivilisation, Rebellion and Technology, with Dougald Hine and others.
Canada, May 23rd. Canadian Society for Ecological Economics keynote (via videolink)
Athens, Greece, June 6th. Doom and Bloom: Lessons from the heart of UK’s Extinction Rebellion. 19.00 – 21.00 @Cooperative Coffee Shop, Monastiriou 140
Anyksciai, Lithuania, June 21st. Q&A at Anyksciai Forest Festival (via videolink)
Kalikalos retreat centre, Greece. June 22-29th. Inner resilience for tending a sacred unravelling.
Lancaster UK, July 14th. “Lancaster Community Dialogue for Deep Adaptation” Using Open Space methods to explore implications and initiatives with communities in the North West of England. Free. 10am to 5pm. Register.
Cumbria UK, July 18-21st. Certificate in Sustainable Leadership short course, including sessions on Deep Adaptation.
Somerset UK, September 11-12th. Green Earth Awakening camp 2019, Buddhafield festival
Cumbria UK, September 24-27th. Deep Adaptation Retreat (with Katie Carr).
Devon UK, October 13-18th. Kissing the Void Retreat with Toni Spencer.
London UK October 19th. Sleepwalking into the Anthropocene – the new age of anxiety Speech to UK Council for Psychotherapy conference.
December. Speaking to COP25 conference in Chile by videolink
Please sign up to my quarterly newsletter for more detailed information.
If you would like Jem to appear in a meeting you are organising, then consider applying to the Deep Adaptation Forum to host a dialogue. Info here.
Professor Jem Bendell 
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