Earth - Financial or Life Asset?
Global Ark Projects is a not-for-profit networking hub, which aims to place funds where they are needed to feed a grassroots response to global environmental change.
It has been formed by people, for people, and especially for children everywhere.
It supports a holistic approach to salvaging our planet home through the exchange of knowledge.
Linda Beamish
Design Consultant, Eco-Designs.co.uk
and
Founder/Chair of www.GlobalArkProjects.com
Where are we?
In spite of Agenda 21, the Brundtland Report 1987, Stockholm 1972, and a raft of environmental and ecological analyses from as far back as the 1950’s and 60’s, nothing has been completely or comprehensively orchestrated to respond to or prevent the suffering of human beings due to climate change. Political responses offer only top-down proposals which are failing to involve the majority of people on this planet
As a caring parent, trying to provide my children with the opportunity of ‘A’ tomorrow, I know we all have to work together now, to try to rebalance this planet. But I am fortunate. What about all those who have no access to the resources needed to help their own children, now and in the future?
This is not about changing the shopping trends of those who care. We will be directory with a social conscience, generating income through cooperative links; through non-profit distribution supporting Earth regeneration and irrigation, and by supporting people to reclaim affordable and sustainable lives in a rebalanced environment.
We need to further raise awareness of the problems we face in this World and would ask to be introduced to people who care as much as you. What we are proposing requires seed capital to begin, for example, advertising and forging links with a search engine provider. Once operational our project will have a commercially viable income generator for its intended work.
We aim to establish restorative, ecological, sustainable community living projects, providing affordable homes to people who need them most, and who are prepared to work on innovative, restoration and land management programmes and then share their knowledge with others.
Comprehensive, inclusive and cooperative links are proposed, connecting individuals, families and organisations through a virtual hub which will be firmly rooted set at community level where it is needed the most, and where urgent action is needed for maximum effect and benefit for the Earth.
As an evolutionary concept; if the human species were a plant, would it really grow from its flowering head down to its roots? With over 80% of the human plant as its root system, it was inadvisable to remove the Earth’s nutrients from the networking base on which all its life was dependant. This planet has been and is being raped of its resources.
A grass-roots system is needed – a most appropriate term - to spread across all waste and dry land in order to begin healing our planet. As single blades of grass in a desert, we are scorched, but as an interconnected, comprehensive and cooperatively linked network, we can turn the desert green.
We reject corporate and political solutions which promise much and deliver little as our climate changes. We believe that change must begin at the roots – at the level of each individual human being. It is a web of such people, their ideas, projects, energy and synergy that our project is all about. Not power to the people, but powered by the people.
What is Global Ark?
The concept of Global Ark was initiated by a feasibility study to form a sustainable community living project in Norfolk, which continues to be under development. During this study it was noted that a Yale University project has been asking why so few people are living sustainably.
We all know, or think we know, about climate change, and many believe that the State recognises the issues and the need to live sustainably. However, those who are trying to prepare plans and proposals for ecological buildings and sustainable community living projects (SCLPs) which can only be of environmental benefit, still encounter difficulties negotiating innovative and, sometimes, unusual proposals through the traditional consent processes in this country.
Parents the whole planet over are aware through theory or daily reality of the likely impact of climate change for the future of their children, and the millions suffering and dying due to the effects of climate change are already having their ‘Right to Life’ taken away from them.
The global commercial emphasis on profitability is itself unsustainable, and untenable for the planet’s population. Minimising investments and maximising profit whilst seeing nature as an industrial resource is creating an imbalance which we will find hard, if not impossible to rectify.
Although United Nations Agenda 21, 1992, encourages the cooperation and inclusive policies which set to empower those suffering exclusion and deprivation, with specific reference to the role of women in sustainable community projects, the search to date for grant aid to establish Global Ark is proving difficult. How do you establish a track record in order to attract funds when you need funds to establish a track record?
Global Ark and its projects aim to work below the level of the political or corporate – at the individual or small group level. We present no threat to the aims of global idealists, just seek the opportunity to connect those of a like mind around the world who have something to give and who wish to learn from others about living sustainably, and re-learning the skills necessary to reduce our impact on the Earth.
It is the individual multiplied by millions that will save this planet. It is Global Ark’s aim that we play a part in bringing about the networking information exchange culture that will allow this to happen.
Our concept of rural and urban regenerative, sustainable community living projects offers a new model for the future. It is about small scale, individualistic and ecological living with an opportunity to grow through knowledge exchange. We aim to connect the rural and urban with the indigenous. We will use technology – Pandora’s box is open – but to heal, not exploit.
Once financially seeded and established, Global Ark Projects will generate the income needed through the Ark’s environmental and ethical directory and we will redistribute net profits to, amongst other objects:
- ·Form further restorative, self-sustainable community living projects - globally
- ·Support ‘water for all’ projects
- ·Support ‘education for all’ projects
- ·Support other third-sector organisations, charities and other NPDs
- ·Fund solar and wave powered desalination plants, feasibly providing water wherever possible to:
- ·Give a regular supply of clean drinking water to those in need
- ·Irrigate as much of the 41% total landmass currently classified as dryland
- ·Provide local industry where it is needed most, through sales of refined minerals extracted in desalination (table salt to lithium - itself needed for storage of solar energy)
The work of re-greening our planet incrementally will then have begun.
What now?
The answer lies with you.
Consensually:
If you agree, please join us and tell friends you are connected to: http://www.globalarkprojects.com
Have your say, take part and join us. Let us know your own questions, needs and answers, and help us to help others to provide all the answers you need.
For more information please email:
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N.B. This document is open for your own use to recopy or print without need to ask for copyright for all those in agreement with the ideas, goal and statement of this document, but the original concept is retained by Global Ark Projects.
This document and its concept must not be used for personal, individual, professional, company, corporate or any governing body's profit, gain or other. Please ensure that accreditation remains with www.globalarkprojects.com, it must not be claimed as your own, and all intellectual property rights are retained by the originator, and protected by and for individual/s forming the original consensual document as shown via email or web-space, and in entirety as referenced in the full report's study of findings as shown on our website/s.
Acknowledgement –
With great thanks to:
(All great teachers, benefactors, providers and facilitators)
Tony Smith MA, Architect and Lecturer in Construction at the College of West Anglia (Final Editing cuts, thoughts and updates)
Mike Wyatt – Mike Wyatt Photography – Website Design & Construction
Michelle Harrison; Secretary & P.A., Global Ark Projects & The Tree Ark Project.
Laura Boughen, Educational Liaison Leader; Global Ark Projects & The Tree Ark Project.
Cat Williams, Treasurer; Global Ark Projects & The Tree Ark Project.
Debbie Grint, Youth Team Co-Ordinator; Global Ark Projects & The Tree Ark Project.
Graham Grint, Visitor (alternative) Transport Co-Ordinator; The Tree Ark Project.
Ron Peach, Sustainable Construction Co-Ordinator; The Tree Ark Project.
Fiona Peach, Woodland & Community Garden Co-Ordinator; The Tree Ark Project.
Han, Project Assistant & Administrator; The Tree Ark Project.
DW, Project Assistant & Administrator; The Tree Ark Project.
Caroline Russell, Website Administrative Co-Ordinator; Global Ark Projects.
LMac, Networking Co-Ordinator; Global Ark Projects.
Felicity Fickling, Campaign Assistant; Global Ark Projects.
Stuart Walduck, Website Administrator; Global Ark Projects.
FV, (Canada)Youth Team Leader & Sustainable Community Networking Co-Ordinator; Global Ark Projects.
& My own dear children, who have never complained throughout the formation of these proposals.
Bless you all three: Patrick & Izzy Beamish, and Stuart Walduck.
Avril Fox, Author “The Emerging Ethic”, “Green Design”. AND Community Member, The Tree Ark Project
And with great thanks for help and advise from:
Jenny Lonsdale, Director, The Environmental Investigations Agency
Peter & Joanna Phelps, Earth Restoration Service
Margaret, Generation Journey
Jacki Hill-Murphy, Pink Ginger Films – Film offer
Richard Dix, Positive Computing
Paul Binns, IT/Design
Debz, networking
Keith Bendell, The Guild
Tony Doy, Business Link
Dr Stuart Weinstein, University of Hertfordshire - Covenant
Liane Ward, Operations Manage, CUE-East, University of East Anglia
Professor Brian Heap & Professor Michael Kelly, Cambridge University
Charles Leventon, National Rural Knowledge Exchange
Dr. Ben Darvill, Bumblebee Conservation Trust Director
Rod Kirkby & Jim Cleland, Polynous International
Richard Weavis, Greening Campaign
Sam, Eastern Synergy – 2nd and 3rd Ark sustainable community living projects
Lida Logan, Author; A Wayward Intellect
Rob Walker, Sustainable Community Office, Breckland Council
Carolyn Jenkins & Simon Sanderson, USSC
Lynn Murray, Biodiversity Studies
Harry Sankey, Harry Sankey Design
Colin Williams, Building Consultancy
Jon Jackson – Design for Screen & Print
Alice Bason, Little Acorn Networking, & Boudicca Marketing Services
Lesley Kershaw, WEETU
Joy & Tim, Crossways – for lending ‘Al Gore; Climate Change – An Inconvenient Truth’
The Brief
