http://www.youtube.com/user/TZMOfficialChannel

Perhaps you would like to fill in some gaps of your scientific knowledge, but would like to view it in an entertaining & accessible way?

Maybe Interested in some out of the box perspectives on critical thinking?
YouTube: QualiaSoup
or
YouTube: TheraminTrees

Or would like to hear new ideas on many different subjects, that are ‘shifting the moral zeitgeist’?
http://www.ted.com/talks

In any case, there is a world of information available, programs like BBC horizon report on many different science subjects frequently & of course it all comes down to personal taste. We are currently working on a databank link on this site & would welcome any suggestions.

This is significant, as every other suggested institutional solution, relies on ‘authority’ within a human hierarchy for implementation. An open sourced technocracy ensures decisions are arrived at, through collaboration based on evidence & a transparent peer review process.

For more information, please see the following:

Link to event details: http://www.zeitgeistaustralia.org/ai1ec_event/australia-wide-teamspeak-meeting-open-to-all/

Dear Julia

I am writing to you because you are the leader of the nation of which I am a citizen. Though the matter about which I write is essentially a global issue, the inability at this point for the international community to overcome the barriers that divide us into separate nations, compels me to pursue this matter at the highest level of governance within my own nation. I do believe that it is possible for Australia to stand up and take the lead that is required in the face of this issue.

Julia, as you are close to my age, I am quite sure that in the 1970s you attended high school and were compulsorily required to study science as a core subject. I can clearly recall that the “greenhouse effect”, caused by the increasing concentration of certain gases in the atmosphere, was well and truly accepted and documented in our science text books at that time. I also recall doing an experiment which entailed growing bacteria in a petri dish that contained a nutrient rich medium. Several days later, the teacher warned us not to open the petri dish because the bacteria population, which had consumed all the available nutrients, had died in its own toxic waste.  This warning proved to be too much of a temptation for at least one of us in the class and one or more petri dishes were opened.  The stench exuded from those petri dishes was overwhelming and nauseating. As I sit here today, I can, more than ever, appreciate the inclusion of those lessons in the curriculum and yet I sadly ponder why, we the students of that era, did not apply our understanding of nature to the real world when we left school.

We are bound by the same limits and laws of nature as those bacteria in the petri dish. The abundant supply of nutrients that has allowed an exponential growth of the human population has only been possible by the large scale burning of fossil fuels. The toxic waste of this consumption may be primarily an odourless gas, but everything associated with this exponential growth truly does stink. The multifaceted crises, that we continue to accelerate towards, are just as well accepted and documented as those two science lessons that we were taught in school nearly 40 years ago.  Unlike bacteria though, we have a highly evolved brain that possesses both consciousness of the consequences of unrestrained growth and a moral conscience that is screaming at us to do something about it. If we choose to ignore the reality of our situation, and continue with mindless consumption and growth, we must accept that we have consciously chosen the same fate as the bacteria in the petri dish. I do not believe that any informed and sane person would make that choice.

Julia I believe that you do genuinely care about the future of this planet. With that in mind, I would like to invite you attend “The Automatic Earth Tour” on Sunday March 17^th at the Big Pineapple on the Sunshine Coast. My partner and I would also like to extend the invitation to have you and your partner stay as guests at our home on the Sunshine Coast on that weekend. I understand that you might not be able accept this invitation so I have included a link that advertises the dates and locations of this event as it moves around Australia. The main speaker is Nicole Foss and the picture she paints, with eloquence and raw honesty, is alarming. But it is also a call, for every one of us, to seriously consider how we are going to best survive in a post carbon world. Nicole claims that our governments are not going to save us from collapse and that we must prepare lifeboats at individual and local community level. I would like to think that the Australian Government and society at large can work together to prove her wrong.

Recently your unprecedented early announcement of a date for the next federal election was lauded by many as an example of great leadership. Leadership of this nature is required on all fronts to tackle the real issues that confront humanity at this point in history. Business as usual is irrefutably leading us to a future that we do not want to see written in the history text books of our great grandchildren. The island nation upon which you and I walk is uniquely positioned, in many ways, to be a model of sustainable and just human habitation. You may or may not be the Prime Minister after the next election, but regardless, I implore you to heed the lessons we teach in our schools and to make the most of your position to lead us forward in a direction that nature necessitates.

Yours sincerely,

(name removed for anonymity)

Many organizations, movements and initiatives have sprung up to take on the challenge of transitioning society to a more sustainable paradigm – some emerging from the grass-roots, others from the political sphere, and still others from the arena of innovation. However, despite the many small successes that deserve recognition and celebration, we are facing ever more concerning challenges and the discourse is shifting only incrementally. For this it is imperative that we collaborate with others, using shared platforms for communication and action, to engage the range of skills and wisdom of a wide range of change-agents – and strengthen our response to this impending crisis.

A new platform for communication, collaboration, and convergence of action has been established by a on-profit coalition of change-agents whose focus is on the all-out effort that must be harnessed in order to reach our shared goal. Sustainability Showcase is this platform – a platform whose express intent is to “catalyze a confluence for sustainability”, defining the discourse for a transition toward sustainability. This showcasing of strategies for sustainability involves bi-annual touring summits with presentations and panels from leaders in the field of sustainability who share the common ground of an understanding of our shared predicament and a need to collaborate in order to survive. Another card up the Sustainability Showcase sleeve is a magazine, to be released monthly from mid-2013, whose content is sourced from field leaders in sustainability. And perhaps the ace in the deck may turn out to be the web-based networking platform, exploiting with integrity the fervour of social media toward a purpose befitting the label of humanity.

The Sustainability Showcase event series is kicking off 2013 with the Automatic Earth Tour from March to May, featuring, among some of the best local Aussie talent, international speaker Nicole Foss. An international sustainability and finance expert, Foss’ list of credentials is as long as anyone’s arm, and rarely is she stumped by any challenging question. Senior editor for The Automatic Earth, Foss explains the links between the converging pressures facing the world – peak oil, financial crisis, and climate change, to name but a few – and the implications of these pressure for our everyday lives and what we can do to address them.

Unveiling a communication platform not unlike TED or TEDx, Sustainability Showcase events create opportunities for individuals and representatives of groups to present, and seek support for, strategies for edging society toward sustainability, and shifting the discourse of a paradigm on the brink. Bringing together like and unlike-minds under the umbrella of shared intent, goals and understandings, Sustainability Showcase is the opportunity of an era for us to converge, not compete, for strategic solutions to our planetary emergency.

The time has come, the confluence is here, and we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Check out the Automatic Earth tour website for details of an event near you. You may also want to check out Sustainability Showcase and the Automatic Earth Tour on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date with Showcase tour information as it is released.

• Zeitgeist Addendum
• Zeitgeist Moving Forward

The Zeitgeist Movement series and other material owned by Gentle Machines Production can be downloaded for free from the official websites.

If you have any questions you can contact the Australian TZM chapter.

Please contact mason.l {at} zeitgeistaustralia(.)org with your full name, mobile phone number, postal address and postcode, Facebook link and email if interested.

Distribution Volunteer Responsibilities

DVDs are sent in lots of 300 or so to a distribution volunteer. We want at least one volunteer in each State.

Upon the arrival of DVDs the volunteer must:

- Send an email to mason.l {at} zeitgeistaustralia(.)org to confirm the package has arrived.
- Put individual DVDs into sleeves (sleeves will also be sent to your address if you are a volunteer).
- Bundle packaged DVDs according to their specific title into lots of 20 using rubber bands. (keep titles of DVDs separate for accounting purposes)
- Test one DVD of each title to make sure it is in working condition
- Count the total amount of DVDs for each title (eg 150 zeitgeist addendum, 50 owned and operated, 100 ZMF)
- Send the total count for each title to mason.l {at} zeitgeistaustralia(.)org.
-You will be given a postage route (with a unique ID and boundary) in your local area.
- Once you have completed a route email mason.l {at} zeitgeistaustralia(.)org
It’s quite a lot of work but you can choose how frequently you wish to volunteer.

Thank you,
Mason.

A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.

- Albert Einstein

The new orientation guide Part 1, aka The Zeitgeist Movement Defined, proves a solid introduction to the concepts, aims and ethos of Zeitgeist Movement. This  36 page booklet outlines the origin of the movement’s name and structure, and it presents a wealth of resources and a good deal of information on The Zeitgeist Movement’s goals and rationale.

This hard-copy guide is an essential read for any serious Zeitgeist Movement activist, and people interested in deep investigation/research of the organization’s philosophy and proposals for a sustainable alternative system.

Please note that this guide is actively under development, with only Part I of IV available. The other 3 sections/16 essays will be released as they are completed. If you find a typo, please email us.

This guide can also be downloaded in a PDF format here or viewed online here.

A hard-copy of the guide can be ordered via our Order Section.