Sustainable Development/Sustainable Capitalism Is The Unacknowledged Creator Of Climate Change! How Sustainable Is That?

Surprising quote from that I saw today on Facebook 16 Jan 2024, source Dead Poets Society, with Robin Williams starring: “Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” To me, those 2 sentences of 25 words accidentally or not, embody the essence of “regenerative” – we do not wish to merely sustain life but to regenerate it. My wish is for “Regenerative Capitalism” in lieu of what we have today, “Sustainable Capitalism.” Let’s see how Sustainable is not sustainable!

(“Sustainable” from pngegg.com, quotes from facebook.com)

Yes, the one we have today, “Sustainable Capitalism” is the one that is bringing us all these “ecological catastrophes” – among these being devastating floods, ruinous droughts – because by man-made rules we are violating the laws of Mother Nature.

“Sustainable Development” or “Sustainable Capitalism” – it cannot be denied that the pursuit for sustainability has brought about unsustainability, being the cause of Climate Change!

I am an agriculturist, so I concentrate on what happened in agriculture that include these 7 losses:

1.     Loss of biodiversity

2.     Loss of soil fertility

3.     Loss of healthy crops

4.     Loss of healthy harvests

5.     Loss of healthy customers

6.     Loss of healthy incomes

7.     Loss of healthy villages!

Why because, as Michael J Coren says, “Capitalism Without Natural Capital Isn’t Sustainable” (24 Sept 2020, Quartz, qz.com):

Capitalism has destruction woven into its DNA. The endless stream of new inventions and ideas supplying new jobs and new things for businesses to sell comes courtesy of “creative destruction.”

That is how Man’s Creativity has become Man’s Enemy!

Here is another misguided thinking. The 11^th President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam says (smartschoolerp.com):

When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.

“When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes” – that is exactly the problem with creative capitalism, its focus being on the economy and not the environment that includes us people!

Let us continue with what Mr Coren says:

… Destruction begets creation.

Yet some destruction is needless environmental devastation. Amazonian rainforest is burned for cattle pasture, then abandoned. Fertile soil is washed away by industrial farming. Even something as innocuous as a Google search is powered by fossil fuel plants far away emitting greenhouse gases. After two centuries of this accumulated damage, and an overheating climate, capitalism’s trajectory is beginning to look like a bad ending to one of Hollywood’s apocalypse movies.

“Even something as innocuous as a Google search is powered by fossil fuel plants far away emitting greenhouse gases” – I did not realize that until I read Mr Coren! I knew before that it is the greenhouses gases (GHGs) that create that atmospheric roof that presents earthly heat from disappearing into the wild blue yonder; instead, the GHGs reflect back the Earth’s heat back to Earth, which is what causes those disastrous droughts, frightful floods and crop catastrophes.

What else do we want?!@517

How Good Is “Sustainable Capitalism” AKA “Creative Capitalism” Vs “Regenerative Capitalism”?

I am in hot pursuit of the idea of development. For you to see where I’m coming from now, I will quote the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Christian Bible: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” I see: “Pursue peace” and “Pursue holiness” – you have to pursue peace in terms of all people, or you will never see peace; likewise, you have to pursue development in terms of all life, or you will never pursue development.

I never heard anyone ask, “How good is ‘Sustainable Development’ or ‘Creative Development’ compared to ‘Regenerative Development’”? I think the best way to ask the question is this: “How good is ‘Sustainable Capitalism’ or ‘Creative Capitalism’ compared to ‘Regenerative Capitalism’”?
(Images: “Sustainable” from linkedin.com, “Creative Capitalism” from goodreads.com, “Regenerative” from inc.com)

If you look at the middle image, you can easily equate “Creative Capitalism” (image from goodreads.com,) with the lives of billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. You want to be a millionaire, right?

Not to be outdone, if you look at the bottom image (from Inc, inc.com), you can also equate “Regenerative Capitalism” as supporting all forms of life, not only people but trees, forests, animals, marine life. That is how you will pursue peace & prosperity in all the world, not only with people!

Maureen Kline says, “Let's All Get Behind Regenerative Capitalism” (inc, inc.com):

Capitalism has never been static, and it continues to develop. It has evolved through the Industrial Revolution, been shaped by Hayek, Keynes and Milton Friedman, and weathered the Lehman Brothers collapse. Now the excesses of economic inequality and atmospheric carbon are provoking a backlash that could lead us into a more equitable, conscious capitalism than we have been used to.

Meanwhile, Minou & Parnela say (23 Sept 2021, The Green Sprint, thegreensprint.com):

The Green Sprint is one of those asserting the need to be “Going Beyond Sustainability. The Shift To Regenerative Capitalism & Post-Growth.”

… Once we created a sustainable world and achieved all the Sustainable Development Goals we can call it quits right? Unfortunately not. Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development goals would be already a tremendous achievement. But we all know that if [we] truly want to give humanity a chance to thrive on this planet, we need to go beyond “sustaining” and start regenerating.

The Green Sprint differentiates them:

Sustainable Development: “Meeting needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” – Brundtland Committee

Brundtland Committee: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” What the Brundtland Committee missed is that the needs are not only of people but all life! So, revised version of development, from me learning from The Green Spirit:

Regenerative Development: “Meeting present needs of all living organisms without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own living needs.”

Look at the bottom image again; with “The Green Spirit,” we can begin constructing the desirable world now, today, pronto!@517

2 Frank's Human Intelligences Lists Appropriate For Regenerative Individuals & Organizations For Development (hilario4D)

Regenerative Development is what the world needs now, from the well-developed to the least-developed countries of the world, from America to Zimbabwe. What “regenerative” needs is, first, to differentiate itself from “sustainable.”

I first wrote about sustainable development in 2007 (see my book “Team ICRISAT Champions The Poor,” International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, page 19). Today, Saturday, 13-01-24, I realize that “sustainable development” is inferior to “regenerative development.” That explains my new blog slogan: “Sustainable Development is Expensive; Regenerative Development is Expansive.”
(“Regenerative” from resonanceglobal.com, “Regenerative Development” from bfi.org)

History: I have just googled and found that the concept of “regenerative development” (RegDev) was proposed in 1995 yet by the Regenesis Group (Ecolise, wiki.ecolise.eu). About RegDev, the Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) says (30 Jan 2018, bfi.org):

The Regenesis group is a design consultancy that specializes in a regenerative approach to land use, community development and the built environment. They have created an illuminating video series introducing basic concepts of Regenerative Development. Take a look and learn about their integrative approach moving beyond problem[-]solving to realize new potential[s] within living systems.

“Regenerative Development… beyond problem-solving to realize new potentials within living systems” – that is what I am looking for in coming out with my concept 2 lists of Human Intelligences Likely Appropriate For Regenerative Individuals & Organizations For Development (hilario4D). Today, everywhere, politics is passé – hilario4D is designed to help bring about regeneration within the country, any country.

Not simply what the United Nations would define & declare as “Development” but “Regenerative Development,” going from A to Z, starting from, say, Abaca (troubled) to Zoning (needs improvement) – the whole works in the world!

For Regenerative Development, we will need Multiple Intelligences (MI) applied to multiple areas for development.

Multiple intelligences is the advanced concept of education originated by Harvard professor Howard Gardner. In 1983, Gardner published his theory of MI in his book Frames Of Mind (Basic Books, 440 pages, scirp.org). I will now refer to multiple intelligences as “Regenerative Intelligences (RI).” Here then is my RI list:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
3. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
4. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
5. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
6. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
7. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
8. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
9. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

MI is regenerative because each intelligence invites each learner, young or old, to regenerate himself/herself from being a non-talent to one who discovers, with the aid of a teacher, the hidden talent in that body or mind.

Meanwhile, I have a list of 12 approaches to Regenerative Agriculture (RA) that regenerative individuals & groups can apply, as follows:

1, Compost application
2, Cover cropping
3, Crop rotation
4, Farm crops + tree crops (simultaneous)
5, Green manuring
6, Intercropping
7, Multiple cropping
8, No-till farming
9, Ratooning
10, “Three Sisters” cropping (corn + beans + squash)
11, Trap cropping
12, Trash mulching.

Borrowing from Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”: “To sleep, perchance to dream” – Regenerative Development devoutly to be wished!@517

How Do You Teach Children To Become Wonder Kids? You Don’t Teach – Instead, You Help Discover Their Hidden Talents!

You are looking at a mind-opening and mouth-watering artworks on each can of Rebisco Biscuits. My wife, Amparo Reynoso Hilario, shares on Facebook 30 Dec 2023, referring to our son, the artist Paul Hilario, commissioned by Rebisco, to add/announce biscuit quality. Now then, to borrow from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant Of Venice,” Act 4, Scene 1 – “The quality of merry is not strained / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven!” Here is art selling food – and itself.

(“Art is” from parkwestgallery.com/)

My wife says:

I can’t help but imagine your late Lolo Gabriel and Lola Meding beaming with joy and pride at their apo’s milestone in his chosen profession.

We thank the Lord for this gift.

In an earlier Facebook post, our son Paul shares about his Rebisco-commissioned artwork:

AND THEY'RE OUT!!!

Get your Rebisco Designer Cans featuring my art.

In April this year, I was contacted by Rebisco to create art for their Designer Cans. As an anniversary year (60th), I was asked by Rebisco to focus on the theme of "Saya ng Pagsasama, Sarap ng Bukas". I focused on family through the years. I started with "Oyayi" - a young couple with a young son and a newborn being sung a lullaby. Second, I made the same family, now older, with an additional kid – a young girl, all enjoying watching a game of "Basketbol" on TV.  And lastly, the same couple, now older, with their "Peyborit" granddaughter at the bus station. This last one had a double meaning in it.

As far as I can see, this time, Rebisco has reinvented the marketing of healthy foods; now I say, “Art For Heart’s Sake.” With its mix of tasty biscuits, Rebisco’s Designer Cans is for appreciating art with food. Double delight!

Well, this 83-year old father of 13, and grandfather of 17 (?), is telling you Rebisco’s biscuits, of several types and cuts, are delicious and good for the young, not to mention the old mouths.

I go back to my title: “How Do You Teach Children To Become Wonder Kids? You Don’t Teach – Instead, You Help Discover Their Hidden Talent!” With our son Paul, this is what happened:

When Paul was young, my wife noticed that he was very fond of “painting” the walls of our rented apartment with his artwork. (I did not notice – mother knows best!) She enrolled our son in a nearby summer art class, and that was the beginning of all that.

The lesson there is: You have to watch your child’s curiosity because that is where the hidden talent is. Among Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s 9 multiple intelligences (MI), our son had the flair for painting. Before teachers, parents have to watch out for their children’s passion that more or less indicates their hidden talents.

German romantic writer Jean Paul says, “You prove your worth with your actions, not with your mouth.” With Rebisco Designer Cans and the delightful biscuits, I say, “You prove your worth with other people’s mouths!”@517

Here’s A More Exciting Way To Reform Philippine Schools – Teach The Teachers How To Teach Each Child To Become A Genius!

My friend JAQ emailed me today, Wed, 10 Jan 2024, with a long collection of statements about the pursuit of reforming Philippine education. JAQ knows me as an alumnus of UP Los Baños, 1965, with a BSA major in Ag Edu. I passed the “Licensure Examination for Teachers” in 1964; my grade, 80.6% - not bad!

You know what? PH education is bad!

That is the judgment of experts via the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), PISA being a survey of 15-year-old students around the world in the core subjects of Reading, Math and Science. In the 2018 PISA Survey, Victor S Limlingan says (08 Jan 2024, “PISA 2018 And 2022,” BusinessWorld, bworldonline.com):

Philippines: dead last (rank 79) in Reading, second dead last in Math, and dead last in Science (rank 78).

Educators such as Brother Andrew Gonzalez, Dr Edilberto De Jesus, and Brother Armin Luistro who [each] served as DepEd [Secretary], sought to reform DepEd, a lumbering bureaucratic behemoth of a million employees from within – to no avail.

“Reform DepEd,” it says. Failed! Not for want of trying. Here is Brother Luistro, Secretary of Education, in 2012 speaking at the annual meeting of the Philippine Business for Education, where the theme was “The State of Basic Education: Gaining Ground.”

[Bro Luistro] articulated as his Vision for the Department of Education... that by 2030, the DepEd would be globally recognized for… developing functionally literate and God-loving Filipinos…

To achieve his vision and mission, he launched a reform program called, the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) with five Key Reform Thrusts (KRT), namely: School-Based Management (SBM), Teacher Education and Development; National Learning Strategies, Quality Assurance and Accountability; and lastly, Organizational Development.

BESRA is too complicated even for this teacher!

Oh, I must tell you, I have not stopped learning. And so, instead of BESRA, I would recommend a more exciting educational reform.

Background: On 15 April 2007, my daughter Graciela Antonia (Ela) Reynoso Hilario graduated from the Cahbriba Alternative School. Cahbriba was teaching high school students Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences” (MI).

2 years ago I blogged: “It’s Time To Teach Teachers & Parents High IQ Is Nothing – “Walang Bubo!” (22 Nov 2021, “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages,” blogspot.com). MI is multiplying the intelligences of students – and teachers!

I quote myself from that 2021 essay:

Each of us has a different High IQ!

In 1983, Harvard psychology professor Howard Gardner presented his brainchild “Multiple Intelligences” (MI) in his book Frames Of Mind (Basic Books, 440 pages, Worldcat.org). Here is the MI list:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
3. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
4. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
5. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
6. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
7. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
8. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
9. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

With multiple intelligences, suddenly everyone in school is excited discovering one’s genius. I must emphasize that, no, MI is not limited to Reading, Math and Science!@517

2024 Is A Year Of The Dragon – I Dragon Am Trying To Slay The Monster Called “Ignorance” In Agriculture

Above yes, enchanting image, if “primitive.” No, this is not merely about zodiac signs; I was surprised myself when I browsed Christine Refresca’s post above because I am a Virgo – note the words at the bottom of the image: “Higher Dimensions.” Yes, there is a higher dimension than just our birth years!

This one started when I saw Christine’s sharing of Thursday, 04 Jan 2024, from post of Higher Dimensions – I’m more than interested because I was born in a Year of the Dragon – 1940 – and I quote, from Anil B:

Higher Dimensions  ·

2024 [–] the year of the dragon, a symbol steeped in ancient mythology, embodying power, strength, and resilience. In many cultures, the dragon represents auspicious energy, vitality, and potent forces of change. … Embracing these qualities can be a guiding light for personal growth and collective progress…

“The dragon … embodying power, strength, and resilience” – what I dragon have been experiencing in my 83 years of existence is that I have the power of words & ideas; by teaching myself, I have the strength of the digital media exploring the universe of knowledge (and ignorance); and I have resilience, thank God.

“For personal growth and collective progress” – you will note that this essay appears in my blog “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages” (ComDev2), the name which should tell you why I blog, blog, blog! I have been blogging in the last 23 years. I googled and now I am looking at my article “Primate Change? Or Climate Change?” published by the now-defunct American Chronicle and re-blogged by me (31 March 2007, American Frank, wordpress.com). (American Chronicle did not pay.) Today, I insist, “Only Primate Change can change Climate Change!”

I quote again from Anil B:

Courage in Goals: Set ambitious yet achievable goals for yourself. Whether they're career aspirations, personal development milestones, or health objectives, dare to dream big and work towards them with unwavering courage.

Mine is ambitious social goals, as you can discern from the very name of my latest blog: “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages.” This essay is the latest version of my own creation, “Primate Change? Or Climate Change?” Answer: Both, but Primate Change first!

Again, from Anil B:

Bravery in Change: Embrace change with an open mind. Sometimes, the most significant growth comes from stepping into the unknown. Be open to new opportunities, experiences, and perspectives.

I must convince Filipinos to have an open mind and be brave. Especially the leaders of Filipino farmers who have been laboring with Chemical Agriculture (CA) since the birth of my alma mater UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, in 1908. CA is the harbinger, nay bringer of Climate Change! – with the chemical fertilizers generating greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the GHGs collected in the atmosphere generating more of Earth’s heat resulting in damaging Climate Change!

“Applying these qualities to the New Year involves introspection and action,” says Anil B. Today, I say, “Time for introspection, time for action!”@517

My New Year’s Resolution – One Commandment To Self To Carry Out The Ten Commandments Of God: “Be Kind, Always.” The Revolution To End All Revolutions? I Hope

I am a Filipino and Roman Catholic. Today, Monday, 01 Jan 2024. Turning 83 Sept 17, I say, to celebrate The New Year, 2024, I have been thinking of One Commandment To Self to remember and carry out from now on The Ten Commandments of the Christian God. And it is:

One commandment to self – "Always, Be Kind" (A,BK). “Elementary, my dear Watson!” For me, A,BK is the new ABC.
(“Be Kind” from theyogahub.ie/, “In A World” from freepik.com)

No, it does not matter if you are not Roman Catholic – my wife Ampy and I have children who subscribe to other religious beliefs. The Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Palestine, Texas says (shpalestine.org):

What are the Ten Commandments? The Catholic Ten Commandments are a summary of "the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin" (Catechism, 2057).

They must be understood in relation to the "Law of Love." Love of God and love of neighbor summarize all of Catholic morality. The Law of Love is also the first principle and source of the moral law. It contains "all the law and the prophets" (Mt 22:40).

To carry out “The Law of Love,” from now on I will be all the time
all smiles
compassionate
forgiving
happy to let go of hurt
happy to oblige where I can
liking everyone despite everything
releasing someone from guilt feelings on me
unconditional
understanding
unselfish.

Is this “The Love Revolution Revised”?

Joyce Meyer published her radical book “The Love Revolution” (hardcover) on 22 Sept 2009; her publisher Amazon says (amazon.com):

Joyce Meyer is not satisfied with the status quo. She believes that we each need to become a revolutionary and practice love every day. And if Joyce has her way, the revolution will spread – person by person, house by house, town by town, until the old culture of selfishness and greed gives way to a new culture of concern for others.

The book is a revolutionaries' manual, a hands-on primer for bringing the Golden Rule to life in the twenty-first century…

Love Revolution focuses on personal behavior on the local scale. It's not just a call to action; it is a call to being: being the person who goes out of your way to encourage someone who's out of hope; being the one who smiles at a stranger; being the one who is willing to do something for nothing. The paradox: when we do something for nothing, what we often get is something far greater.

“We must practice love every day.”

I will call mine “The Kindness Revolution.” I must practice kindness everyday. Ashleigh Brilliant says, “Be kind to unkind people. They need it the most.”

So, my New Year’s Resolution is: “Always, Be Kind.” I’m praying that with this my One Commandment To Self, I will in fact carry out the Roman Catholic-accepted “Ten Commandments of God.”

Also, I’m praying, “The Kindness Revolution is The Revolution That Will End All Revolutions!”@517