The Clash of Civilizations? or The Crash of Civilization? Rule-breakers become the rule-makers

This program, “The Clash of Civilizations? or The Crash of Civilization? What happens when the rule-breakers become the rule-makers?,” was recorded on 11 December 2016. It is is episode #232 of an ongoing series of educational videos from the Citizen-Science Online Learning Initiative (CSOLI). These educational videos focus on global climate change and its implications for the transitions we must make in our institutions and behavor in order to survive the coming decades. See: http://wp.me/P2iDSG-2 To view on Google see: https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/the-clash-of-civilizations-or-the-crash-of-civilization-what-happens-when-the-rule-breakers-become-the-rule-makers-ev-n-232-cctv/ Is the “clash of civilizations” causing the world’s problems or is it the “crash” of consumer-based, fossil-fueled civilization? Much has been written and debated about the “Clash of Civilizations” as the fundamental driving force beneath conflicts in the contemporary world. Yet this turns out to be a superficial reading of events. What may appear at first to be a clash between different cultural traditions is, in fact, upon closer examination a fundamental conflict between a globalized and brutal quest for control on the part of fossil-fueled civilizations vs. the self-defense and resistance of cultures all over the world that are struggling to forge an alternative, sustainable and renewable future. See: The Myth of the “Clash of Civilizations”. Edward Said https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/the-myth-of-the-clash-of-civilizations-edward-said/ Noam Chomsky on The “Clash of Civilizations” https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/noam-chomsky-on-the-clash-of-civilizations/ Samuel Huntington on the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/samuel-huntington-on-the-clash-of-civilizations/ It is significant and, in fact, highly emblematic of this entire contest that President-Elect, Donald Trump, appears to have forwarded the name of the CEO of the world’s largest fossil fuel company to become the Secretary of State of the United States of America. This has provoked immediate and wide-scale alarm among sensitive observers around the world because of how this gesture firmly links the future of the United States with the future of fossil fuels and thereby commits the world to global climate chaos. See particularly the observations of the Chinese: Trump presidency may spell disaster for climate | China Dialogue https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/trump-presidency-may-spell-disaster-for-climate-china-dialogue/ Roundtable: Does Trump’s EPA appointment matter for climate action | China Dialogue https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/roundtable-does-trumps-epa-appointment-matter-for-climate-action-china-dialogu-e/ For a short sequence of videos on “Why Transition Studies?” see playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5udj7fO3SQ&list=PLr2L6TB8fh8F9UArABZI-MxbOVRleTCSi For a chronological list of other videos for discussion in the series see: http://www.climate-talks.net/2016-ENVRS130/PDF/Some%20Recent%20Videoblog%20Posts.pdf For other programs in the “Conversations…” series see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd0XBz6FNzyJupMIoEDC1Fw Copyright, © , 2016, 2017, Timothy C. Weiskel Tim Weiskel, Research Director, Cambridge Climate Research Associates http://yale-68.net/Bio-Tim-Weiskel.htm