Dear reader,
Welcome to the seventh issue of SHIFT magazine!
If you’re anything like us you’re probably struggling to keep up with all the ‘progress’ innovators and technophiles are constantly cranking out in aid of ‘improving’ our quality of life (and the size of business folks’ bank balances).
Are we missing out if we slow down and let it slide by, or is there something in the bigger picture that dedicated followers of progress are missing instead?
2015 is bound to be a year for change, innovation and progress – but in what direction, and to whose benefit? And will it be for better or for worse. As we ponder, let’s kick off the year with an issue dedicated to technology, where the technophile, the techno-fix, and the technophobe all go under the microscope in SHIFT’s first installment for 2015.
In this issue of SHIFT we catch up with Ozzie Zehner – author of Green Illusions – for a reality check that may just shatter some illusions; Dave Pollard critiques the often false sense of hope that technological innovation brings – particularly in light of limits to growth; and Guy McPherson takes aim at the most grandiose technological fix in human history: geoengineering the climate. We also give you the low-down on life-changing low-tech innovations, and serve up a motivating side of food for thought with our new Day in the Life of a Downshifter column.
SHIFT is cranked out every second month by a community of cultural creatives who innovate around the constraints of a near-invisible budget to challenge the dominant discourse. Darting (and dodging) between Silly Season party schedules, desperately clinging to the fragments of New Year’s resolutions, and kick-starting 2015 hard enough to work up the momentum for the year ahead, our all-volunteer team has seized every available moment to investigate, interview, vision, scribble, edit, design, and print (on recycled paper, of course) this seventh issue of ad-free insight, critique, and inspiration to practical action.
Gossip-free and devoid of commercial clutter, SHIFT provides a platform for a movement that is uncompromised by revenues and remits, cutting straight to the chase on subjects of social significance. SHIFT is made possible by supporters who care about shifting the discourse and being the change we wish to see. Thank you for taking part in the much-needed shift, and for making time for the conversations that matter.
Without further ado, go grab a large mug of your favourite beverage, put your feet up, and settle in to enjoy the fruits of our labour of love…
Happy New Year, stay safe, and take it as easy as you can.
The SHIFT team