GCR aims to build capacity of existing & potential change-makers in society by introducing them with a useful, holistic lens i.e. Crisis(C)– Response(R)- Transition (T) Framework enabling to articulate and navigate Global Crisis (GC) in the light of the 'Big-Picture' priorities at the civilizational level.
Change-makers who apply to volunteer with GCR are provided with a detailed orientation that offers a good starting point to get familiar with the non-mainstream concepts like Societal Collapse, Global Catastrophic Risks, Risks from civilizational Complexity, Ecological Overshoot (Planetary Boundaries), Risks from Dual Use Technologies, De-clutter differences between BAU-Weak-Strong Sustainability policy or strategic responses to Global Crisis, Post- industrial Alternative Civilizations etc.
After Orientation & training volunteers are encouraged to contribute (over 3-6 months) in research, content writing etc. The goal here is to support existing change-makers to succeed help them align their current efforts in the direction of strong sustainability.
Is it a good strategy to hedge against these risks today by developing & preparing for such a future? What will those strategies look like? What are those assets & skills which can aid us in the transition phase? In the age of unstable conditions what makes one more resilient --- our specialized skills or generalist skills & attitude? Must we seek resilience at the level of individual or community?
How to satisfy humanity’s needs (material & non-material) in an energy descent post IC collapse future? Can we transform ourselves so that we are happy, healthy and comfortable without the need to consume the planet?
How do we allocate remaining bio-capacity & fossil energy to build a new infrastructure for the low energy future civilization? How do we use the remaining (accessible & affordable) fossil energy sources to restore, augment the existing natural capital instead of burning it in the service of consumerism?
Read: Sgouridis, Csala, Bardi, The Sower's way. Quantifying the Narrowing Net-Energy Pathways to a Global Energy Transition, 2016, Env. Res. Let.
IC depends on human capital (fossil powered capital built using natural capital). IC is fast depleting natural capital either by consumption or pollution (read: overshoot). A deindustrialized world will have no use for human capital and will heavily dependent on natural capital (read bio-capacity). Thus conserving, restoring, augmenting bio-regions of the world and building new human capital (powered primarily by renewable biomass) is a crucial adaptation strategy.
humanity’s current way of life(material- energy intensive, fossil powered, complex, centralized Industrial Civilization dependent on dual-use high technology)?
a New way of Life (low energy future largely powered by renewable, local energy sources dependent on low tech or convivial technologies)?
Continue the status-quo, pursue business as usual (BAU) approach and allow involuntary & un-controlled collapse (energy descent or low energy future) of Industrial Civilization (IC) in the near future
OR
Take a radical decisiontoday and pursue a strategy of voluntary & controlled collapse of IC (i.e. Degrowth-Steady State Economy)
What is more important – Economic sustainability (preservation & perpetuation of high energy Industrial Civilization) or Ecological Sustainability of the Planet and its communities (human & non-human species)? How much consensus do we have globally on this question? Can we address this existential predicament without first building consensus on this?
For more read Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition by Megan K. Seibert and William E. Rees
No, currently we accept donations only from within India territory. However, foreign nationals are welcome to donate their knowledge, skills & time by volunteering with us on various projects.
The revenue generated from donations is channelized towards the following
Hiring Interns for content production
Hiring technical & digital marketing support
Legal & Compliance
Operations*
Note: As of today we do not have any full-time employees and all operations are managed by the Director with the help of Interns & Volunteers.
Sensing the need for diving deeper into humanity’s existential predicament, Sudhir Shetty decided to stall his PhD program (on Climate Change negotiations from Mumbai University 2018-20) and dedicated the next couple of years to investigate into these powerful yet marginal ideas (Global-Meta-Poly Crisis). His independent quest to de-clutter the maze of sustainability & collapse studies & eventual ‘connection of dots’ led him to a certain realization that any effective mobilization for systemic transformation is impossible without clear articulation & framing of the existential predicament (read: Global Crisis= Societal & Biospheric Collapse).
His research culminated into (C)- Response (R)-Transition (T) Modelframeworks made him realize that this is only the starting point. Only with an institutional foundation and support from other scholars, more actionable change is possible. Thus was born Global Crisis Response (a Not-for-Profit organization).
Knowing what he knows today- it is scary to visualize the creepy unravelling of the collapse (Pandemic, Climate change, rising inequality, Resource scarcity, Debt-bubbles, etc.). The fear is compounded when he looks around to see apathy, short-termism and the failure of collective imagination of our vulnerabilities, poor institutional & community resilience. Everyone deserves to be empowered with knowledge, skills, and assets relevant & necessary to survive in an energy-descent, de-globalized, de-industrialized chaotic future.
If and when societal collapse triggers, Sudhir would like to be doing things that can be counted as constructive and does not make matters worse. The most intuitive response to this situation would be to become a survivor or prepper but we might soon realize that there is no ‘safe place’ during a collapse but there are only ‘safe-communities’and his personal goal is to discover (for himself & others) the contours of such ‘safe-spaces’.
The future may not sustain 8-10 billion people with a decent quality life but whether it is 1 or 2 or 4 billion will be determined what we do collectively today. Sharing my understanding and creating a global platform to think & act collectively (while we still can) would be his contribution towards this endeavor.
