Brief Introduction

I spent most of my adult life with little bit of grassroot activism but mostly teaching (history, Politics, management). In-spite of my formal education in the field of Engineering, Management & Political Science I have discovered my ‘calling’ while engaging with literature related to Ecological Sustainability, Climate Change, Existential risks, Alternative paradigms, etc. I neither belong to the grass-root activist nor to the theoretical environmentalist background. I am kind of an outsider who has just woken up to the realities of humanity’s existential predicament during the initial phase of my PhD pursuit (in Climate Change Negotiations).

Sensing the need for diving deeper into this issue, I decided to stall the PhD program and dedicated the next few years to investigate into these powerful yet marginal ideas. My independent quest to de-clutter the maze of sustainability & collapse studies & eventual ‘connection of dots’ led me to a certain realization that any effective mobilization for systemic transformation is impossible without clear articulation & framing of the existential predicament.

The culmination of this work is The Existetial Risk & Response Assessment (TERRA) Framework & Gloal Crisis Respose Plan (GCRP) that made me realize that this is only the starting point. Only with an institutional foundation and support from other changemakers, actionable change is possible. Thus was born Global Crisis Response (a Non-profit organization registered in Mumbai). Honestly I have created an organization that I was seeking to be part of but could not find.

Knowing what I now know today- it is scary to visualize the creepy unravelling of the collapse. The fear is compounded when I look around to see apathy, short-termism and the failure of collective imagination of our vulnerabilities, poor institutional & community resilience. I would not wish anyone to be stuck with redundant skills & assets simply because they bet on an impossible/improbable future. Everyone deserves to be empowered with knowledge, skills, and assets relevant & necessary to survive in an energy-descent chaotic future. If and when collapse triggers, I am sure I want 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 my personal goal is to discover (for myself & 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.

Brief Introduction

Usha Alexander was born to Indian immigrants who came to the United States in the 1950s and settled in the very small town of Pocatello, Idaho. She ran away to university at the age of 19, and later joined the US Peace Corps, where she served as a science teacher in the archipelago nation of Vanuatu. In the late 90s, Usha made her way to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she settled and worked for Apple Computer for many years.
Since 2013, Usha resides with her partner, writer and photographer Namit Arora, in the National Capital Region of India. Usha has lived in four different countries and has learned to carry her home within herself, yet she frequently returns to the CA Bay Area with a certain sense of homecoming.

Brief Introduction

Have close to 25 years of experience working as a researcher, communication specialist and content creator across sectors and media formats, from Advertising and Corporate Communications to non-profits and academic bodies, besides the media. As a journalist, have researched and published on various aspects of sustainability/environment - particularly as it relates to economy, politics and society - in leading online outlets such as The Wire.in, Scroll.in and IndiaSpend.com. Created and edited for nearly a decade the website www.ecologise.in, which curated and published selected content on the emerging global crises. Also played a role in multiple civil society efforts, including the South Asian People's Action on Climate Crisis (SAPACC), a rainbow coalition of organizations and individuals from across South Asia working for climate action and climate justice.

A member of the Tellus Institute's Great Transition Initiative, which describes itself as " an online forum of ideas and an international network for the critical exploration of concepts, strategies, and visions for a transition to a future of enriched lives, human solidarity, and a resilient biosphere."

link Members - Great Transition Initiative