Mark Edwards
What'll we do now? Hard Rain Project is working with colleagues around the world to make a series of companion displays that show sustainable progress in their countries, beginning with Sweden and Scotland in Autumn/Spring 2011/12. A special edition of Hard Rain marking the Rio+20 Earth Summit in June 2012 is planned to launch at Rio, London, Stockholm, Santiago, Nairobi and other cities on every continent. It is hoped that this will encourage an exchange of sustainable approaches which visitors may campaign to bring to their communities, businesses and cities.
Read more about current and forthcoming venues
Solutions are controversial. The environmental movement with its large, diverse membership and strong beliefs is not united on the steps towards a sustainable future. We have many of the technologies and lifestyle approaches needed to create a genuinely sustainable civilization; others are in development. The question is: is there the political will to scale up these embryonic solutions? It will be a wrenching change, and most of us are comfortable with our carbon-based lifestyles. It will take continued leadership from the top by politicians, business and NGO leaders. And it will take a grassroots leadership to create the bottom-up movement required to maintain the resolve of decision-makers.
Time is our enemy. The future is too important to leave just to the experts – or campaigners.
Hard Rain is a vivid reminder of the cost of inaction, in human and economic terms. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Join the debate: send me information about sustainable solutions that inspire you – or concern you. Solutions, criticisms and comments will be added to the website and we will include new ideas and developments in future editions of the exhibition.
www.hardrainproject.com/feedback
