From What Is to What If

"In 'How Did We Do That? The Possibility of Rapid Transition', Andrew Simms and Peter Newell tell the story of Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption, which sent fine dust into the sky that spread for thousands of miles and grounded most of the world's planes. Then what happened? People adapted. Quickly. Supermarkets replaced air-freighted goods with local alternatives. People discovered other, slower ways to get around, or decided they didn't really need to travel at all. People held business meetings online. The Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, ran the Norwegian government from New York... with his iPad. This isn't the only example. We might be focused these days on how we are only nine meals from anarchy, but there are stories from throughout history about how rapid transitions lead to ingenuity, flourishing, imagination and togetherness."

Read Article