 Hello, I'm Professor Jem Bandel and I wanted to leave this video message on my YouTube channel Because if you follow my work, I think there's something happening right now that I'd like you to know about The core team of the deep adaptation forum don't know I'm doing this video, but I hope they'll Recognize the ideas and appreciate it. So for those of you who don't know I Wrote a paper in 2018 that went viral. It shared my analysis and understanding of our climate predicament The paper was called deep adaptation and it's now become a movement of people who believe that it's really important to work from the premise of Anticipating societal collapse in our lifetimes due to climate change and environmental degradation of both the direct and indirect effects People come together in the now the deep adaptation forum with varying levels of collapse anticipation But the key thing is that they want to work from that that premise and I am I'm really pleased to see how it's been growing Since since I left so I left in in September at the end of September From management I left and then in early February I I left from the the governance group and the governance group now is is Very multinational multiracial predominantly women And I'm really pleased to see how well They're all working together and also how the the core team who a small group of just four freelancers But also to see how people have come from from volunteers to actually now be effectively Coordinating everything for example Katz whereas who was a volunteer is now the coordinator But looking looking back I realized that In a sense my experience with the forum from 20 early 2019 to September 2020 was almost like a honeymoon period for the movement and That's a kind of a weird concept isn't it for something which is So difficult as As an anticipation of collapse. I mean this is heavy stuff, but there was a honeymoon in the sense that People were so grateful to be able to find a place where they could connect with each other that with people around this premise and With a spirit of kindness and curiosity and compassion and respect and creativity wanting to actually offer a different way of responding to this then Kind of like the dystopian Hollywood movies or what you know, people might say always just gonna be people building bunkers or Storing tins and and buying guns the the whole idea of the deep adaptation forum is to not deny The latest climate science and the latest ecological science and the latest political trends not to deny the What that's suggesting we're now Facing and in not such the the long term But also they're not just to become defensive or xenophobic or you know wanting some kind of authoritarian answer But Yeah, it just began to happen just before I left. I mean I was already planning on leaving but um It seems that deep adaptation as a movement now as it's grown It's ruffling feathers and that means the work of the core team today is a lot more difficult And I think really needs our support more so than ever and And I say that as a as an outsider now. I don't have any formal role And I think what we're seeing is Starting from July last year, but continuing it's clear that there are external Criticisms for a number of reasons So the nuclear industry for example does not want any Any sense that there may be societal destabilization breakdown or even collapse within the coming decades because that would therefore raise the cost of New-build nuclear power stations because people won't want wouldn't want to ensure them or they wouldn't They would they would suspect that maybe they wouldn't get return on their capital in 20 30 40 years time And also regulators would start asking more difficult questions. And then you've got institutional investors You know if we start to think about there being a very Being very questionable in terms of having savings and pensions and such like because the future doesn't look like the financial system Will be robust and resilient and the global economic system will not be delivering our basic needs Let alone our fulfilling our desires then again, that is a concern for them and of course then you've got you've got the parts of governments that have a myopic view and think that their role is to protect the interests for example of nuclear or institutional investors so We've also got I think the some people now call them the the bright greens So the people who think that um all we need is more technology more hope more leadership And to avoid any sense that we might not keep World temperatures below a certain amount of warming which will lead to great destabilization of globalization and also our local economies And absolutely we're seeing them criticize more and more And ignoring people who correct them on their criticisms So for example, they like to pretend that I have said that there's a methane Bomb going off in the Arctic and I didn't There might well be one going off the science in the near future The science is is is debatable on that people like to you know that in and in the paper I talk about the The science that says there could this could happen I talk about the science that says it won't happen And I think we need to just keep keep keep our eyes Firmly fixed on what my may and may not be happening in the Arctic But I think there's something else which is that um There's the possibility that some of that some of those interests are Not only expressing themselves through external criticism in mainstream media And in any new books and so on but there's the possibility that that could lead in future to infiltration But that's with any social movement that becomes A bit of a threat to incumbent power or some chunks of incumbent power this can happen but I think Internal Disruption delay and such like Is actually more likely to happen now because of purely because as deep adaptation has become well known There are people who come at it with their own pre-existing agenda And so I think it now that the core team have a and their their volunteers that working together Have a real challenge to Prevent the cannibalization of the deep adaptation forum and therefore more widely the deep adaptation movement By people who have their own agenda Pre-existing political agenda there are whatever they're interested in or their personal grievances or whatever or even a business project and so I'm managing to just make sure that the deep adaptation forum and the deep adaptation movement is not used in In order to just give a platform to people who want to go and do something else or And perhaps also by disrupting it. That's quite a challenge and that's a new one So basically I think the honeymoon's over and I feel a sense of Well, I want to express Solidarity with with them and I think if you've followed my work until now I I think it Yeah, the deep adaptation forum needs You not just to participate but to help to help To help it support itself and that can include with money I Suppose what we need is within the movement. We need some stoicism and solidarity when problems arise but also The the things growing and you know, you have growing pains And it means that there are going to be all sorts of issues to manage and so I think the deep adaptation forum now Needs more funds than than it has had Over the last couple of years. I mean it really does operate on a shoestring It's just a few freelancers working two days a week each on on basically minimum wage and Choosing as volunteers to do a lot more than that So the deep adaptation forum are doing a crowdfund until the end of March The core team are and that's because they've also got a donor who said they will help match the funds that are that are raised from participants in that time and I don't know how I feel about this because We're living in a time of huge huge inequality Where for some people five pounds or five dollars a month is a really significant Outlay And many people who wear it isn't significant out outlay want to do that anyway because they they want to really Really manifest their commitment to this movement and to the forum and With their time but also with some funds and that's wonderful, but I also think There's huge inequality in the world where where a much more substantial donation, you know, it There are people for whom $10,000 really now means nothing and You know, if if that is you then you're seeing what's happening with global finance you're seeing with a Incredible amount of money issuance that's going on Because of COVID you know how inflation could completely take off at some point or there could be some kind of financial meltdown certainly over the coming decades, I mean What are you saving for? when you know that actually The deep adaptation forum exists in a way which could help your own society Be as calm and as thoughtful and the wise as possible as things begin to Fall apart or at least normal things change, you know, we don't have to make it worse with reactionary fear-based react policies so This is my thought I've decided that I'm I'm gonna give a thousand pounds to the deep adaptation forum today through the open collective platform and If you as somebody who does have money That you know, it really doesn't need to worry about budgeting for the rest of 2021 then please Give something substantial such as a thousand pounds and If that's not you Then Do you know anyone who might be like that that is sort of teetering around maybe they're fully involved In deep adaptation or maybe they're just teetering around the edges and just talking about it privately But don't feel like getting too public in engaged. Well, they could make an anonymous donation through the platform so Yeah Send them this video Ask them before the end of March March 31st, 2021 Please make a substantial donation because otherwise Yeah, what are we doing if it's just people Who are giving five pounds here and there, you know that that's wonderful, but really How many five pounds do you need to make up for say a one thousand pound donation? It's it's a lot of people to convince and the core team It's only if you know for people working part-time they really need to focus on The work they're doing all the amazing stuff So go to deep adaptation info and you can see all the amazing stuff But also now they have this huge role of trying to help Hold the center of what is now becoming a global movement that is ruffling feathers of Incumbent interests in industry And in government as well as people coming along wanting to use it for their own whatever's So yeah, we need to support them so this doesn't get ripped apart doesn't get Marginalized doesn't run out of steam doesn't get cannibalized That it can provide that crash mat for people who come to an awareness of Future not being what they thought it was and and finding other people to help process those Difficult emotions and find a really positive place to stay with this awareness for the rest of their lives while really doing Good things in the world whether that's in their organization in their communities or just with their families So thanks for listening. I guess I've waffled a bit. I I don't yeah Open collective deep adaptation. I'll put the link in the YouTube Nets. Thank you