[iDC] activism now and when?

[Richard Lowenberg]

"Info-Eco: Information Ecology and Economics"
My current creative works have to do with better understanding of the  
ecological economy of 'information' and of local-global progress and  
development.
rl
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Info/Eco
Economics/Information/Ecology


What’s the Matter?  What’s the Difference?  What’s the Use?


The dynamic radiative information environment, the flow of information,  
and the sensory and communicative nature of information, have not been  
included in most whole-systems ecological thinking and applications, to  
date.  It is a major error in human understanding that will have  
troubling consequences, as we increasingly interact with and manipulate  
this fragile ecosystem.

Ecology is the study of the complex relationships between living and  
non-living, inter-dependent dynamic systems.  It describes the fragile  
balance in which such systems interact and by which they co-evolve.   
Information Ecology extends our basic understanding of ecology to  
include the physical, social and economic transformations being wrought  
by the rapid developments in information technology, networked  
learning, and by our becoming an increasingly networked “society of  
mind”.

Information is not just data or bits.   It is not simply a useful  
natural resource; a commodity that can be sent and received, bought and  
sold, and regulated.  Information must also be considered as patterns  
of perception, genetic expression, cognitive relationships and  
differences.  The flow of information determines the course of social  
evolution.   Decisions regarding spectrum allocation, regulatory  
interventions, copyright, property, privacy, digital divides,  
technology development or “new economies” cannot be effective, if made  
without an ecological context.

Today’s Information Revolution, if it is primarily a technology  
mediated revolution, will likely result in increased consumerism,  
social systematization, bureaucracy, waste and war.  The more  
cumulatively energy consuming and less ecologically sustainable, the  
more fragile technological progress will become; and ultimately more  
disruptive in its potential (inevitable) failure.

There is much to do to integrate matter, energy and information into a  
whole systems ecology.  Becoming a bit smarter about the way the world  
works, may also be dangerous, coming into conflict with long dominant,  
vested-interest belief systems and ideological fictions.   Education,  
thoughtful exchange, research, creative practice and respect for  
differences are needed.   There is no solution, however.  We can only  
begin to take small “steps towards an ecology of mind”.


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Richard Lowenberg
Exec. Director, Davis Community Network (DCN), 1623 5th St., Davis, CA  
95616
Ph. 530-750-1170 / Fax 530-757-2938         rl at dcn.org             
http://www.dcn.org/
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Home/Studio:  530-668-1100          rl at radlab.com                
http://www.radlab.com
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"If it is not Matter, it is Energy. If it Matters, it is Information.  
If it does not Matter, it is Noise."
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