global environment - such as the Agenda 21 action plan for sustainable development in Brazil of 1992 and the 2nd IGBP International Geosphere-Biospere Programme congress in Kanagawa in 1999 - there has not been any debate on the influence of education. Even now, we are yet to see any theories on sustainable development, supposedly the topic of chief concerns to the global community, in which education features prominently.' (SCJ)   Again, our higher establishments of learning have not grasped the fact that the environment is a holistic system as the SCJ states, 'at the level of university tuition and research, the environment is even further compartmentalized, with no overall structure for recognizing and addressing environmental issues.' (SCJ)   Indeed, this segmented analysis gives according to the SCJ, 'a positive feedback effect which lacks a clear principle of benefitting the whole of mankind leads to rapid but unsound progress.' (SCJ)   The compounded effect has been that, 'in recent years the world has witnessed an increasing number of social problems such as the escape from reason, loss of community spirit, and lack of affinity with nature, all of which can be attributed to a decline in our ability to recognize human dignity and self-worth, also called the "degradation of spitit." This unhappy phenomenon suggests that education and the environment, which are confined within a narrow value system and no longer have foresight, affect one another as a result of the same root cause of deterioration and are locked into a "compound devastation spiral" where improvement is impossible. We are not wrong to see it as a worldwide problem. If we continue on in this manner, then the earth, nature, and the human race will, in the 21st century, inevitably face problems such as exhaustion of resources and energy (or restrictions on usage thereof), deterioration of the global environment, and a rising global population, and this in turn will lead to a degradation of public spirit.' (SCJ)   For great change to happen, 'the industrialized nations, with their international influence, must now espouse far-sighted ideals based on resolute principles, and take concrete action to save the earth,		nature, and the human race. If not, it is clear that the "compound devastation spiral" will accelerate and human civilization will be in danger of extinction by the second half of the 21st century.' (SCJ) Something that the WIF has been saying for the past eight years since the Foundation was created.   In this respect the SCJ states that, 'the traditional value system orientated towards materialism and energy, and the limited ability of the earth to support such a value system is at the very heart of tomorrow's problems.' (SCJ) Indeed, the WIF has said this on countless occasions to the world-at-large in 'Scientific Discovery' and privately to the British government.   The answer lies in what the SCJ sees as a total change in direction and values. 'We will need to effect a multi-generational shift in basic values away from the materialism-energy orientation, while at the same time cultivating a recognition of human dignity and self-worth as a crucial prerequisite of sustainable development with respect to mankind, the earth, and nature. Given the length of time required to discern results in education and the environment, the situation is one of extreme urgency.' (SCJ) In this respect the WIF has stated the very same scenario and where we only have 30-years to change the status quo in order to redeem ourselves. After that period, the world will be in a spiral of conflict that will be unstoppable.   What the SCJ has determined is radically new and may well be the essence of genius as the new brought-together calculus of education and the environment working as one dimension 'is a very broad and very diverse mutual influence that academic scholars and government representatives have never come across before.' (SCJ)   Indeed, for global change to happen for the good of mankind, we have to be innovative and not purely adaptive in our methodologies, for 'we should remember that if we concern ourselves too much with the detail and attempt to tackle specific areas, our efforts will be fruitless.' (SCJ)   The SCJ goes on further by citing the government's slowness in identifying what is really		needed to provide mankind a future as they say, 'indeed, taking government as an example, we cannot expect any improvement in the situation if the problems are marginalized. (SCJ)   Overall, the solution to the world's impending predicament lies in the fact that 'we will need to retain the best features of 20th century civilization, but at the same time start to focus our attention on the other three types of resources in building a new model of civilization more suited to the new century. (SCJ)   In the hopefully near future people will begin to understand that, 'the desire for building a brighter future for humanity will be the driving force to create a new value system. (SCJ) Indeed, as our present insatiable appetite for more and more material wants shows a regressive worsening of the planet's situation, people will start to question these values. Hopefully, it will not be too late to turn the clock back.   The ORE-STEM concept with over 1,000 satelite ORE-Incubator centres positioned throughout the world may hold the secret of holding this great change together. For the SCJ understands the basic need for a continuous sustainability strategy as they say, 'with the development of revolutionary science we must also establish more refined value systems, thereby creating a self-propelling structure.' (SCJ)   Indeed, Japan's most learned and revered scientists see the same emerging picture of global consultation as the WIF does. In this respect for matters to succeed the SCJ states that, 'we will need to establish the formation of groups of scientists with far-sighted views on the future of humanity.'(SCJ)   For 'conversation and communication of ideas between people should be afforded the highest priority.'(SCJ) The WIF has been putting this concept forward since its inception which includes all the creative thoughts of mankind. That means that everyone is valued and its access is openly made available to all the peoples of the world.   The SCJ goes on by stating that, 'we must accept the basic premise that creating the new value system is inseparable from the history of the creation and progress of human civilization. In creating the new value system, we must fully understand all the		major classical civilizations of the world - Japan, the West, Islam, India, Iran, and China, among others - in order to map out a future direction for human civilization.' (SCJ)   In this respect future science and technology has to touch everyone through 'the dissemination of fundamental scientific knowledge, nurturing logical thinking and intelligence (reasoning and ingenuity), trusting the foresight and problem-solving capabilities of science, improving public access to scientific materials and documents, and the setting of the standards that underpin scientific judgements have to become a pre-requisite for a new value system. (SCJ)   Overall, the modern world has forgotten the basis of learning in the quest to attain above everything else, the capture of materialistic rewards. We have therefore to change back to how our forefathers taught us. This the SCJ states in the words, 'we need a system of mutual exchange designed to encourage learning from one's elders.' (SCJ) This is the WIF's fundamental basis of consultation through the membership, as most have the benefit of more than six decades of life, knowledge and learning to base their assesments upon.   This system of adoption that once reigned supreme has to be equipped with new ways to join the whole together and as the SCJ states, 'in addition we need to include the establishment of new facilities and networks.' (SCJ) These new structures have to incorporate a fresh look into things and 'what is really needed is a new research structure to look into general environmental issues, including issues in developing countries such as industry, society, the environment, problems in education, and population increases.' (SCJ)   The ORE-Incubator centres, one for every 6-million of the earth's creative inhabitants, would bind the system together. As the SCJ says, 'we must develop facilities for cultural activity such as science centres et al.' (SCJ)   Presently, the world is controlled by the contiuous devourment of fossil fuels. In this respect, 'the Electricity Industry Yearbook of Japan for 1998 states that the ratio between thermal, nuclear, and hydro power production is 63:17:20 for
www.thewif.org.uk - The World Innovation Foundation - April - July 2001						3