By Rob Verkerk PhD, founder, executive & scientific director

EV dilemma – or not

Have you thought about getting an EV – an electric vehicle, in long speak? Or have you already got one? Are you convinced that by eliminating any nasty tailpipe emissions you’ll be doing your bit for the environment? This is after all what California Governor Gavin Newsom wants all Californians to do by 2035.

Or does the idea of pushing EVs on an unsuspecting public make you see red, because you’re fully aware that tailpipe emissions are only a tiny part of the whole issue? What about the impact on African people and the environment through the mining boom that’s been kicked off by EV demand? The public has been deliberately shielded from reality to avoid interfering with skyrocketing demand, but even the New York Times parallels EV-related exploitation in Africa with the horrific blood diamond trade.

You might also be aware that studies that address life cycle assessment come up with very different findings that make the “zero-emissions” label very misleading, at best. 

A major Spanish study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production in 2021 found, using overall life cycle assessment that, relative to petrol vehicles, electric vehicles contribute to:

• 26% more fine particulate matter formation
• 20% more human carcinogens
• 61% more non-carcinogenic toxicity
• 31% more terrestrial ecotoxicity
• 39% more freshwater ecotoxicity, and
• 42% more marine ecotoxicity

Put the person who loves the idea of getting an EV together with someone who thinks it’s another form of mass deception and you rarely find the two can communicate constructively.

Same information, different emotion and behaviour

The same information, received by different people, with different values, knowledge bases, belief systems, social groups, and priorities, results in entirely different emotional response, feelings and behaviour. And it’s of course our emotions that drive our behaviour.

If you’ve had a family member who has subscribed to the notion that modern, allopathic medicine is the only form of medicine he or she can trust, you’re not going to make much headway by suggesting the value of vitamin C. Despite the emerging evidence being recognised by mainstream science.

Different information, very different emotion and behaviour

Now – think what happens when the information is different. When the person you’re talking to relies almost completely on mainstream media for information. While you rely almost entirely on what you consider to be more responsible and authoritative sources (ANH hopefully being one of them!) in what we now prefer to call ‘new media’, rather than ‘alt media’.

Modern, technocratic tribalism

The reality is we’re witnessing a fragmentation of communities and families in a way that is unprecedented in human history. We’ve of course seen many cases of ‘divide and conquer’ that caused fragmentation at the macro level. That’s what tends to happen in the case of wars between nations, where the respective populations of the nations come together to support their respective forces.

While nations might be at war with each other, within those nations, individual families and communities, often become more cohesive, as the existential threat of say a potential invading force, grows. Think about what’s happening now in Ukraine.  

In today’s world, families, relationships, people in their workplaces, even in their places of worship, are breaking apart.

Usually not over EVs. More likely over whether or not they should receive a covid shot, what kind of healthcare they should rely on, whether their kids should receive one or another type of education, or which kinds of media or social groups they should trust or engage with.

The reality is that we don’t get taught how to communicate when we’re children. We have a over half the world’s population who are more used to communicating through digital devices than person to person. The establishment, knowingly or unwittingly, has caused so much cognitive dissonance and so much polarisation by preventing open and free communication since the inception of cancel culture and censorship that huge numbers have lost the ability to be able to communicate effectively with those who sahre different views or values.

We’re becoming tribal. But not tribal in the way indigenous cultures did it – modern, unhealthy, destructive, digitally-influenced, disconnected, tribal. 

What we can do about it

Just like we had to morph our work in the field of natural health to factor in the biggest crisis affecting health in our lifetimes, when the covid crisis became dominant in so many of our lives, we now have to address this huge block in our ability to communicate effectively.

Our work with David Charalambous, an expert in behavioural science and communication who has helped thousands through his ReachingPeople platform, has shown that by working together we can put on a very unique event – and that’s happening this Saturday.

We can’t over-emphasise how important we think this event is – and we can promise that what you’’’ learn and experience – whether in person in Guildford (Surrey, UK) or online (from anywhere in the world) will be unique and very likely life-changing.

We’re already putting the know how into practice now to build bridges with people in our own movement, such as over whether or not viruses or SARS-CoV-2 exists. If we’re to progress our ability to communicate we must be present, we must be able to listen, we must understand where the other person is coming from, and we must be able to form a bond and, in effect, get on the same team.

This involves learning a bunch of skills most of us were never taught.

That can all change this Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

>>> Book now and find out more.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All participants, whether in person or online, will receive all the recordings of this unique educational and experiential event so that you can immerse yourself in all and any of the content in your time, as often as you like. In person guests will also be very well catered for by the Hotel Mandolay chefs and will enjoy the intimacy, including with some mystery participants! Online guests will still be able to take part in all the breakout sessions, and will be supported by our facilitators.    

>>> Ready to break free from the current narrative? Want to understand more about how people are being coerced and manipulated? Or are you a health professional who would like more tools for your practitioner toolkit? Find out more about our upcoming training day, Behaviour and Communication Magic

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Proudly affiliated with: Enough Movement                                        Coalition partner of: World Council for Health