Happiness, TIR, and the Circular Economy

I have been doing some research on Jeremy Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution  (TIR)  The book is subtitled 'How lateral power is transforming energy, the economy, and the world'.  In October 2013 Rifkin will be partnering with Ellen MacArthur and Bhutan Happiness Commission gen sec. Karma Tshiteem at the World Forum in Lille.
http://www.worldforum-lille.org/en/2013-event/highlights-at-a-glance.html
Amazingly Rifkin's project is actually beginning to happen. TIR was endorsed by the EU in 2007.  The mayor of Rome invited the TIR team to initiate a carbon neutral plan for Rome, in 2010. Other European cities are following, eg Utrecht and Nord-pas de Calais.
This comprehensive 5 pillar plan is not the fulfilment of our aspirations for the commons by any means, but a step in the right direction, using the collaboration of local and national government and big business. It allows us to see the possibility of progress being made, even while the mainstream continues to head full speed for the cliff. With widespread publicity and discussion of this project, I could visualise these plans being applied to Brighton and Bradford, Leeds and Leicester.
Rifkin indicates the profound effect such a project would have on the collaborative relationships between people, in education, health, commerce, and governance, and more particularly on paving the way for our appreciating the necessity of a partnership with nature and the biosphere.
We also need to appreciate the urgency of these steps. This is a race against time, against the irreversible effects of climate change. I am asking for your help in making the TIR project available to the public.
Contact me on anna@shsh.co.uk
Anna