There was lots to do, and the new Congress wasted no time. Since the Capitol Building was demolished, the 535 members met in the grand ballroom of one of the few structures still standing in Washington, DC: the J.W. Marriott Hotel. That facility could easily accommodate groups of 1,000 people or more, and this would serve as the interim meeting place for an indefinite period of time. These new members of Congress needed time to get to know one another, familiarize themselves with procedure, and settle in to their new positions. So, the first few days would be spent in informal conversation and discussions. To be sure, there was lots to talk about.
Of notable priority, of course, was the twenty-five resolutions that would have to be put forth as public referendums, voted on by the people, and then implemented into law by the new Congress. Accompanying the new Presidential Triumverate to D.C. had been a plane full of O.U.T.R.A.G.E. advisors, economists, political consultants, government ambassadors, social philosophers, diplomats, and former government policymakers. Among them was a Philosopher of Science, Ervin Laszlo, who came prepared to speak to this new body politic. He was introduced by Barack Obama, and was the first individual speaker to address the new Congress. Founder of the Influential Club of Budapest, an international organization of artists and scholars, Laszlo laid it on the line directly: "What this world need now," is began, "is YOU! Science won't change the world...people will. We don't need changes in science or politics. We need changes in human attitudes. The same technologies based on the same scientific discoveries can be misused - as they often are - or, they can be used to make things better. With a hammer, for example, you can build a shelter - or you can kill a person. More and more people are starting to live differently and change their priorities. They experience the miracle of life instead of fighting for survival, wealth and power. It's a choice we all can make...and with enough of these right choices, we can change the world." Laszlo had been preaching this 'gospel' for decades, too often on deaf ears. But, after the events of January 17, 2008, and the aftermath of multiple natural disasters in the United States, Americans were perhaps more willing to listen to the sermon than anyone else in the world.
As the United States reformed its political arena, it would also find it necessary to refine its social agendas and rebuild its internal environments. Such a monumental task, Laszlo argued, would require a whole new kind of political leadership, an extraordinary commitment to social change, and intense attention to ecological issues.
As American cities started to rebuild, there would be ample opportunity to instigate new ideas. Everything from sophisticated energy renewal projects to basic recycling programs. The use of wind and water could replace America's addictions to oil and coal. New Delhi, India, for example, had an archaic water system that couldn't supply the demand, especially as residents drilled almost a quarter-million wells from which to extract drinking water. Now, a series of pipes channel rainwater from rooftops. The water trickles into underground storage tanks and replenishes natural aquifers far below the surface. A A 1,000-square-foot roof can 'harvest' up to 13,000 gallons of fresh water in a year! It's those kinds of simple, innovative ideas American restorators needed to investigate, Laszlo instructed.
Instead of petroleum - or even ethanol - to fuel automobiles, switchgrass or hemp could be grown to provide higher yields of biodiesel fuels. Corn, which American industry seemed to be basing its future energy needs on, actually only produced about 350 gallons of ethanol per acre. An acre of switchgrass or hemp would yield over 1000 gallons of biodiesel per acre!
Americans would have to "get over" its resistant to growing such renewable, sustainable crops as hemp, which had for a long time been avoided because of the stigma even the word brought to more U.S. citizens. Hemp was not just used for making illegal drugs; hemp was a bountiful, gregarious crop that had a broad range of uses.
The American concept of money and profit was going to have to change dramatically as well. No monetary system functions successfully when it ignores more than half the population. For a relatively modest few "at the top" of the food chain to hold most of the money while hundreds of millions have access to far less is not only incredibly selfish, it is an illogical and dysfunctional fiscal management system. Current monetary systems creates monopoly that promotes scarcity and limits the number of choices many people have for their own personal, social or community development.
All of these things, and more, would have to be addressed if this 'Rebellion of '08' was going to change America. Members of Congress listened intently, wondering if they were really going to be able to affect such