There comes a point where understanding is no longer enough. Up to now, much of what we’ve explored in Has2BGreen has been about making sense of the world — the systems, the structures, the forces that shape outcomes. That matters. Without that clarity, it’s very difficult to act in a way that is effective. But there is another step. What happens when you move from understanding… into reality? This new series, Inside the System, sits within our broader In Real Life course. It exists because that transition — from knowledge to action — is not straightforward. In fact, it can be one of the most disorienting moments people experience. When you step into a role — whether that’s as a councillor, a campaigner, or someone trying to make change locally — the expectation is often that things will begin to move. You have a mandate. You have ideas. You have intent. And then something else happens. Processes appear. Decisions seem to have already been shaped. Questions do not always receive clear answers. Movement is slower than expected. It can feel confusing. And, at times, personal. This series was created to make sense of that experience. Not to criticise individuals. Not to encourage confrontation. But to understand how systems behave when you enter them. Across these lessons, we look at things that are rarely explained openly: Where decisions are actually made. Why process can feel overwhelming. What role gatekeepers play. How resistance shows up — and how to recognise it. What it means to stay effective over time. And how influence begins to build quietly, often before it becomes visible. This is not a set of tactics. It is a way of seeing. Because without that understanding, it is very easy to become frustrated, to push in ways that don’t work, or to step back entirely. And that’s not a reflection of the individual — it’s a reflection of how complex systems respond to change. With that understanding, something different becomes possible. You begin to see where movement can happen.

Over the past couple of weeks, my focus has been on preparing seven candidates for the upcoming county council elections. Each candidate requires six forms to be completed, along with two local supporters to act as proposer and seconder. These supporters must live within the candidate’s division and provide their electoral numbers. It’s a detailed process, and accuracy matters. Each nomination also needs to be signed off by the candidate’s agent and authorised by a Green Party official. To simplify things, we appointed a single agent to act for all seven candidates, which made coordination much easier. Alongside the formal process, we wanted each candidate to appear on our website with a short biography and a clear explanation of why they are standing. This led to some important conversations. At county level, you have to be careful about what you promise. There is no value in offering solutions to issues that sit outside your sphere of influence. Clarity here matters, both for candidates and for voters. One of our members, who works professionally in photography, took portraits of each candidate. The difference is striking. Instead of looking like generic campaign figures, they look like real people who live locally and care about their communities. Another of our members is a professional communications expert and graphic designer. His work has significantly raised the quality of our leaflets and social media posts, both in terms of design and messaging. We now have everything prepared and ready for submission this week. It has been another steep learning curve. This year we are standing seven candidates. Next year, the plan is closer to twenty-one.

Hi Nicole, welcome to the group. @Nicole Jordan My aim is to help people understand the Climate Crisis - how it became a crisis, what is going on now and where we might end up - if we do not act. Then, when you are ready, suggest ideas of how you might want to speak up or even lead groups to help make change happen. If enough of us do it, we will make a difference. As part of this, I am also on a journey from - I think I know - to - oh wow - really???? There is a lot here already, and I am beginning to think I need to get more of the "and here is how you can help" material. But when you read all of this, you will see how it can deflate you. Please rest assured that it is not my intention. But all that I read really indicates that this is an emergency, and it's huge. I started this because many of us are still learning what is going on. There is so much misinformation. But it is all linked - racism, religious wars, corporate power, billionaires - there is a system, and it is doing exactly what it was intended to do. Even to the extent that, as I write this, I think - Am I turning into a weirdo ...this cannot be true.... So I try to write in a calm, neutral voice about some really intense subjects - but if you think about them for a moment, we all know they are there. Seeing them as systems makes it easier - if we made them, we can change them. This is all about do unto others as you would do unto yourself. Now we need to do just that. Welcome to the group. Please feel free to point out what I have missed - what I should add, what you think I may have got wrong. I am here to learn as much as to share. Everyone - please welcome @Nicole Jordan !

Every battery that goes into an EV or a grid storage system starts with getting the cathode material right. If the crystal structure is off, the battery underperforms. Or worse, it degrades fast and ends up as waste. I work on NMC cathode compositions. The kind that go into the batteries powering electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. We were iterating on dozens of them. Every single one needed XRD (X-ray diffraction) to confirm the crystal structure before we could move forward with anything else. If the structure is wrong, nothing downstream matters. The problem was the XRD refinement itself. Open GSAS-II. Load the raw data. Set up the background. Run Le Bail. Refine scale, lattice, profile, atoms, cation mixing, preferred orientation. Converge. Check the fit. Maybe add impurity phases and do it again. That is roughly 10 steps, and every step has parameters you need to get right. A new person on the team? Couple of days just to learn the workflow. Someone experienced? Still two to three hours per sample to get a clean Rietveld refinement. Multiply that by dozens of compositions and you are burning weeks on something that should not be the bottleneck. Weeks spent on refinement is weeks not spent finding the next cathode composition that could make batteries cheaper, longer lasting, or faster to charge. That matters here because better batteries mean more affordable EVs, more reliable grid storage for solar and wind, and fewer reasons for anyone to stay on fossil fuels. So we built a tool at Maatria. We call it MAXA. The idea is simple: you should not need to babysit a 10-step refinement manually when the logic can be codified. Here is how it works: 1. Upload your raw XRD file and select your cathode composition. MAXA runs a 12-stage automated Rietveld refinement pipeline using GSAS-II under the hood. Background, Le Bail, scale, lattice, profile, atomic coordinates, cation mixing, preferred orientation, convergence, and final validation. 2. If the fit quality is poor, it detects residual peaks, suggests possible impurity phases, and lets you decide which to include for multi-phase refinement. 3. You get lattice parameters, c/a ratio, cation mixing percentage, bond distances, Rwp, and a full exportable report. Seconds, not hours.

WE have a new member @Gabriela Feijo - welcome to Has2BGreen. Like the Climate Crisis - day to day, it does not look like much is happening - then every so often, a new event occurs and new sections open up. Please take a look at Level 0 to get started, then move on to the other levels. Take it slow - this stuff is not for the faint-hearted. It's okay to read a bit, then give up for a while and come back later. I, too, have to take it in small doses. Gang - please give her a warm welcome. For my part, I am preparing a new section on the foundational systems of our modern life - the structures behind what we see that make the Climate Crisis more challenging to confront. At the same time, I am working with my local Green Party to get seven candidates elected to our County Council - this is a massive task and relies on people power, since unlike the parties we are competing with, we do not get or take money from corporations or billionaires. But in many ways, this is better, as it also strengthens community ties. My goal is to learn the in-the-field tasks required to help create real change. I will share what I learn here in levels 5 and 6.