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"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

Today's announcement of the call for entries for the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge couldn't have been timed better.

The world financial system is in chaos; vital ecosystems are under stress; climate change and its consequences are daily news; and the bare essentials of human life - food, water, and shelter - remain out of reach for billions of people.

Challenges of this magnitude require bold, visionary strategies; they require what Buckminster Fuller called "a design revolution." Great stand-alone solutions - pieces of a larger puzzle - are out there, but it will take more than an innovative gadget or isolated technological breakthrough to tackle the problems of a complex and interconnected world.

Enough said. If you've got your visionary thinker cap on, the throw your hat in the ring. The winner gets $100,000 - enough to kick start your project.

Entry deadline: Nov. 7, 2008
The registration process, and a gallery of last year's entries can be found on the BFI web site.