Overpopulation is a big factor that really gets some people understandably upset. We could sustain more people with less consumption — in theory. Unfortunately, we will never live in a perfect enough way to live at theoretical maximum population. Underdiscussed as well is longevity. The maximum realistic population from my research has wide variance, 2 to 4bn, but in light of the immediate crises we face I find that speculation pointless. We're heading for an ugly reduction from a wide range of climate, overshoot, and political factors. It's fearful.
Another brutal article 👌🏻 I’m almost scared to watch that documentary.
I stopped buying stuff I don’t need decades ago. Never understood the allure. Much nicer to work less, not having to pay for it. My fashion is decades out of date and I just don’t care.
Except books. I have quite a few unread books. To my defense, I mostly use libraries and audiobooks 😋
I regret not having been a writer all my life. I wonder what I may have written before I was collapse aware? I actually had a fun, if frequently sardonic sense of humor. I often made people laugh, and really enjoyed that. I can't be that kind of writer under these circumstances.
Stuff is a prison. The few things I reached for to "own" were a burden. Total agreement. Never understood how granite countertops in the kitchen could make me a happier person. It's all bullshit.
Geoff: First and foremost, I am so sorry to hear about your Mom following a short period from your Dad's passing. As a friend says, "Life is a bowl of rotten cherries with a bunch of nuts thrown in."
I admire your strength and resolve to make a difference in this world with your writing. Your article is excellent. So many bury their head in denial regarding individual consumption. Few recognize what is needed to live a contented life without compulsive buying. It's a disease. The fix is simple- buy less. Such a concept is foreign to many who attribute their self-worth to the number, brand, and material items purchased.
It's a silly life cycle of accumulation while younger when difficult to afford, followed by a deliberate (often never addressed) effort to get rid of all of the "stuff."
As many have said, take care of yourself! We appreciate you and understand that life circumstances require your time and attention.
I agree, buying is a disease. Little wonder, the pimps of consumption push their messages on us 24/7, 365. You are correct about the life cycle, and at some point all that accumulation becomes someone else's problem, in the case of wealthy countries dumping our refuse made created by stealing their resources back on them.
The nuts are running the show, but I often wonder how many of the victims would gladly step in to take their place.
Thank you, yes, taking care of my mom is going to involve much time, but I'm not abandoning the commitment I made here. Everything grows scarier on Monday.
I am sorry for your loss and understand the stress of parental care as I am dealing with my mother needing full time care now. I think one think that can help people consume less is simply deleting social media apps with influencers and ads for selling shit we don't know. It reached peak for me during lockdowns. Why did I buy a bathing suit with my dog's face on it?
I have been vegetarian and mostly plant based since I was 13 after I went to my first earth day fair. Everything I learned back then in the 1990s is happening now. I didn't have children for this reason. So no new consumers for America but also I preventing a next generation from inheriting this mess. I have nightmares about my 1980s toys floating around in the ocean somewhere.
Thank you, Sarah May. Social media apps are a rabbit hole for many of us, and the algorithms are increasingly manipulated for selfish gain. I've barely used FB, as Zuck's policy that anything posted there becomes his property is absolutely offensive to me. Of course, AI has scraped EVERYTHING now. I did go down the Twitter rabbit hole for about 18 months until Musk bought it, which in part landed me here and writing.
Doubtlessly, I have chunks and shreds of plastic toys floating in the oceans, too. Legos were a favorite long before they were kits to be followed, rather just blocks to build with your imagination. I could do an entire commentary on that.
Most of us were in a state of desperation during the lockdown, and all of us are in a state of evolution. Being plant based puts you far ahead of most people. Since you already have your dog face bathing suit, enjoy it. Loving animals is a sign of a good heart.
I don’t know how old you are, but I can certainly understand your difficulties. I hope for good for you and your mom. Just went through this again, as my mom moved from independent living to assisted living within the same community wore me out. I love her, but she’s 98 and I’m 74. It’s really hard. Don’t worry about other stuff for now and take care of yourself.
Thank you, Rachel. Somehow, I'm not a worrier. I just take care of everything I can when I have what I need to do so. It's just lots of phone calls and notes, and hoping others may have the answers to questions I may not know to ask. Here, 86 and 63, no doubt that's a big difference. Everything at the beginning and the end is accelerated. How I miss that long, smooth plateau in the middle. Stay well.
I'm no expert, but I agree. Certainly there can be a biological component, low serotonin levels for instance. I don't know specifically what made Wallace take his life, but do know Infinite Jest was infinitely depressing with a legitimate critique in its writing. When I consider how violent and destructive people are to each other and the environment, I often wonder if those who are merely sad can can tip into physical clinical depression. There is little doubt about the mind body connection.
The best thing about your advice is that it gives each of us agency to keep from feeling doomed that so much is out of our control. It's not just a fight against over production and consumption but against advertising, media repetition that brainwashes us into thinking about the new-musthaves. Just a Siren's song that lures us into a crash on the rocks in more ways than one.
So much IS out of control. Simply boycotting and choosing the lowest possible consumption could truly make a huge impact. The trick is to get enough people to participate. As always, I hope my readers become ambassadors of my words, and those of others doing similar work. With the political system broken, everything is coming down to the average person. We must unite, and cutting off our money is a huge tool.
Sorry about your family pain and the stress you are under. Remember, I wrote the book, "Stress R Us", after a lifetime of medical study and practice and my own struggles with stress, alcoholism, and addiction. I would like to suggest that you download a free online PDF copy from Stanford. In my book, after a lifetime in medicine, I came to the belief that our "toxic culture" and "built" physical/psychological/cultural environments have resulted in our chronically overactive stress responses, which wear down our adrenal glands and leave us in a state of "adrenal fatigue" or even failure, of which autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis is an example. I treated many hundreds of such suffering souls and always recommended James Wilson's amazing little book, "Adrenal Fatigue", which lays out an easy to follow treatment plan, which I have followed on 3 occasions to rebuild my adrenals. My very best wishes for you and your mother (whose osteoporosis is a stress disease explained in my book), warmly, Gregg Miklashek, MD
Thank you. My mother has severe short term memory loss and anger, which adds to the challenge. I break things down into pieces and focus on the immediate that needs to happen. That's my way, I don't get overwhelmed. It's still difficult, though. I agree, this culture creates stress, and that has physical results. One of my grandmothers had rheumatoid arthritis, but my mom doesn't, although some osteo from age is present. I was volatile when younger, but learned to control that. I suppose that learned suppression has to go somewhere. I used to let it out through serious cycling and strength exercises, but that's gone. Now I write, hardly an equitable substitution, lol. Would love to read your book. Do you have a link?
Great article. I am sorry to hear about your mom's challenges and yours. BTW, mangistha is an inexpensive herb and great for clearing the lymph system. Best of luck!
I'll look for it. Slow degradation in spite of big pharma "solutions." A healthy eater and heavy exerciser. Hard not to believe I haven't been poisoned. Of course, in 70,000 miles of bicycle riding, what did I drink from? Plastic water bottles. Fantastic.
The ultimate revolutionary act would be for everyone to stay in bed and get some much-needed sleep while the world that depends on them grinds to a halt.
That's why I keep coming back to boycotting and getting money out of oil sponsoring banks. It could be a significant action at sufficient scale, and doesn't require physical risk. Sick outs as you imply could be another effective tool.
It is apparently easier to make new stuff and throw the older stuff away but I am hopeful that this will soon come to an end as depletion of resources and fossil fuels continues. It is time to shut down manufacturing (especially useless, made to fail junk) and start fixing things.
It wasn't always so. Things used to be built to last and to be fixed. One of my guilty pleasures is vintage stereo equipment. All of it up until about 1979 is relatively easy to repair. Then came integrated circuits. If you can't get the chips on newer stuff, it's trash by design. Cynical and inexcusable. It also eliminated a profession for those who enjoyed repairing electronics.
Here's the thing, though. We were already well past the point of sustainability when my ancient stereo gear was built.
Overpopulation is a big factor that really gets some people understandably upset. We could sustain more people with less consumption — in theory. Unfortunately, we will never live in a perfect enough way to live at theoretical maximum population. Underdiscussed as well is longevity. The maximum realistic population from my research has wide variance, 2 to 4bn, but in light of the immediate crises we face I find that speculation pointless. We're heading for an ugly reduction from a wide range of climate, overshoot, and political factors. It's fearful.
I’m sorry for your loss. Take care.
Another brutal article 👌🏻 I’m almost scared to watch that documentary.
I stopped buying stuff I don’t need decades ago. Never understood the allure. Much nicer to work less, not having to pay for it. My fashion is decades out of date and I just don’t care.
Except books. I have quite a few unread books. To my defense, I mostly use libraries and audiobooks 😋
I regret not having been a writer all my life. I wonder what I may have written before I was collapse aware? I actually had a fun, if frequently sardonic sense of humor. I often made people laugh, and really enjoyed that. I can't be that kind of writer under these circumstances.
Stuff is a prison. The few things I reached for to "own" were a burden. Total agreement. Never understood how granite countertops in the kitchen could make me a happier person. It's all bullshit.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks as always for your direct takes.
Appreciated. We all face these challenges at some point. It's part of life.
Geoff: First and foremost, I am so sorry to hear about your Mom following a short period from your Dad's passing. As a friend says, "Life is a bowl of rotten cherries with a bunch of nuts thrown in."
I admire your strength and resolve to make a difference in this world with your writing. Your article is excellent. So many bury their head in denial regarding individual consumption. Few recognize what is needed to live a contented life without compulsive buying. It's a disease. The fix is simple- buy less. Such a concept is foreign to many who attribute their self-worth to the number, brand, and material items purchased.
It's a silly life cycle of accumulation while younger when difficult to afford, followed by a deliberate (often never addressed) effort to get rid of all of the "stuff."
As many have said, take care of yourself! We appreciate you and understand that life circumstances require your time and attention.
I agree, buying is a disease. Little wonder, the pimps of consumption push their messages on us 24/7, 365. You are correct about the life cycle, and at some point all that accumulation becomes someone else's problem, in the case of wealthy countries dumping our refuse made created by stealing their resources back on them.
The nuts are running the show, but I often wonder how many of the victims would gladly step in to take their place.
Thank you, yes, taking care of my mom is going to involve much time, but I'm not abandoning the commitment I made here. Everything grows scarier on Monday.
I am sorry for your loss and understand the stress of parental care as I am dealing with my mother needing full time care now. I think one think that can help people consume less is simply deleting social media apps with influencers and ads for selling shit we don't know. It reached peak for me during lockdowns. Why did I buy a bathing suit with my dog's face on it?
I have been vegetarian and mostly plant based since I was 13 after I went to my first earth day fair. Everything I learned back then in the 1990s is happening now. I didn't have children for this reason. So no new consumers for America but also I preventing a next generation from inheriting this mess. I have nightmares about my 1980s toys floating around in the ocean somewhere.
Thank you, Sarah May. Social media apps are a rabbit hole for many of us, and the algorithms are increasingly manipulated for selfish gain. I've barely used FB, as Zuck's policy that anything posted there becomes his property is absolutely offensive to me. Of course, AI has scraped EVERYTHING now. I did go down the Twitter rabbit hole for about 18 months until Musk bought it, which in part landed me here and writing.
Doubtlessly, I have chunks and shreds of plastic toys floating in the oceans, too. Legos were a favorite long before they were kits to be followed, rather just blocks to build with your imagination. I could do an entire commentary on that.
Most of us were in a state of desperation during the lockdown, and all of us are in a state of evolution. Being plant based puts you far ahead of most people. Since you already have your dog face bathing suit, enjoy it. Loving animals is a sign of a good heart.
I don’t know how old you are, but I can certainly understand your difficulties. I hope for good for you and your mom. Just went through this again, as my mom moved from independent living to assisted living within the same community wore me out. I love her, but she’s 98 and I’m 74. It’s really hard. Don’t worry about other stuff for now and take care of yourself.
Thank you, Rachel. Somehow, I'm not a worrier. I just take care of everything I can when I have what I need to do so. It's just lots of phone calls and notes, and hoping others may have the answers to questions I may not know to ask. Here, 86 and 63, no doubt that's a big difference. Everything at the beginning and the end is accelerated. How I miss that long, smooth plateau in the middle. Stay well.
A small cautionary note (re: the segment about David Foster Wallace)
Depression is not sadness. And sadness is not depression.
You can be extremely sad without being depressed. (and vice versa)
They really have nothing to do with each other.
I'm no expert, but I agree. Certainly there can be a biological component, low serotonin levels for instance. I don't know specifically what made Wallace take his life, but do know Infinite Jest was infinitely depressing with a legitimate critique in its writing. When I consider how violent and destructive people are to each other and the environment, I often wonder if those who are merely sad can can tip into physical clinical depression. There is little doubt about the mind body connection.
The best thing about your advice is that it gives each of us agency to keep from feeling doomed that so much is out of our control. It's not just a fight against over production and consumption but against advertising, media repetition that brainwashes us into thinking about the new-musthaves. Just a Siren's song that lures us into a crash on the rocks in more ways than one.
So much IS out of control. Simply boycotting and choosing the lowest possible consumption could truly make a huge impact. The trick is to get enough people to participate. As always, I hope my readers become ambassadors of my words, and those of others doing similar work. With the political system broken, everything is coming down to the average person. We must unite, and cutting off our money is a huge tool.
No, not being 'nice'. Truthful.
My comment would have more impact though if it had no typos! 🤣
Typos are okay. I know how smart you are, friend on the other side of the world.
Sorry about your family pain and the stress you are under. Remember, I wrote the book, "Stress R Us", after a lifetime of medical study and practice and my own struggles with stress, alcoholism, and addiction. I would like to suggest that you download a free online PDF copy from Stanford. In my book, after a lifetime in medicine, I came to the belief that our "toxic culture" and "built" physical/psychological/cultural environments have resulted in our chronically overactive stress responses, which wear down our adrenal glands and leave us in a state of "adrenal fatigue" or even failure, of which autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis is an example. I treated many hundreds of such suffering souls and always recommended James Wilson's amazing little book, "Adrenal Fatigue", which lays out an easy to follow treatment plan, which I have followed on 3 occasions to rebuild my adrenals. My very best wishes for you and your mother (whose osteoporosis is a stress disease explained in my book), warmly, Gregg Miklashek, MD
Thank you. My mother has severe short term memory loss and anger, which adds to the challenge. I break things down into pieces and focus on the immediate that needs to happen. That's my way, I don't get overwhelmed. It's still difficult, though. I agree, this culture creates stress, and that has physical results. One of my grandmothers had rheumatoid arthritis, but my mom doesn't, although some osteo from age is present. I was volatile when younger, but learned to control that. I suppose that learned suppression has to go somewhere. I used to let it out through serious cycling and strength exercises, but that's gone. Now I write, hardly an equitable substitution, lol. Would love to read your book. Do you have a link?
Just Google the title and download the PDF from the Stanford site. My prayers go with you. Gregg
Thank you, Gregg.
Great article. I am sorry to hear about your mom's challenges and yours. BTW, mangistha is an inexpensive herb and great for clearing the lymph system. Best of luck!
Thanks. Opened up a page on mangistha. I'll check it out!
I use it myself every day and it is not very expensive.
I'll look for it. Slow degradation in spite of big pharma "solutions." A healthy eater and heavy exerciser. Hard not to believe I haven't been poisoned. Of course, in 70,000 miles of bicycle riding, what did I drink from? Plastic water bottles. Fantastic.
Thank you Geoffrey, well done. We now have uncountable existential threats and most people's remedy seems to be retail therapy (shopping).
It’s really over consumption by an over population with under- understanding and even less will power to act . The earth does not care , we better .
Yes, the Earth is the boss. Seems like most will never understand this fundamental truth.
Another brilliant peice, despite the manipulation of that plastic I your brain (!).
Family first, no matter what. We'll all wait for you.
The plastic makes me drool, but I still seem to be able to assemble a cogent thought. Unless, maybe, you're just being nice, Margi. Thank you.
The ultimate revolutionary act would be for everyone to stay in bed and get some much-needed sleep while the world that depends on them grinds to a halt.
That's why I keep coming back to boycotting and getting money out of oil sponsoring banks. It could be a significant action at sufficient scale, and doesn't require physical risk. Sick outs as you imply could be another effective tool.
Any tool in a storm.
It is apparently easier to make new stuff and throw the older stuff away but I am hopeful that this will soon come to an end as depletion of resources and fossil fuels continues. It is time to shut down manufacturing (especially useless, made to fail junk) and start fixing things.
It wasn't always so. Things used to be built to last and to be fixed. One of my guilty pleasures is vintage stereo equipment. All of it up until about 1979 is relatively easy to repair. Then came integrated circuits. If you can't get the chips on newer stuff, it's trash by design. Cynical and inexcusable. It also eliminated a profession for those who enjoyed repairing electronics.
Here's the thing, though. We were already well past the point of sustainability when my ancient stereo gear was built.
Laws against deliberate obsolescence should be part of a plan, though, a much bigger plan. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/degrowth-the-vision-we-must-demand