Great post and forced me to unblock you and resubscribe. Too many humans are using/depleting too many natural resources and producing too much pollution, including GHGs and climate collapse. The canary in the coal mine of our overheated environment are the 1.2 trillion tons of global ice melting annually, where each pound absorbs 144 BTUs of heat energy we are generating by burning 8 B tons of coal annually and 100 M barrels of oil daily. Have a blessed evening and know that you/we are not alone.
Glad your back. We both understand the problem and little doubt carry unique insights that should be shared. Those of us who see stark reality must be allies.
Thank you, Geoffrey! We are essentially living in Zizek Slavoj's End Times, with the confluence of everything bad imaginable all at once. The existential threats rank in this order: nuclear war (at any time), plastics pollution which WILL hasten the 6th extinction, taking out most species in about 2 generations, and lastly global warming, a long-term decline in livability. The deliberate breaking of the world financial situation throws all other initiatives in the trash bin, and the coming economic collapse can result in devastating civil wars. These are 1000x more concerning than "planetary health" - the planet will be just fine - humans, not so much. Which is OK, really.
I'm always appreciative when readers expand my investigations, just looked up Slavoj. He looks politically incorrect, Kathleen. : )
The confluence of threats couldn't be much greater, and most were foreseen by the 60s and 70s as you well know. The foolishness of our situation was largely predicted, yet we were incapable of making changes.
Nuclear war as always is a possibility, certainly exacerbated by the growing pressure of resource depletion and pending, unstoppable economic breakdown. Little comfort, but this administration is merely speeding the inevitable.
From a detached philosophical perspective, yes the planet will be fine, but the needlessness of what we have done bothers me as does the destruction of the species which make the planet so beautiful and interesting. From elephants and octopus to phytoplankton and earthworms, every other creature has been living within its means and doesn't deserve this fate.
Any creature that outstrips its environment is doomed. It's likely a different primate would have gotten us here if there were no Homo sapiens. I often think the worst evolutionary development was hands, which have given us the ability to build the tools of our own destruction.
Being an atheist, I generally steer clear of religion, however it's notable I dated a Christian lady some years ago. Although we had arrived at end of the world conclusions on far different paths, that wasn't an impediment. We both agreed the near term future for humanity was dim.
I'm not trying to endorse Slavoj, but just noting that what we are dealing with parallels his title "Living in the End Times." Yes, people complain that someone is always predicting the end of the world, but truly, this time is different. Think of a moron in charge of the nuclear "suitcase." As you mention, ALL species at risk. Every planetary boundary IGNORED. This "end Times" is the logical outcome of human "progress"; Nature is always in the way of building a glorious City, with zero regard for any natural cycles or ecosystems, etc. Yet I look at the traffic on the streets everyday, and, sure enough, nobody is about to change ANYTHING.
Just keep breathing, don't give the fools and wannabe kings an easy win. It's very grim, but curiosity keeps me going even if just as study of greed and stupidity.
Thanks. I keep breathing, although these posts require effort that belies the end writing. With my eyes wide open, what else is there to do, but inform and fight?
And remember to enjoy time with nature and 'rest-awe' ourselves. Take care of you, we live in heavy times. But they may also prove very unpredictable in helpful ways... (I've always been sh*t at fortune telling even with science background, packed it in a while back.)
Various physical problems have taken nature away from me, but the thousands of hours I spent in her embrace led me to this writing. Our disconnect from nature I feel certain is responsible for much of the psychosis we see.
when my very old mother couldnt go outside very well anymore, I wld bring the outside in for her. this time, late fall. I made a big bowl of moss and lichen and twigs, bc here in the northeast USA, that is what she would normally see/interact with. she ran her hands over and over the moss (may the tardigrades forgive me). Anyway, I hope you have someone bringing you bowls of moss, but I suspect you have moss in your minds eye, or soul, so clear, you dont need the bowls.
Very sorry to hear that, I struggle some days but some days just knowing and remembering is a gift. Or nature livestreams...
The psychosis is maybe a natural negative feedback on humans (nature works in mysterious ways, no reason for it to be pretty or pleasant). We do seem to be driving ourselves mad. It must have felt like this 100 yrs ago too, particularly in Europe. I suspect there's other parts of the world with no living memory of it not feeling like this. We carry on with cussed curiosity...
I also hope that Margi Prideaux and her neighbors manage to survive what’s coming. They are relearning farming with vastly lessened water (changing seasons, less rain).
Not terribly positive, I suppose, but it’s most likely that *life* will survive the climate changes via evolution…just not human life.
I am bummed out. I just received the August USS Liberty newsletter and found out that the organizers of the 58th reunion came under attack with personal threats and being called antisemitic. They had to hire additional security and replace hotel workers who wouldn't serve them because they were afraid for their safety. In addition, there was an effort to rename a new US Navy ship after the USS Liberty but our navy chickened out saying that they didn't want to offend Israel. Remember them, the ones that attacked the ship intentionally?
The twisting of the word antisemitic is a profound problem. Being Jewish and being a Zionist are no more the same as being white and a KKK member. The violence of words precedes physical violence, and we live in a world where even the highest degrees do not automatically guarantee wisdom.
Yes, I remember about the USS Liberty. I believe you are the one who told me about that.
Every individual failure to stand up is much of what got us here.
If everyone understood the suffering we're rapidly moving into, perhaps there would be more courage.
I worked with a former US Navy sailor who was on a ship escorting the Liberty, which was being towed to harbor for repairs after Israel’s attack. He talked of watching the bodies of dead American sailors float out of the hull breach as the Liberty was towed. Israel never ‘fessed up to their attack and was never charged of it.
I was in the helicopter detachment aboard the USS America. We evacuated wounded from the ship to sick bay on the America the next morning. I think there were some bodies lost while the ship steamed to Malta. Other repair ports were closer, but the ship was made to travel across most of the Mediterranean to a British base where entry and viewing of the damaged ship could be controlled. I think they did lose some bodies out of the torpedo hole that killed 25 Americans working below decks. In Malta, over 1100 holes were welded up and the entire ship repainted to conceal Israeli use of napalm in violation of international law. This was done so that the American people wouldn't know the extent of the attack. U.S. and Israeli officials cooperated in covering up the attack. They minimized it saying there were only three strafing attacks (there were numerous); only one torpedo was fired (there were 5) that Israeli patrol planes flew over the ship only 3 times the morning of the attack (they overflew the ship for 3 hours including one low pass where they almost hit an antenna). The U.S. had an electronic intercept aircraft overhead throughout the 6 Days War and all the radio transmissions from every participant on land and sea were recorded. Those tapes are classified Top Secret nearly 60 years later to protect Israel.
Hang in there. Seeing clearly is crucial. I am holding out for survival of some species in refugia. So I am working hard on that. Since I don’t want to continue living without my fellow creatures, I must try. Oh, and thank you for clarifying the international and environmental connections of “clean energy.” Otherwise, we are just kidding ourselves. Thanks for your work. Reading this is a (painful) tonic.
I suppose my bugbear in any and all projections is that the danger, the threat, is the future. And the future is always decades away. Your arguments are solid but we will all be long gone.
Most would call me a doomer, when in truth not dealing with reality is doom.
I believe we are decades late in dealing with the problems we've created and know we are on the cusp of unimaginable suffering. That said, I hope for some survival on Earth for humans like Margi Prideaux doing all they can to survive, and for some of the amazing biodiversity we're taking with us. Maybe surviving such catastrophe could give humans the wisdom so sorely lacking, and without fossil fuels we couldn't replicate this disaster again.
I know the Arctic is flipped, I know the Greenland ice sheet is gone. Writing with any glimmer of hope at this point feels almost duplicitous, but for now I choose to fight and hope more and more do as well, respecting everyone has to take their own path. Some people choose to not talk about reality (my family). I leave them alone.
If I reach a point I can no longer ask people to fight, that may be my last article, IDK. Documenting the end without a vestige of hope may be more than I wish to muster.
Thank you for taking the time to write a calm, positive and fair statement in response to my rather flat and final note. I adjusted doomer to adaptationist a few years ago. Inactive hope, you might call it hopium, to me is really about wishing, praying, wanting, and waiting for someone to do something. While I live an extremely modest lifestyle as an adaptationist I now focus on wildlife survival. Margi and Geoff Prideaux are amazing people and I live in awe of their courage and tenacity, their small community connectiveness, their repeated efforts to make what will be a massive difference as we reach the precipice, the cusp of unimaginable suffering.
"The path to extinction is truly a stupid, meaningless shitshow."
And with that, it's time to turn the TV off, kids.
(Who else is secretly hoping the past few years (decades) have been just a dream and we're all about to wake up? Or that there really is an omnipotent god somewhere who finally got sick of watching Homo sapiens re-runs and finally decided to get off the couch? Or that we'll get overthrown by the whales? Or...)
Personally, I imagine whales to be deep thinkers with those huge brains, ancient roots and amazing communication abilities we know so little of. Their advantage? No hands to get in trouble with. Thanks, Birgitte.
No need to imagine... :) they apparently are, indeed, thinkers in the deep (quite literally so). Science is working on trying to understand their language; they also seem to have their own pod cultures and traits. Always a pleasure Geoff.
Thank you always for your research, writing, and thoughts. There are many approaches to behavioral change. My participation in No Kings was bolstered by the involvement of many and increasing numbers of ordinary people who believe that the current regime in America is not only hastening world demise but also enabling those who created the problems we currently face. This very real participation in opposition was inspiring and hopeful to me. My son is living in Germany, and another son in Mexico joined in No Kings from their international locations. Every BODY is why everybody counts!
There are a lot of balls in the air and many unknowns. Protests are important, but we need far more. As the economy crashes, desperation will become a factor. Trump is looking for a way to use the Insurrection Act, from there it's a short time to military law. Stay safe, Pam, these ICE goons are psycho.
Great post and forced me to unblock you and resubscribe. Too many humans are using/depleting too many natural resources and producing too much pollution, including GHGs and climate collapse. The canary in the coal mine of our overheated environment are the 1.2 trillion tons of global ice melting annually, where each pound absorbs 144 BTUs of heat energy we are generating by burning 8 B tons of coal annually and 100 M barrels of oil daily. Have a blessed evening and know that you/we are not alone.
Glad your back. We both understand the problem and little doubt carry unique insights that should be shared. Those of us who see stark reality must be allies.
Thank you, Geoffrey! We are essentially living in Zizek Slavoj's End Times, with the confluence of everything bad imaginable all at once. The existential threats rank in this order: nuclear war (at any time), plastics pollution which WILL hasten the 6th extinction, taking out most species in about 2 generations, and lastly global warming, a long-term decline in livability. The deliberate breaking of the world financial situation throws all other initiatives in the trash bin, and the coming economic collapse can result in devastating civil wars. These are 1000x more concerning than "planetary health" - the planet will be just fine - humans, not so much. Which is OK, really.
I'm always appreciative when readers expand my investigations, just looked up Slavoj. He looks politically incorrect, Kathleen. : )
The confluence of threats couldn't be much greater, and most were foreseen by the 60s and 70s as you well know. The foolishness of our situation was largely predicted, yet we were incapable of making changes.
Nuclear war as always is a possibility, certainly exacerbated by the growing pressure of resource depletion and pending, unstoppable economic breakdown. Little comfort, but this administration is merely speeding the inevitable.
From a detached philosophical perspective, yes the planet will be fine, but the needlessness of what we have done bothers me as does the destruction of the species which make the planet so beautiful and interesting. From elephants and octopus to phytoplankton and earthworms, every other creature has been living within its means and doesn't deserve this fate.
Any creature that outstrips its environment is doomed. It's likely a different primate would have gotten us here if there were no Homo sapiens. I often think the worst evolutionary development was hands, which have given us the ability to build the tools of our own destruction.
https://drewponder.substack.com/p/the-four-horsemen-are-riding
I watched the video, how uplifting!
Being an atheist, I generally steer clear of religion, however it's notable I dated a Christian lady some years ago. Although we had arrived at end of the world conclusions on far different paths, that wasn't an impediment. We both agreed the near term future for humanity was dim.
I'm not trying to endorse Slavoj, but just noting that what we are dealing with parallels his title "Living in the End Times." Yes, people complain that someone is always predicting the end of the world, but truly, this time is different. Think of a moron in charge of the nuclear "suitcase." As you mention, ALL species at risk. Every planetary boundary IGNORED. This "end Times" is the logical outcome of human "progress"; Nature is always in the way of building a glorious City, with zero regard for any natural cycles or ecosystems, etc. Yet I look at the traffic on the streets everyday, and, sure enough, nobody is about to change ANYTHING.
Just keep breathing, don't give the fools and wannabe kings an easy win. It's very grim, but curiosity keeps me going even if just as study of greed and stupidity.
Thanks. I keep breathing, although these posts require effort that belies the end writing. With my eyes wide open, what else is there to do, but inform and fight?
And remember to enjoy time with nature and 'rest-awe' ourselves. Take care of you, we live in heavy times. But they may also prove very unpredictable in helpful ways... (I've always been sh*t at fortune telling even with science background, packed it in a while back.)
Various physical problems have taken nature away from me, but the thousands of hours I spent in her embrace led me to this writing. Our disconnect from nature I feel certain is responsible for much of the psychosis we see.
when my very old mother couldnt go outside very well anymore, I wld bring the outside in for her. this time, late fall. I made a big bowl of moss and lichen and twigs, bc here in the northeast USA, that is what she would normally see/interact with. she ran her hands over and over the moss (may the tardigrades forgive me). Anyway, I hope you have someone bringing you bowls of moss, but I suspect you have moss in your minds eye, or soul, so clear, you dont need the bowls.
Nice. I live in the northeast, too, and can smell that moss.
Yes, all of those hours in my beloved mountains live with me. I am glad I made them a priority when my body was strong and agile.
Very sorry to hear that, I struggle some days but some days just knowing and remembering is a gift. Or nature livestreams...
The psychosis is maybe a natural negative feedback on humans (nature works in mysterious ways, no reason for it to be pretty or pleasant). We do seem to be driving ourselves mad. It must have felt like this 100 yrs ago too, particularly in Europe. I suspect there's other parts of the world with no living memory of it not feeling like this. We carry on with cussed curiosity...
I also hope that Margi Prideaux and her neighbors manage to survive what’s coming. They are relearning farming with vastly lessened water (changing seasons, less rain).
Not terribly positive, I suppose, but it’s most likely that *life* will survive the climate changes via evolution…just not human life.
I am bummed out. I just received the August USS Liberty newsletter and found out that the organizers of the 58th reunion came under attack with personal threats and being called antisemitic. They had to hire additional security and replace hotel workers who wouldn't serve them because they were afraid for their safety. In addition, there was an effort to rename a new US Navy ship after the USS Liberty but our navy chickened out saying that they didn't want to offend Israel. Remember them, the ones that attacked the ship intentionally?
The twisting of the word antisemitic is a profound problem. Being Jewish and being a Zionist are no more the same as being white and a KKK member. The violence of words precedes physical violence, and we live in a world where even the highest degrees do not automatically guarantee wisdom.
Yes, I remember about the USS Liberty. I believe you are the one who told me about that.
Every individual failure to stand up is much of what got us here.
If everyone understood the suffering we're rapidly moving into, perhaps there would be more courage.
I worked with a former US Navy sailor who was on a ship escorting the Liberty, which was being towed to harbor for repairs after Israel’s attack. He talked of watching the bodies of dead American sailors float out of the hull breach as the Liberty was towed. Israel never ‘fessed up to their attack and was never charged of it.
I was in the helicopter detachment aboard the USS America. We evacuated wounded from the ship to sick bay on the America the next morning. I think there were some bodies lost while the ship steamed to Malta. Other repair ports were closer, but the ship was made to travel across most of the Mediterranean to a British base where entry and viewing of the damaged ship could be controlled. I think they did lose some bodies out of the torpedo hole that killed 25 Americans working below decks. In Malta, over 1100 holes were welded up and the entire ship repainted to conceal Israeli use of napalm in violation of international law. This was done so that the American people wouldn't know the extent of the attack. U.S. and Israeli officials cooperated in covering up the attack. They minimized it saying there were only three strafing attacks (there were numerous); only one torpedo was fired (there were 5) that Israeli patrol planes flew over the ship only 3 times the morning of the attack (they overflew the ship for 3 hours including one low pass where they almost hit an antenna). The U.S. had an electronic intercept aircraft overhead throughout the 6 Days War and all the radio transmissions from every participant on land and sea were recorded. Those tapes are classified Top Secret nearly 60 years later to protect Israel.
Hang in there. Seeing clearly is crucial. I am holding out for survival of some species in refugia. So I am working hard on that. Since I don’t want to continue living without my fellow creatures, I must try. Oh, and thank you for clarifying the international and environmental connections of “clean energy.” Otherwise, we are just kidding ourselves. Thanks for your work. Reading this is a (painful) tonic.
Facing reality isn't easy, and it's hidden from most people. Thank you for the encouragement.
I suppose my bugbear in any and all projections is that the danger, the threat, is the future. And the future is always decades away. Your arguments are solid but we will all be long gone.
Most would call me a doomer, when in truth not dealing with reality is doom.
I believe we are decades late in dealing with the problems we've created and know we are on the cusp of unimaginable suffering. That said, I hope for some survival on Earth for humans like Margi Prideaux doing all they can to survive, and for some of the amazing biodiversity we're taking with us. Maybe surviving such catastrophe could give humans the wisdom so sorely lacking, and without fossil fuels we couldn't replicate this disaster again.
I know the Arctic is flipped, I know the Greenland ice sheet is gone. Writing with any glimmer of hope at this point feels almost duplicitous, but for now I choose to fight and hope more and more do as well, respecting everyone has to take their own path. Some people choose to not talk about reality (my family). I leave them alone.
If I reach a point I can no longer ask people to fight, that may be my last article, IDK. Documenting the end without a vestige of hope may be more than I wish to muster.
Thank you for taking the time to write a calm, positive and fair statement in response to my rather flat and final note. I adjusted doomer to adaptationist a few years ago. Inactive hope, you might call it hopium, to me is really about wishing, praying, wanting, and waiting for someone to do something. While I live an extremely modest lifestyle as an adaptationist I now focus on wildlife survival. Margi and Geoff Prideaux are amazing people and I live in awe of their courage and tenacity, their small community connectiveness, their repeated efforts to make what will be a massive difference as we reach the precipice, the cusp of unimaginable suffering.
"The path to extinction is truly a stupid, meaningless shitshow."
And with that, it's time to turn the TV off, kids.
(Who else is secretly hoping the past few years (decades) have been just a dream and we're all about to wake up? Or that there really is an omnipotent god somewhere who finally got sick of watching Homo sapiens re-runs and finally decided to get off the couch? Or that we'll get overthrown by the whales? Or...)
Personally, I imagine whales to be deep thinkers with those huge brains, ancient roots and amazing communication abilities we know so little of. Their advantage? No hands to get in trouble with. Thanks, Birgitte.
No need to imagine... :) they apparently are, indeed, thinkers in the deep (quite literally so). Science is working on trying to understand their language; they also seem to have their own pod cultures and traits. Always a pleasure Geoff.
I feel the same.
Thank you. The truth is always a breath of fresh air.
The readers that can handle the truth are dear to me. I don't feel alone. Thank you for your support. It's appreciated.
Brilliant essay!
Thank you, Michael. I'm glad it gave you something.
Thank you always for your research, writing, and thoughts. There are many approaches to behavioral change. My participation in No Kings was bolstered by the involvement of many and increasing numbers of ordinary people who believe that the current regime in America is not only hastening world demise but also enabling those who created the problems we currently face. This very real participation in opposition was inspiring and hopeful to me. My son is living in Germany, and another son in Mexico joined in No Kings from their international locations. Every BODY is why everybody counts!
There are a lot of balls in the air and many unknowns. Protests are important, but we need far more. As the economy crashes, desperation will become a factor. Trump is looking for a way to use the Insurrection Act, from there it's a short time to military law. Stay safe, Pam, these ICE goons are psycho.