Thank you, Jan. I write with a profound sense of responsibility to get the facts right, and my work is only as effective as far as it's spread. I do it with humility and respect for those who inform me.
That is truth. I often turn to the writers, philosophers and artists in my thoughts. Those kinds of minds are where wisdom lies. Thank you for the comment.
Gosh, this is a great, but horrifying piece. Because of writers like you and Jessica it's finally sinking in that that the powers that be are actually trying to kill us all. The last few days, where I live, it's been 110 degrees. We are off grid on solar and wind power, but most of our neighbors are not. They all just suffered the first of (I suspect) many power black-outs this summer, so people didn't have AC for that time. And there was no warning of the shut-down or no apology from the power company. Woe is us...
Hi Robin, I don't enjoy being horrifying, but whether it's a plot, synergy, or coincidence, we are not prepared, or taking the right steps. Basic truths aren't being told, or at best being spun and downplayed in the mainstream media. The practical, life-threatening aspects you speak of are real and present. I fear for those I know and don't know who are most immediately vulnerable. Even those of us in relatively safe places from immediate effects will suffer. It's way bigger than our arrogant belief we are in control. We aren't, never were. Our best control would be to accept our limitations, and live within the generous confines the planet provides us. If you have the ability to flee northeast, that would at least provide some imperfect security.
Excellent post. We are our own worst enemy. The billionaires do want many of the regular folks and especially the poor and disabled to just die off. That’s the game plan, I believe. But it’s usually survival of the fittest, not the richest in the long run. I’d be OK with all of humanity gone and let the earth heal, which it would in time, and live in a balance of nature and relative peace, as nature intended it before man.
Thank you for the compliment. Nature was indeed in balance before humankind. I often wonder if one species dominance inevitably leads to collapse. We can see this on smaller scales with both animals and humans in the past. Supposedly, humans have higher reasoning. We can see this in our best examples, yet our worst aggressive traits seem to overcome our accumulated, and constantly lost wisdom.
I often wonder if this is the ultimate outcome of evolution everywhere, one dominant species destroying itself and everything with it, or if somewhere in the universe some beings have managed to navigate the rise of technology with guided wisdom.
Hi Geoffrey— regarding the current non-indigenous rapacious Homo sapiens blight on the earth, this reminds me of Iain McGilchrist’s tomes on the Left Brain over Right Brain disorder he asserts as responsible for our lopsided commitment to overreach of our egocentric self.
Question— can we climb out of the deep holes we’ve dug and into the Whole of what is really real? We are all connected. There are no boundaries. With each and every life sustaining breath we are dependent on our beautiful billions of years evolving planetary home. It’s way past time to get some humility and Degrowth offers true relationship to the Whole. Keep writing. Let’s turn this train around.
I haven't read McGilchrist's work, so I can't comment well on that. The right side is supposed to be creative, the left logical, but they're interconnected to work as a whole. My pet theory of our problem (which I haven't attempted to prove) is that our hands are the issue. Other high thinking mammals such as dolphins, whales, and elephants don't have them, so are unable to make tools as we have, and therefore unable to manipulate and destroy the environment.
I feel the biggest problem we have now is time. There are four tipping points predicted at <2°C. The biggest one on my mind currently is the Arctic. With its triple threat of releasing massive amounts of GHGs, raising oceans, and stopping AMOC, it's a very serious situation. Wrote about that here if you haven't seen it.
I, too, am a fan of degrowth. It's going to happen one way or another, and carrying out a plan is far preferable to completely uncontrolled chaos. I have seen no discussion of this at the political level, so it's going to have to be a massive ground roots movement with every tool we have, including marches and protests. We can well see the resistance we're up against with the recent harsh sentences of Roger Hallum and others planning a block of the M25 motorway.
The other thing that needs to be seriously planned is for the end of oil. It’s been extended by fracking, but is approaching the end of economic viability to extract at all. Without oil, we can't mine and manufacture renewables. Renewables can at best make the transition to a much lower energy world less painful for a time, IMO. To make that transition, we must conserve what and halt unnecessary consumption. Obviously, these are massive political and social issues that need to happen quickly.
Rather stupidly, I feel, we're putting all our eggs in the technology basket and allowing ridiculous things like AI to move forward whose energy and water demands are enormous. There are low tech and no tech steps we could be taking. And corporations need to be clamped down on, and billionaire money recovered to have a chance at degrowth.
About a year ago, I wrote an article on the subject. I think most people are unaware of the concept. Feel free to pass it on!
Thank you for your extensive response💫. There are innumerable shortcuts to McGilchrist’s right brain/left brain imbalances all over YouTube interviews and on his website. Bullseye application to high tech reliance/shortcomings you mention. I too have pondered the paucity of low tech discussion as a path forward. I was in environmental education academic study in the 70’s and low/alternative tech was a big deal then. I’m working my way through your posts and links. You and others are inspiring me to enter the conversation/action in the areas I can. I will continue to share your good work.
You're welcome, and I'm appreciative of your thoughts. More voices and connections are needed. We don't know which ones could spark the profound changes we need to make. This commercial world we live in is destructive to us mentally as well. Getting back to basics and what is sustainable in addition to saving a liveable planet would be a spiritual breakthrough for humanity, too.
Yea indeed, spiritual beings in physical bodies, though there is no separation really. That’s why our predicament is so disturbing and unhealthy on all levels. Many are there in this understanding yet we hover at the abyss and don’t see or won’t see the bridge, not to mention the blockades that have been entrenched to keep us from crossing over. Your voice and others is so vital to keep us moving to a more grounded way of life
Or it could be one dominant species eventually destroying itself and most, but not all, of the others to enable all new life forms to arise through evolution. More like a cycle of regeneration of some old and brand new..like this is the very big picture we can’t see. Other beings out there that have gotten this far with technology and growth, and also have a highly emotional factor and self awareness in their evolution, may be more like us; self destructive, but others more like automans or run by AI, may have gotten farther.
Why? I looked them up and found that they seem to support a right wing agenda. Not that there’s anything specifically wrong with that, except there seems to be a pro-fossil fuel bias.
“Roger A. Pielke Jr. (born November 2, 1968) is an American political scientist and a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute.” Wikipedia
Doomberg isn’t a single person, but the fact that they call out a Skynews documentary on renewable power as “excellent” and that they get a parliamentary plug from Matt Canavan gives us an idea of their leaning. (Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has said "coal-fired power must have greater prominence in the final version" of the energy policy. SMH
There is as much unscientific left-wing bias in climate activism as there is right wing bias in denialism. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Roger Pielke deals with this explicitly.
Yes, I’m really surprised at how much of the radical left isn’t interested in the actual science of climate change, there is now an “orthodoxy of apocalypse” and any valid questioning of it is deemed a heresy. Here is a link to to one of Pielke’s articles on activist science driving climate change attribution to natural disasters where the actual correlation is not all established at any level of scientific rigour: https://open.substack.com/pub/rogerpielkejr/p/weather-attribution-alchemy?r=1yai1p&utm_medium=ios
What makes the “radical left” radical? I mean, in what is the distinguishing characteristic of the radical left?
Here’s chatGPT’s answer:
The distinguishing characteristic of the "radical left" lies in its critique of, and approach to, social, economic, and political systems. While mainstream leftists might advocate for reform within existing structures, the radical left typically seeks a more fundamental transformation of society. Key features include:
Critique of Capitalism: The radical left generally views capitalism as inherently exploitative, unsustainable, or unjust, advocating for its complete abolition or a significant restructuring of economic systems toward socialism, communism, or other alternatives.
Focus on Structural Oppression: It emphasizes the need to dismantle deeply rooted systems of oppression, including patriarchy, colonialism, white supremacy, and heteronormativity, rather than merely addressing their symptoms.
Transformative Politics: Rather than incremental reforms, the radical left often seeks revolutionary change—altering the foundational organization of society. This can range from anti-capitalist revolutions to grassroots movements focused on creating alternative systems of governance and community.
Horizontalism and Direct Democracy: The radical left frequently champions decentralized and participatory forms of governance, favoring direct action and collective decision-making over hierarchical structures.
Intersectionality: There is a strong focus on intersectionality, recognizing how different forms of oppression (e.g., class, race, gender) interconnect and require a unified, comprehensive response.
Anti-Establishment Stance: The radical left tends to reject working within existing political institutions, seeing them as irredeemably compromised by capitalist or oppressive interests. Instead, it often advocates for alternative forms of organizing outside traditional party politics.
Vision of Equality: The radical left aspires to a vision of radical egalitarianism, which might include the abolition of private property (in a Marxist sense), redistribution of wealth, and the dismantling of traditional hierarchies.
While these traits distinguish the radical left, it's important to recognize that it encompasses a wide spectrum of ideologies and movements, from anarchists to Marxist-Leninists, with varying strategies and priorities. Its "radical" nature stems from its willingness to challenge and reimagine the core structures of society, rather than simply reform them.
Damn Geoff you are really honing the message. As a counterweight, have you looked into the Wetiko Spirit? This is an Algonquin concept, which I am trying to learn and apply respectfully, that gets right to the heart of the matter. Now that I have a word for the madness which you so forcefully write about here, I am better able to reason about it. Also, specifically because this word is not part of the twisted Western lexicon of "values" I am able to talk about a shared root cause of this phenomenon we are all experiencing, this waking nightmare for those willing to face it, as being a form of spiritual malady. This can reveal surprisingly common ground in conversation, once the concept is explained.
I was just introduced to the concept of Wetiko monster recently, but it perfectly personifies what ails us. Thoreau touched on this madness in his writing as well. I love many bits of his wisdom, and am weary of this commercial trap set by the Western world that makes us ill individually and collectively. Thoreau said, "The greatest tragedy in life is to spend your whole life fishing only to discover it was never fish that you were after." This is not the last thought any of us wants.
I agree. There is much common ground, and Wetiko can serve as a way to depoliticize issues that at the heart are a crisis of spirit and behavior.
Even the best of mainstream television news sources falls short, as does NPR these days, too. While there's a lot of disinformation and poor information on the internet, there are some good sources, and surprising finds to be made (stumbling into strangely available military analysis for instance), and a depth of detail not available elsewhere.
Yeah I've noticed that. That's absolutely true. I love when that happens. Lol. I literally stumbled upon you☺ and some other brilliant independent, investigative journalists.
I have a folder full of links about those arrests around the world, and also changes to laws at the state level in the US making felonies of misdemeanors for protesting oil and oil infrastructure. A few articles ago, I suggested we move our money out of fossil fuel sponsoring banks, Bill McMibben and ThirdAct are promoting this idea and I think it's a good one. Like the Civil Rights movement, I don't think there's any way around bodies on the line and taking personal risks. It's a subject I need to get to.
There is so much commentary and analysis on the increasingly rapid deterioration of the World and yet I have not seen anywhere the only key fact that has bares true responsibility for the situation. That is, that the Leaders of the World are the root and only cause of the current situation. It is they that are letting humanity down. It is they that will not pass the necessary legislation. It is they that are preoccupied with pandering to big business ensuring their success.
Big business and corrupt governments feed like locusts off the planets resources, working peoples wages, territory and any other avenue that can provide ‘more’ wealth.
This not some crazy Communist, Socialist or Otherist based statement. This is just a fact of life.
The Leaders of the World cannot and should not be trusted. They are incompetent managers of natural and Human Resources. They hold extreme bias against the people they represent, viewing them only as a huge monetary resource to be exploited.
The answers to all of the Worlds problems are known but if implemented, would restrict the greed of the wealthy.
Almost exclusively, commentators focus on the problems whilst attributing them to a myriad of tangible and measurable issues instead of acknowledging that our World is being run by a bunch of egotistical, psychotic, nut jobs concerned only with lining their own pockets or holding onto the aphrodisiac of power.
When attempting to solve a problem, I was always taught (at a young age!) to find the root cause of the problem. As Elon Musk might say ‘it’s not rocket science’
Thank you Geoff. If this is normal please let us move towards abnormal. This type of normalization has led to widespread apathy. The writing you do crystalizes this horrific normalization. It brings awareness and renewal to the things we need to do to reverse course.
The "abnormal" looks like human life before fossil fuels, maybe with a few modest additions. If we have any intelligence, we will pare down to what we need, nothing more. Going on as we have is becoming impossible, not from just the increasing tragedies and costs to the economy we're seeing, but from the reality that FFs will come to an end as they become prohibitively expensive to extract. Renewables cannot replace the sheer density and raw power of fossil fuels. Perhaps most distressingly, those renewables depend on FFs to mine, manufacture, install and maintain. It's quite ridiculous not to address this physical fact. We need leaders who explain this and guide the world to a completely new model of living. We're dangerously close to or may have crossed certain irreversible tipping points. I'm writing about one now. The mainstream media doesn't graze the surface of what's really happening, which is why I decided to figure it out myself. Three years now, a new education.
The rich and powerful, unfortunately, would rather die than having to cease their mad pursuit of ever more wealth at the cost of planetary pollution and destruction. The ears of those in power to change things are also, alas, captured by them. Brace yourselves for the madness that is to come!
That is the sad truth. I think many of the rich and powerful are so deluded as to think they are above the destruction they cause the rest of us. I hope you are braced as well.
Amazing essay, shared widely, thank you for your work and scholarship. This message needs to get out far and wide, thank you.
Thank you, Jan. I write with a profound sense of responsibility to get the facts right, and my work is only as effective as far as it's spread. I do it with humility and respect for those who inform me.
A lot to take in :-)
"Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality." - T.S. Eliot
That is truth. I often turn to the writers, philosophers and artists in my thoughts. Those kinds of minds are where wisdom lies. Thank you for the comment.
A magnificent and passionate article. Thank you.
Thank you. Let's keep going.
Masterful 🙏 good luck everyone
Gosh, this is a great, but horrifying piece. Because of writers like you and Jessica it's finally sinking in that that the powers that be are actually trying to kill us all. The last few days, where I live, it's been 110 degrees. We are off grid on solar and wind power, but most of our neighbors are not. They all just suffered the first of (I suspect) many power black-outs this summer, so people didn't have AC for that time. And there was no warning of the shut-down or no apology from the power company. Woe is us...
Hi Robin, I don't enjoy being horrifying, but whether it's a plot, synergy, or coincidence, we are not prepared, or taking the right steps. Basic truths aren't being told, or at best being spun and downplayed in the mainstream media. The practical, life-threatening aspects you speak of are real and present. I fear for those I know and don't know who are most immediately vulnerable. Even those of us in relatively safe places from immediate effects will suffer. It's way bigger than our arrogant belief we are in control. We aren't, never were. Our best control would be to accept our limitations, and live within the generous confines the planet provides us. If you have the ability to flee northeast, that would at least provide some imperfect security.
Just beautifully written. Heartbreaking summation. Thank you 🙏!
Thank you, Kira. I hope my small voice with many others becomes a chorus.
Excellent post. We are our own worst enemy. The billionaires do want many of the regular folks and especially the poor and disabled to just die off. That’s the game plan, I believe. But it’s usually survival of the fittest, not the richest in the long run. I’d be OK with all of humanity gone and let the earth heal, which it would in time, and live in a balance of nature and relative peace, as nature intended it before man.
Thank you for the compliment. Nature was indeed in balance before humankind. I often wonder if one species dominance inevitably leads to collapse. We can see this on smaller scales with both animals and humans in the past. Supposedly, humans have higher reasoning. We can see this in our best examples, yet our worst aggressive traits seem to overcome our accumulated, and constantly lost wisdom.
I often wonder if this is the ultimate outcome of evolution everywhere, one dominant species destroying itself and everything with it, or if somewhere in the universe some beings have managed to navigate the rise of technology with guided wisdom.
Hi Geoffrey— regarding the current non-indigenous rapacious Homo sapiens blight on the earth, this reminds me of Iain McGilchrist’s tomes on the Left Brain over Right Brain disorder he asserts as responsible for our lopsided commitment to overreach of our egocentric self.
Question— can we climb out of the deep holes we’ve dug and into the Whole of what is really real? We are all connected. There are no boundaries. With each and every life sustaining breath we are dependent on our beautiful billions of years evolving planetary home. It’s way past time to get some humility and Degrowth offers true relationship to the Whole. Keep writing. Let’s turn this train around.
I haven't read McGilchrist's work, so I can't comment well on that. The right side is supposed to be creative, the left logical, but they're interconnected to work as a whole. My pet theory of our problem (which I haven't attempted to prove) is that our hands are the issue. Other high thinking mammals such as dolphins, whales, and elephants don't have them, so are unable to make tools as we have, and therefore unable to manipulate and destroy the environment.
I feel the biggest problem we have now is time. There are four tipping points predicted at <2°C. The biggest one on my mind currently is the Arctic. With its triple threat of releasing massive amounts of GHGs, raising oceans, and stopping AMOC, it's a very serious situation. Wrote about that here if you haven't seen it.
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/permafrost-maybe-not
I, too, am a fan of degrowth. It's going to happen one way or another, and carrying out a plan is far preferable to completely uncontrolled chaos. I have seen no discussion of this at the political level, so it's going to have to be a massive ground roots movement with every tool we have, including marches and protests. We can well see the resistance we're up against with the recent harsh sentences of Roger Hallum and others planning a block of the M25 motorway.
The other thing that needs to be seriously planned is for the end of oil. It’s been extended by fracking, but is approaching the end of economic viability to extract at all. Without oil, we can't mine and manufacture renewables. Renewables can at best make the transition to a much lower energy world less painful for a time, IMO. To make that transition, we must conserve what and halt unnecessary consumption. Obviously, these are massive political and social issues that need to happen quickly.
Rather stupidly, I feel, we're putting all our eggs in the technology basket and allowing ridiculous things like AI to move forward whose energy and water demands are enormous. There are low tech and no tech steps we could be taking. And corporations need to be clamped down on, and billionaire money recovered to have a chance at degrowth.
About a year ago, I wrote an article on the subject. I think most people are unaware of the concept. Feel free to pass it on!
https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/degrowth-the-vision-we-must-demand
Thank you for your extensive response💫. There are innumerable shortcuts to McGilchrist’s right brain/left brain imbalances all over YouTube interviews and on his website. Bullseye application to high tech reliance/shortcomings you mention. I too have pondered the paucity of low tech discussion as a path forward. I was in environmental education academic study in the 70’s and low/alternative tech was a big deal then. I’m working my way through your posts and links. You and others are inspiring me to enter the conversation/action in the areas I can. I will continue to share your good work.
You're welcome, and I'm appreciative of your thoughts. More voices and connections are needed. We don't know which ones could spark the profound changes we need to make. This commercial world we live in is destructive to us mentally as well. Getting back to basics and what is sustainable in addition to saving a liveable planet would be a spiritual breakthrough for humanity, too.
Yea indeed, spiritual beings in physical bodies, though there is no separation really. That’s why our predicament is so disturbing and unhealthy on all levels. Many are there in this understanding yet we hover at the abyss and don’t see or won’t see the bridge, not to mention the blockades that have been entrenched to keep us from crossing over. Your voice and others is so vital to keep us moving to a more grounded way of life
Or it could be one dominant species eventually destroying itself and most, but not all, of the others to enable all new life forms to arise through evolution. More like a cycle of regeneration of some old and brand new..like this is the very big picture we can’t see. Other beings out there that have gotten this far with technology and growth, and also have a highly emotional factor and self awareness in their evolution, may be more like us; self destructive, but others more like automans or run by AI, may have gotten farther.
You really need to read Roger Pielke and Doomberg on Substack
Thanks for the recommendations. The reading never ends, but I'll check them out.
Why? I looked them up and found that they seem to support a right wing agenda. Not that there’s anything specifically wrong with that, except there seems to be a pro-fossil fuel bias.
“Roger A. Pielke Jr. (born November 2, 1968) is an American political scientist and a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute.” Wikipedia
“The Institute of Economic Affairs’ magazine distributed to tens of thousands of British schoolchildren promotes tobacco tax cuts, climate change denial, tax havens, and privatising the NHS – but doesn’t say where its money comes from” source: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/right-wing-think-tank-accused-of-promoting-tobacco-oil-indu/
Doomberg isn’t a single person, but the fact that they call out a Skynews documentary on renewable power as “excellent” and that they get a parliamentary plug from Matt Canavan gives us an idea of their leaning. (Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has said "coal-fired power must have greater prominence in the final version" of the energy policy. SMH
There is as much unscientific left-wing bias in climate activism as there is right wing bias in denialism. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Roger Pielke deals with this explicitly.
Unscientific thinking on the right as well as the left? Disagreement on the nature of science regardless of political ideology? That too.
Could I have a link to the relevant article by Pielke please?
But back to the point, what’s the value of Pielke and Doomberg to the discussion above ?
Yes, I’m really surprised at how much of the radical left isn’t interested in the actual science of climate change, there is now an “orthodoxy of apocalypse” and any valid questioning of it is deemed a heresy. Here is a link to to one of Pielke’s articles on activist science driving climate change attribution to natural disasters where the actual correlation is not all established at any level of scientific rigour: https://open.substack.com/pub/rogerpielkejr/p/weather-attribution-alchemy?r=1yai1p&utm_medium=ios
Thanks.
What makes the “radical left” radical? I mean, in what is the distinguishing characteristic of the radical left?
Here’s chatGPT’s answer:
The distinguishing characteristic of the "radical left" lies in its critique of, and approach to, social, economic, and political systems. While mainstream leftists might advocate for reform within existing structures, the radical left typically seeks a more fundamental transformation of society. Key features include:
Critique of Capitalism: The radical left generally views capitalism as inherently exploitative, unsustainable, or unjust, advocating for its complete abolition or a significant restructuring of economic systems toward socialism, communism, or other alternatives.
Focus on Structural Oppression: It emphasizes the need to dismantle deeply rooted systems of oppression, including patriarchy, colonialism, white supremacy, and heteronormativity, rather than merely addressing their symptoms.
Transformative Politics: Rather than incremental reforms, the radical left often seeks revolutionary change—altering the foundational organization of society. This can range from anti-capitalist revolutions to grassroots movements focused on creating alternative systems of governance and community.
Horizontalism and Direct Democracy: The radical left frequently champions decentralized and participatory forms of governance, favoring direct action and collective decision-making over hierarchical structures.
Intersectionality: There is a strong focus on intersectionality, recognizing how different forms of oppression (e.g., class, race, gender) interconnect and require a unified, comprehensive response.
Anti-Establishment Stance: The radical left tends to reject working within existing political institutions, seeing them as irredeemably compromised by capitalist or oppressive interests. Instead, it often advocates for alternative forms of organizing outside traditional party politics.
Vision of Equality: The radical left aspires to a vision of radical egalitarianism, which might include the abolition of private property (in a Marxist sense), redistribution of wealth, and the dismantling of traditional hierarchies.
While these traits distinguish the radical left, it's important to recognize that it encompasses a wide spectrum of ideologies and movements, from anarchists to Marxist-Leninists, with varying strategies and priorities. Its "radical" nature stems from its willingness to challenge and reimagine the core structures of society, rather than simply reform them.
Damn Geoff you are really honing the message. As a counterweight, have you looked into the Wetiko Spirit? This is an Algonquin concept, which I am trying to learn and apply respectfully, that gets right to the heart of the matter. Now that I have a word for the madness which you so forcefully write about here, I am better able to reason about it. Also, specifically because this word is not part of the twisted Western lexicon of "values" I am able to talk about a shared root cause of this phenomenon we are all experiencing, this waking nightmare for those willing to face it, as being a form of spiritual malady. This can reveal surprisingly common ground in conversation, once the concept is explained.
I was just introduced to the concept of Wetiko monster recently, but it perfectly personifies what ails us. Thoreau touched on this madness in his writing as well. I love many bits of his wisdom, and am weary of this commercial trap set by the Western world that makes us ill individually and collectively. Thoreau said, "The greatest tragedy in life is to spend your whole life fishing only to discover it was never fish that you were after." This is not the last thought any of us wants.
I agree. There is much common ground, and Wetiko can serve as a way to depoliticize issues that at the heart are a crisis of spirit and behavior.
I'm sure there's a lot of them😢 And of course, MSM isn't reporting on any of this. I think that's a brilliant idea! Unfortunately I have to agree😞
Even the best of mainstream television news sources falls short, as does NPR these days, too. While there's a lot of disinformation and poor information on the internet, there are some good sources, and surprising finds to be made (stumbling into strangely available military analysis for instance), and a depth of detail not available elsewhere.
Yeah I've noticed that. That's absolutely true. I love when that happens. Lol. I literally stumbled upon you☺ and some other brilliant independent, investigative journalists.
How do we stop them? They're arresting climate scientists and environmental activists. They clearly won't allow us to disturb their comfort.
I have a folder full of links about those arrests around the world, and also changes to laws at the state level in the US making felonies of misdemeanors for protesting oil and oil infrastructure. A few articles ago, I suggested we move our money out of fossil fuel sponsoring banks, Bill McMibben and ThirdAct are promoting this idea and I think it's a good one. Like the Civil Rights movement, I don't think there's any way around bodies on the line and taking personal risks. It's a subject I need to get to.
There is so much commentary and analysis on the increasingly rapid deterioration of the World and yet I have not seen anywhere the only key fact that has bares true responsibility for the situation. That is, that the Leaders of the World are the root and only cause of the current situation. It is they that are letting humanity down. It is they that will not pass the necessary legislation. It is they that are preoccupied with pandering to big business ensuring their success.
Big business and corrupt governments feed like locusts off the planets resources, working peoples wages, territory and any other avenue that can provide ‘more’ wealth.
This not some crazy Communist, Socialist or Otherist based statement. This is just a fact of life.
The Leaders of the World cannot and should not be trusted. They are incompetent managers of natural and Human Resources. They hold extreme bias against the people they represent, viewing them only as a huge monetary resource to be exploited.
The answers to all of the Worlds problems are known but if implemented, would restrict the greed of the wealthy.
Almost exclusively, commentators focus on the problems whilst attributing them to a myriad of tangible and measurable issues instead of acknowledging that our World is being run by a bunch of egotistical, psychotic, nut jobs concerned only with lining their own pockets or holding onto the aphrodisiac of power.
When attempting to solve a problem, I was always taught (at a young age!) to find the root cause of the problem. As Elon Musk might say ‘it’s not rocket science’
Thank you Geoff. If this is normal please let us move towards abnormal. This type of normalization has led to widespread apathy. The writing you do crystalizes this horrific normalization. It brings awareness and renewal to the things we need to do to reverse course.
The "abnormal" looks like human life before fossil fuels, maybe with a few modest additions. If we have any intelligence, we will pare down to what we need, nothing more. Going on as we have is becoming impossible, not from just the increasing tragedies and costs to the economy we're seeing, but from the reality that FFs will come to an end as they become prohibitively expensive to extract. Renewables cannot replace the sheer density and raw power of fossil fuels. Perhaps most distressingly, those renewables depend on FFs to mine, manufacture, install and maintain. It's quite ridiculous not to address this physical fact. We need leaders who explain this and guide the world to a completely new model of living. We're dangerously close to or may have crossed certain irreversible tipping points. I'm writing about one now. The mainstream media doesn't graze the surface of what's really happening, which is why I decided to figure it out myself. Three years now, a new education.
The rich and powerful, unfortunately, would rather die than having to cease their mad pursuit of ever more wealth at the cost of planetary pollution and destruction. The ears of those in power to change things are also, alas, captured by them. Brace yourselves for the madness that is to come!
That is the sad truth. I think many of the rich and powerful are so deluded as to think they are above the destruction they cause the rest of us. I hope you are braced as well.