Erik Assadourian

During one week (Monday to Friday) the news ranged from the growing e-waste crisis, to oil companies’ long-term plans to drill, to green bonds for nuclear power. None of it makes sense, except in a culture that puts consumerism and growth ahead of everything else.

So is Gaianism animistic? Considering there are some Gaians that consider Gaia a metaphor, others something more, that question is not possible to answer. For some certainly, for others absolutely not.

Time to prioritize solving critical problems again, before destruction of the Earth systems we depend on triggers civilizational collapse, and humanity’s brief jaunts into space become a barely-remembered memory or even just a myth.

Perhaps finding ways to cultivate and nourish those future community members and leaders is the role that is most important to play for those who love their communities and want them to grow and flourish.

Every sip of water, every breath of air, every morsel of food, and every time my heart beats. Gaia is within and around me. Who better to learn from than that?

The proper solution to climate change is to steer clear of the fossil fuels pits—not by seeking out a new way to sustain our consumer economy but to shift cultural directions and consume dramatically less.