Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
We should admit that widely-mandated climate optimism has been actively harmful to the needful acknowledgement of reality – and to the active collective self-protection that we now desperately need to get serious about making happen.
Let us humbly receive the minimal (experimentally validated) foundation that can plausibly account for everything we experience, even if we can’t ourselves connect all the dots. Trust the universe, not our brains.
Mutual Aid 101 taught me that success is not marked by a group’s size, nor its productivity; those are the vestiges of capitalism. It’s about community, collective decision-making, and taking care of each other, no matter how small the circle.
I have seen many people, usually those under the influence of a belief in modern exceptionalism, claim that our ancestors were frightened of this time of darkness, that sacrifices were offered to sky gods so that the sun would rise again after the longest night of the year. To that I say: Nonsense!
Archaeology’s singular contribution to understanding people and their interactions with each other and the natural environment has always been its worldwide documentation of past lifeways over long time spans.
Ah well, the urgency of staving off as best I can the disaster capitalism that Philip Loring mentions keeps me going, even if it feels like a dispiriting and unequal battle sometimes. Cheers!
Consider the staggering impact that the invention of cordage and textiles has had on human development. Hank Green has added them to his list of the ‘foundational’ technologies of our species. (Plus a note on the use of AI.)
Fusion is periodically touted as the next big thing in energy. Even if it proves commercially feasible someday, that day is far off.
Climate abandonment can be avoided, or put off, in only so many cases. The culprits of this crisis may be water barons, but it is just one early punctuation point on a much longer, much steeper trendline.
Thus, adaptation to change is essential. We are in new, unfamiliar territory, and how we negotiate this is the challenge, or the journey’s course will be taken out of our hands.
Considering all that is at stake, science would call this a quintessential Anthropocene moment. Kali’s dance will either awaken us from delusion to oceanic devotion, from destruction to all-inclusive mutual protection, or her merciless hand will turn us to ash.
What does a realistic and positive future look like? Alex joins the hosts of Crazy Town to imagine life in the 22nd century: walking from our family farms into communal villages, living off the land in a low-energy lifestyle, taming our pet donkeys, and resisting our local warlords.
