Review: The Fragile Blue Dot by Ross West
For me, the greatest joy in reading Ross West’s eco-short story collection The Fragile Blue Dot lies in the sheer brilliance of imagination and storytelling prowess on display in each piece.
“There is No Democracy Without Direct Democracy”
A revolutionary movement has to have a revolutionary goal – the overthrow of the corrupt, rotten structures of end stage capitalism and the replacement of decayed structures with new, responsive institutions.
Tax Day
I believe we are careening toward a biophysical and cultural crisis that will very likely destroy money — along with a great many other things. But I also believe that we are falling toward abundance again.
Ishmael: Chapter 7
Lion encounters with gazelles are not war-like massacres, or expressions of hatred: just satisfaction of hunger in the way ecological relationships and evolution set them up to work. Once the lions have a gazelle down, the other gazelles go about grazing in close proximity to the lions, justifiably unconcerned.
How Eco-Localism Differs from Tariff Terrorism
As soaring consumer prices, supply chain disruptions, and reductions in government-provided funding and services threaten communities, localists can help bolster local markets and inspire mutual aid efforts, helping mobilize folks to take more responsibility for their own collective resilience and well-being.
The loss of a single species is the loss of a whole world
The soul is neither the inner self, the divine, nor the immaterial, as traditional philosophical thinking might argue. Rather, it is that which binds us together: it is relational and environmental, and when a species goes extinct, its soul, and thereby its relations, goes with it.
The threat that shall not be named
And it will be up to Gaians to promote a right relationship with the living Earth, based on respect, deference, and atoning for decades of exploitation—just not as individuals, but as economic, political, and cultural systems, even as the levels of climate denial and climate disruptions crescendo and pull apart the economic, political and social realities we’ve known our entire lives.
Nothing Surprises Me
Tomorrow’s worlds are built on reality. We need to tell a counter-narrative of the good life, of common decency, of hope, with creativity, solidarity, audacity… and joy. Which is what we need now more than ever!
Why Well-Off Brits Who Think Collapse Is Coming Still Stay Silent
It strikes me that we are now at a crucial tipping point where a large number of people have been activated to the dire state of things when it comes to our many crises and challenges but whose behaviours are not commensurate with their understanding.
No more heroes: or, seeking strong gods
Let’s not take these self-proclaimed heroes and warriors too seriously. People who don’t know the first thing about how to take care of themselves materially and are dependent on others to provide for their needs aren’t heroes. They’re helpless children.
Racing Toward Collapse: How Our Fear of Limits Drives Us Off A Cliff
If there is one lesson history teaches us, it is that those who acknowledge limits survive. Those who ignore them do not. The choice before us is simple: adapt to reality, or continue chasing a fantasy until it all falls apart.
A Tale of Two Narratives
It’s not that human carbon emissions don’t matter; they matter hugely. It’s that they aren’t the only matter, and are intimately coupled with the land and our treatment of it.
