Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In a Maghreb growing increasingly thirsty, water is no longer just a resource: it has become a diagnostic tool for our shared vulnerabilities, a marker of regional tensions, and perhaps — if we choose it — the foundation of a new era of ecological cooperation.
I reiterate my assumption that we will end up with a great degree of simplification in a post-collapse world. My assumption is also that there will be enough steel and energy to forge useful tools for agriculture and that the auxiliary energy needed over and above human muscle power will be a mix of animal traction, biomass, electricity from renewables as well as limited use of fossil fuels, at least where they are regionally available.
Every act of care, every restored relationship, and every small step toward shared responsibility contributes to the future that is already taking shape. This is work we can keep doing, steadily and together.
I do think we need this feast to return to its roots, as a potlatch, a bonding redistribution of wealth and full bellies, a rapprochement across the great divides, and a coming together in joy to feed each other. We need something that draws us into community, that builds ties, that creates relationship and memories.
East Texas farmers and ranchers are finding out to their dismay that water has become a commodity like so many of our daily needs.
The short, natural experiment we all witnessed reinforces that SNAP is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger and food insecurity and food pantries can only be a secondary and supplemental source of food. Food pantries and food banks cannot substitute for a robust, reliable, government-funded food safety net.
The debate continues, but one certainty is that we must make the production and consumption of meat and dairy more sustainable and realign our agricultural systems with planetary boundaries and dietary guidelines.
We must enforce, fund, and model policies that recognize the forest not merely as a carbon repository, but as the planet’s irreplaceable air conditioning and freshwater generation system.
The world’s cities creep closer to actual water system collapse.
Virginia tree farmers reintroduce an iconic tree that was decimated by blight.
Post-partisan practice is not compromise; it’s a strategy for shared survival. Perhaps the path through this civilizational turning begins with a simpler question: What does this place need, and who else shares that need?
In truth, I’m not massively optimistic that the new dark age will turn out too well for many people, but I think once one has appraised the reality of the surrounding darkness it’s always worth looking for the light as best one can and seeking least worst responses to our predicaments. Whether we find it or not is another matter.
