Society

Off the grid in Colorado

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Brick making in the Western world is scientific—you test the soil, establish a recipe, take notes and generally control everything, but Jo preferred the easy Thai way. He just looked at how the ground cracked where it had been soaked. He picked up a handful and squeezed it in his hand and played with it. If it’s sticky it’s good, he told us.

No different this time

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Arguments for the more extreme scenarios of global collapse in the wake of peak oil, climate change, and the like routinely insist that the current situation cannot be judged according to the standards of history. The aftermath of an actual example of collapse — the fall of the Soviet empire — suggests otherwise.

Illusions of inclusivity in the culture of “whatever”

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As the collapse of civilization exacerbates and intensifies, the most well-intentioned and open-hearted human beings will make many mistakes. And at the same time, it is possible to become adept and wizened by warrior/elder principles that skillfully set limits and to adhere to them when it would be much easier to garner kudos from self and others for indiscriminate inclusivity. It is a delicate and daunting dance-sometimes ecstatic, sometimes excruciating. But regardless of its outcome, its pathway traverses nowhere near the land of “Whatever”.