The Great Unraveling

Presentation: Navigating the Great Unraveling (November 2022)

By Richard Heinberg, originally published by Post Carbon Institute

November 10, 2022

Post Carbon Institute’s Richard Heinberg briefly summarizes some of the major environmental and societal crises humanity (and other species) faces as the consequences of a fossil-fueled, growth- and consumption-based capitalist economy that’s been built on the exploitation of people and the planet. The environmental philosopher Joanna Macy coined the term “the Great Unraveling” to describe the phenomenon of multiple, inter-related crises converging, while others use terms like “polycrisis” or “metacrisis.”

Richard Heinberg

Richard passed away unexpectedly in July 2026. Read this rememberance by Asher Miller.

Richard Heinberg was regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. He was the author of fourteen books, including some of the seminal works on society’s current energy and environmental sustainability crisis. Richard was Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute for nearly twenty years.

Richard authored hundreds of essays and articles that have appeared in such journals as Nature and The Wall Street Journal; delivered hundreds of lectures on energy and climate issues to audiences on six continents; and was quoted and interviewed countless times for print, television, and radio. His monthly MuseLetter was published for 400 consecutive months starting in 1992, and was included in Utne Magazine’s annual list of Best Alternative Newsletters.

Full bio at postcarbon.org.

The barn at Authentique Artfarm

From Fear to Action: a Personal Journey through Art, Farming and Community Engagement

By Michele Guieu, MAHB

As we navigate the path ahead of us, there’s a long list of goals and tasks on our list to strengthen our community, support our friends and neighbors, and create a thriving space where our crops and the people around us can flourish and benefit from the resilience we are contributing.

January 25, 2024

unraveling

Ideas for Living through the Great Unraveling

By Rob Dietz, Resilience.org

This year Post Carbon Institute has leaned into the “Great Unraveling” as a label for framing what’s happening in modern society and the natural world. In short, the Great Unraveling represents humanity’s comeuppance from overshoot, a time when debts are coming due and the promise of everlasting growth is fading.

December 21, 2023

unraveling

Reporting a World-in-Crisis: The Axial Crisis of Perception and Beyond.  Part 2

By Simon Cottle, Resilience.org

For most of the time, voices seeking to raise the alarm and respond to immanent processes of unfolding world collapse, are unheard in the mainstream news media. 

October 18, 2023

Comments

We changed commenting systems on September 10, 2026 as part of a site-wide functionality and security upgrade. Your past comments have not disappeared, and you can still log in with your old Disqus account credentials if you wish. Contact us with any questions.

Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
PattiMichelle Sheaffer
PattiMichelle Sheaffer
3 years ago

That’s really complex! …but, appealing to the “weakest link” principle… (after L. Brown)
Imagine, if you will, the average summer of 2030 being like this summer (2023); but also getting steadily hotter, and with heat waves superposed on top of the average summer.
Of course, it’s very slightly possible that we might get lucky, and that warming won’t follow the trend of the last 80 years…

http://yavapaiweathertracks.org/2030_Summers_Prediction_JUL2023.png

Relevant, basically, because not only 10’s of thousands of “excess deaths” (as in Europe during the cooler summer of 2022), but because much of the capital machine may halt due to annual food unavailability, as photosynthesis is at least downgraded in major growing regions.

Some PCI folks are suggesting personal preparation, and I take that to include Local Community Preparation.

0