God this blog is amazing. I always feel I am able to see the middle of all these conflicting narratives at once when I read what you are sharing. Thank you for this blog.
We can (and must) still find pockets of Paradise in nature, even amongst the ruins. I don’t say this in a “Nero fiddles while Rome burns” kind of way, but because immersing ourselves in the natural world can both make us care enough to want to save what we have left, and serve to recharge our mental and physical batteries to give us the energy to fight on.
I'm so grateful to have your voice amidst the growing list of thinkers who understand the polycrisis 'predicament' ala Hagens, Rees, Schmactenberger, et al. Like those thinkers, you understand that materials and energy are two legs of the materials-matter/energy/information reality stool that are fundamental to any true understanding of the predicament. And I greatly appreciate your ability to communicate the predicament so concisely, poetically, and powerfully in your writing and speaking. Much thanks for all your work in sharing your (what I think is spot on) understanding of the predicament and spreading that truth. Looking forward to this book!
But the cryptobros say, "Bitcoin fixes everything."
The techbros say, "AI will fix everything."
Bjorn Lomborg says, climate change (some call climate catastrophe because we're so far in the change process) is a net positive with less people dying from heat than cold, and he disputes that the effects and economic impacts will be negative.
Maybe, but...
I say we're in deep shit and once again Jamie, I find your missive spot on. Yes, there are green shoots sprouting up but can they compensate for the die-offs? IDK I'd like to see a Great Simplification but if/when it does happen, will it be too late?
A couple of things that ameliorate my doubts and doom-certainty are from two great thinkers (and I paraphrase):
John Seed: We're past the point of no return, but if you think that it would take a greater miracle than the one that had human beings emerge out of primordial ooze, you're sadly mistaken.
Stan Grof: If an alien entered a room with bad florescent lights, with four people in drab green uniforms standing around a naked woman who was screaming, with blood, urine, and feces coming out of her body that had a huge belly, it would probably think something is terribly wrong. Yes, there are better environments, but aren't many of us living in those artificial environments, trying to birth a better way.
Good article! #6 is big one. Population factors in the denominator for most economic, environmental, and resource use statistics. GDP per capita, CO2 emissions per person, primary energy use per capita... Unfortunately population is the multiplier for all of our important metrics. We can improve energy and resource use efficiency per person, and decrease environmental harm per person, but those still need to get multiplied by the amount of people to get the absolute values. It's a tricky non-PC point to talk about, but critical. Ideas from game theory might help us gain insight to this thorny issue. How do we circumvent the "selfish gene" Richard Dawkins talks about? It's a self-correcting issue, but hopefully the correction process creates minimal collateral damage.
+1 for Point 10 - you could argue that's always how's it's been - since the dawn of civilization, bad for most, great for a few, but we told some great stories, created some amazing music, and discovered some cool shit along the way.
Staying with this incredible moment in time, without concerning ourselves with predictions or judgements, that's the artist's way through.
Is trying to design (or facilitate the emergence of) an anti-fragile, open source, solarpunk ecovillage worth the effort, or should I just retreat to a few acres with my family and wait it out?
Thank you once again Jamie. Big fan, long time... would LOVE a list of recommended reading (Johann Rockstrom to Vaclav Smil to Naomi Oreskes to Joanna Macy)... if you have one?
Incredibly well dissected series of articles. Thank you Jamie :)
I naturally go on to connect some of the elements to Recapture the Rapture- if only we had a better understanding of our neurobiology, that would help with the consumerism part, draw us to more constructive communitas, etc.
I also converge to the fact that ‘human nature will do what human nature does’, which doesn’t make things less gloomy. At the same time, most probably due to me own biases, I can’t help but be drawn to the question: is there any way that humanity is capable of, to some small extent, shape its course consciously? If only a small chunk of the population, combining more elevated consciousness and ethical cults, contribute to giving us a chance to unfuck things on time, what might be the supporting parameters for that? What are the tipping points for these?
In case you have some perspectives on tipping points from your holistic neuroanthropological shots, I would certainly love to hear about it, though I get how complex this is :)
God this blog is amazing. I always feel I am able to see the middle of all these conflicting narratives at once when I read what you are sharing. Thank you for this blog.
I like how you ended it, with the bad clothing bit, I think that's the right orientation.
Decomplexification, or as Nate Hagens calls it, the Great Simplification.
Local/Bioregional solutions, Mutual Aid, Barn Raising.
The only way out is through, so rig for heavy seas.
The good news is, humans are resourceful and like to cooperate, once the big things break.
We can (and must) still find pockets of Paradise in nature, even amongst the ruins. I don’t say this in a “Nero fiddles while Rome burns” kind of way, but because immersing ourselves in the natural world can both make us care enough to want to save what we have left, and serve to recharge our mental and physical batteries to give us the energy to fight on.
I'm so grateful to have your voice amidst the growing list of thinkers who understand the polycrisis 'predicament' ala Hagens, Rees, Schmactenberger, et al. Like those thinkers, you understand that materials and energy are two legs of the materials-matter/energy/information reality stool that are fundamental to any true understanding of the predicament. And I greatly appreciate your ability to communicate the predicament so concisely, poetically, and powerfully in your writing and speaking. Much thanks for all your work in sharing your (what I think is spot on) understanding of the predicament and spreading that truth. Looking forward to this book!
“But none of that stuff matters if we’re not on the same page as to what’s coming down the pike first.” Bingo.
Always enjoy your thinking and prognosticating. Thank you Jamie.
But the cryptobros say, "Bitcoin fixes everything."
The techbros say, "AI will fix everything."
Bjorn Lomborg says, climate change (some call climate catastrophe because we're so far in the change process) is a net positive with less people dying from heat than cold, and he disputes that the effects and economic impacts will be negative.
Maybe, but...
I say we're in deep shit and once again Jamie, I find your missive spot on. Yes, there are green shoots sprouting up but can they compensate for the die-offs? IDK I'd like to see a Great Simplification but if/when it does happen, will it be too late?
A couple of things that ameliorate my doubts and doom-certainty are from two great thinkers (and I paraphrase):
John Seed: We're past the point of no return, but if you think that it would take a greater miracle than the one that had human beings emerge out of primordial ooze, you're sadly mistaken.
Stan Grof: If an alien entered a room with bad florescent lights, with four people in drab green uniforms standing around a naked woman who was screaming, with blood, urine, and feces coming out of her body that had a huge belly, it would probably think something is terribly wrong. Yes, there are better environments, but aren't many of us living in those artificial environments, trying to birth a better way.
Thanks for your contribution.
Good article! #6 is big one. Population factors in the denominator for most economic, environmental, and resource use statistics. GDP per capita, CO2 emissions per person, primary energy use per capita... Unfortunately population is the multiplier for all of our important metrics. We can improve energy and resource use efficiency per person, and decrease environmental harm per person, but those still need to get multiplied by the amount of people to get the absolute values. It's a tricky non-PC point to talk about, but critical. Ideas from game theory might help us gain insight to this thorny issue. How do we circumvent the "selfish gene" Richard Dawkins talks about? It's a self-correcting issue, but hopefully the correction process creates minimal collateral damage.
Thank you for this article Jamie
+1 for Point 10 - you could argue that's always how's it's been - since the dawn of civilization, bad for most, great for a few, but we told some great stories, created some amazing music, and discovered some cool shit along the way.
Staying with this incredible moment in time, without concerning ourselves with predictions or judgements, that's the artist's way through.
As always, your writing helps me orient my thinking. I'm curious to know what you're personally doing to prepare.
Is trying to design (or facilitate the emergence of) an anti-fragile, open source, solarpunk ecovillage worth the effort, or should I just retreat to a few acres with my family and wait it out?
Great read Jamie! And very digestible. Passed my limited TL;DR test even though I had to Google that meaning! Love you brother!!
Thank you once again Jamie. Big fan, long time... would LOVE a list of recommended reading (Johann Rockstrom to Vaclav Smil to Naomi Oreskes to Joanna Macy)... if you have one?
Incredibly well dissected series of articles. Thank you Jamie :)
I naturally go on to connect some of the elements to Recapture the Rapture- if only we had a better understanding of our neurobiology, that would help with the consumerism part, draw us to more constructive communitas, etc.
I also converge to the fact that ‘human nature will do what human nature does’, which doesn’t make things less gloomy. At the same time, most probably due to me own biases, I can’t help but be drawn to the question: is there any way that humanity is capable of, to some small extent, shape its course consciously? If only a small chunk of the population, combining more elevated consciousness and ethical cults, contribute to giving us a chance to unfuck things on time, what might be the supporting parameters for that? What are the tipping points for these?
In case you have some perspectives on tipping points from your holistic neuroanthropological shots, I would certainly love to hear about it, though I get how complex this is :)
Jamie you have a gift for communicating such complexity with ease and grace. You're distillations are truly needed right now. More power to you elbow.
Thanks, Jamie, for putting much complexity in a brief overview and for keeping real (and occasionally humorous, gallows though it may be).
Well written Jamie. Agree with pretty much all of it. I also think we can, and it's not too late - powerful narrative that one.
But will we, is the real question. Thanks for sharing.