Another End of the World is Possible

Elite Over-Production (Peter Turchin)

Below is an excerpt of an article in The Atlantic from late last year about Perter Turchin, the Russian ecologist-turned-historian who wants to apply mathematical rigor to the study of human history. You can read (and listen to) the complete article here.

Where the Sidewalk Cracks: Ricochet Resistance & Interstitial Insurrection

This 2-part essay has been percolating in my heart and mind for about a year now, and I struggled to write it for longer than usual. I feel an odd mixture of pride and uncertainty about it. I fluctuate between feeling like it says something profound and feeling like it says nothing at all. Judge for yourself.

Confessions of a Recovering Progressive by Michael Dowd

Progress is the de facto religion of the industrial world. But something has changed in America, and beyond. What happens when we progressives ‘lose the faith’?

Accelerationism: So close, and yet so far

What follows is an excerpt from the “Manifesto on Accelerationist Politics” written by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams. There’s so much here that I agree with—especially the critique of capitalism/neoliberalism—that I want to republish parts of it. But then it takes an unexpected turn, suggesting that neoliberal capitalism has actually constrained technological growth, which needs to be accelerated.

“Welcome to the Smugosphere” of Mainstream Activism by Dwight Towers

Smugosphere [sməɡ ō sfir]: 1. “the protective fog of (unjustified) self-congratulation and complacency that surrounds any ‘community’ of people claiming to be making the world a better place, but which lacks commonly accepted an utilised measures of success and failure”

Seeking a Community for the End of the World

The community I want to be a part of would agree on the following as a starting point:

1. The end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI, i.e., collapse of the global industrial capitalist civilization) will probably happen sooner rather than later. The specifics of when and how, the exact degree of probability, etc., while interesting, don’t really matter and should not get in the way of building communities.

Hospice for the Human Species

I was honored to be interviewed by the Ernest Becker Society for their recent climate issue of the This Mortal Life series. The interview is excepted below. You can read the entire interview here.

A Year on the Planet of the Humans

A year ago, “Planet of the Humans”, the documentary film by Michael Moore, together with Jeff Gibbs and Ozzie Zehner, was released to much controversy. You now can watch the film for free through April and May on Youtube. And you can also watch Michael Moore’s interview with Stephen Colbert of the Late Show about the film.

Here at *Another End of the World is Possible*, the film launched a productive debate with my techno-optimist friend, Mark Green:

On Earth Day this year, Gibbs and Zehner released a statement, excerpted below:

Restoration is a powerful antidote to despair. (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

Below is an excerpt from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass.

20 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Differently

In previous years, as Earth Day approached, I have posted suggestions for actions to take. I started this list after organizing the drafting of the Pagan Community Statement on the Environment. I anticipated criticism of the statement as purely symbolic, but the statement concludes with a commitment to action:

“to use our abilities and resources to promote policies and practices that foster the changes that our world so urgently needs … to educate members of our community to foster intelligent and focused sustainable living, and help the world recognize that everyone, whether Pagan or not, is part of our precious Earth … [and] to promote the current and future health of our entire Earth, including the water, air, land, and the web of life.”