[ecopath] Eco-destruction Inevitable?and my sustainabilty journey

[Brian Bishoff/ Betsy Marshall]

I decided it was time to stop being just a "lurker" (or is that only in chat rooms which all seem so stupid) and stir things up sending in the book review about Spirit in the Gene.  I'm not not a sociobiologist but the author sure makes some interesting points. I have little doubt that modern industrial civilization will collapse sometime in the next century and that at some point humans will become extinct - though I suspect and hope they will not be at the same time.  I have moments of real hope when I see good things happening around the world though I basically think things will have to get a lot worse before they get better.  One central point the author makes is that humans continually come up with new ideologies and technologies that are counter to the laws of nature and nasty to other humans.  This is not an original observation for sure, but his contention that there is a genetic basis for our irrational/mystical behavior is rather unique, fairly convincing, and difficult to prove with any degree of scientific certainty.      Yes, sustainability is a journey. I have dabbled in activism  but am not really thick-skinned enough to throw my life into it.  Being a good example of the life you want others to lead is of great value.  For quite a few years, my wife and I were renting an old wood heated farmhouse on a land trust associated with a permaculture organization.  The house was sold and we are now living in an apartment in the same small town.  Though we no longer have chickens, silent starlit nights, and only a tiny garden in some ways our life is more ecological.  I can walk to the drug store, hardware store, post office and laundro- mat.  I'm much closer to work and can occasionally get rides with co-workers. Driving a car is the most ecologically destructive thing the average person does.  We use much less electricity and heat (though it is oil instead of wood) than when we lived in the woods. I still hope to somehow be able to afford a place in the country some day but the rather complex and expensive process of buying/building a homestead I find rather daunting.  My former neighbors on the land-trust had to get/borrow money from their families/friends since no local bank would finance a house on jointly owned land especially one with only wood heat and a home built composting toilet. I'm rambling.  When we did more active outreach about permaculture/sustainabilty we were mostly preaching to the choir. It's quite a challenge this simple/ecological living thing.