[EMAIL PROTECTED] Worth pondering.
> The Depauperate World of 2049 > And what an equitable, just and ecologically sustainable society > will look like > > Earth Meanders -- http://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/ > A series of personal eco-essays by Dr. Glen Barry > August 22, 2007 > > The Earth, human society and those species with who we share > creation are on a crash course with global ecological collapse > characterized by horrific death and destruction. Human > populations have exploded and in sum have become a disease > consuming the ecological systems which provide for their habitat > and being. Environmentalism such as it is remains mostly > bureaucratic greenwashing, seeking to defend practices such as > ancient forest logging and excessive personal air travel, which > are the very activities that has led to our fatal situation and > threaten the Earth and humanity in the first place. This meander > attempts to pull together seemingly discordant themes of recent > essays into a coherent vision for your and the Earth's future. > > "Depauperate" -- meaning lacking in numbers of variety of > species, impoverished -- is a particularly apt biological term > which captures Gaia's and humanity's future prospects rather > well given current trends. This reduction in biodiversity > through excessive population and consumption is the core of the > Earth crisis. The challenge of environmental communication and > campaigning is to truthfully highlight the absolutely atrocious, > dire, depauperate future with which we are faced; while > simultaneously spawning personal actions and societal policies > that are of sufficient magnitude to solve global ecological > problems. This must be done without entirely bogging down in > feeling of desperate helplessness; but not at the expense of not > telling the truth, advocating insufficient responses, or > justifying continued personal excessive consumption. > > There is no road to a sustained, desirable human future that > does not include enlightened self-sacrifice and voluntary > simplicity as we learn to live well and sustainably in a post- > modern age. The obstacles include vile talking heads such as > Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity; that as evil incarnate stupidly > and in an ill-informed manner defend a system careening towards > planetary self-immolation. And in my opinion only slightly less > damaging to long-term planetary prospects are Madonna, Al Gore > and Leonardo DiCaprio -- knowing there is an urgent crisis, > using their formidable skills to communicate it to others, but > showing unwillingness to lead by example and check their own > opulent conspicuous consumption. > > We have seen the future, we know the problem, and it is us. A > messenger, carrying a message of crisis caused by their own > doings, that is unwilling to make necessary changes in > lifestyle, deserves metaphorically to be "shot". The global > ecological emergency cannot be solved by anything less dramatic > than immediate efforts to first stabilize and then reduce human > population, development of a consumption ethic informed by > ecological constraints, and leadership by example -- showing > rather than telling others what must be done simply to survive. > > > Given current trends what can be expected > > Much of the world lives in grinding poverty, with billions > barely meeting basic needs on one or two dollars a day. This > will increasingly become the norm of human existence. The over- > developed world stands as a fortified compound within a sea of > poverty and destroyed ecosystems of their own making. The next > forty years will witness a siege and continued diminishment in > areas living opulently, until the world descends into barbarity > and eventual loss of complex life. Along the way, if we stay our > present course, we will witness every variety of environmental, > political and social calamity. > > Resource scarcity and over-population will lead to an end to > economic growth. This is good news in that nothing can grow > exponentially forever, and the industrial growth machine is the > engine of planetary destruction. However, resulting economic > decay and widespread dramatic reductions in living standards in > the excessive West will lead to calls for further resource over- > exploitation and ecosystem destruction. The fate of the Earth > will be sealed by desperate, ill-informed efforts to fuel > unsustainable consumption patterns by those accustomed to the > throw-away, consumptive lifestyle as the meaning of life. > > The future will include fierce competition and military conflict > as too many people seek to maintain long-standing unsustainable > resource use. I believe we will first see broad-based societal > collapse in China, which unthinkingly took upon itself the ill- > conceived Western economic model based upon liquidation of > natural capital. China has pursued capitalism so extravagantly > that within a decade we should expect ecological collapse and > militarism in pursuit of continued resource over-use. All > weapons that exist including nuclear will be used. I believe we > shall see political, economic and ecological collapse in China > first, then the U.S. and finally Europe. > > This collapse is due to a thousand causes. Climate change will > lead to worsening extreme weather conditions. This will become > evident particularly in the availability of water and reduced > agricultural production. Seasonality will be lost, land made > unproductive, water critically short of supply, and a comfort > demanding public forced to fend for themselves. Starving thirsty > mobs will loot, rape and pillage -- ensuring that recovery in > any real sense over large areas of even a simplified civilized > lifestyle will be impossible. One would expect hundreds of > million to die from emergent diseases exacerbated by ecosystem > and global change. But this entirely predictable corrective > course by Gaia will be too little too late to allow for the > maintenance of complex life and civilization such as it is. > > A small cadre of individuals aware of the global ecological > emergency and cognizant of the need to reduce population and > consumption will be undermined by stars and politicians telling > us we can eat our Earth and have it too. The chimerical message > that we can all live like rock and movie stars will undermine > rigorous efforts to do what must be done to save the Earth. And > thus the emerging global police state will have justification to > destroy the radical environmental movement which was the Earth's > only last great hope. > > > Given free will and an enlightened sense of self interest things > will be different > > It need not be so. Humanity and the Earth have everything > necessary to build an equitable, just and ecologically > sustainable future for all forever. Greed and lack of humanity > will be overcome as we each learn and commit to living ethically > as one amongst billions of Earth consumers. Flawed; yet > knowledgeable, real and truthful human leaders will emerge > spreading a deep ecological message, and that are actually > willing to demonstrate a lifestyle that is simple, rich, > truthful and fulfilling; that could be universalized to meet > basic human needs for all; still allow hard-workers to > relatively thrive, and even provide for luxury in moderation. An > adequate vision of the transformative personal and cultural > journey necessary to get there will be embraced. Efficiency and > elegance of design will become commonplace. Every musician > will have a fine instrument, carpenters their tools; yet the > days of multiple large cars, private aviation, and McMansions > will be over. > > There are many modern activities which as drivers of climate > change and global ecological change in general are simply > irredeemable. Global ecological sustainability will be achieved > by ending continued deforestation and industrial diminishment of > the Earth's great ecosystem engines found in the last large, > intact and contiguous forest wildlands. Coal and oil burning > will cease at any scale. Industrial development of natural > terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems will be halted, and these > biological materials used as the blueprint and seed stocks for > restoration of over half of the Earth's surface as global > ecological reserves. Strictly enforced population controls -- > one or at most two children per couple -- will be fairly > implemented. > > There are other activities associated with the comforts of > modern life (by some) that could continue, but must be done in > moderation to not exceed the carrying capacity of an already > frayed Earth that is in recovery. These include aviation, eating > meat, and consumption of luxury consumer goods. Frugal flying to > be with relatives, conduct business that cannot occur otherwise, > infrequent excursions to experience and be part of another > bioregion's restoration all will be justified. Hopping on a > plane, much less a private one, to fly off on a whim cannot. > Thus a post-modern ecological life will mean less mobility, and > living more richly where you find yourself. > > Human populations will be called upon to live within the means > of the resources provided by their local bioregion. There will > be a broad-based return to the land, not living subsistence > lifestyles necessarily, but all people will begin growing and > raising more of their own food even as they earn their > livelihoods by restoring ecosystems through permaculture and > ecological restoration. Trade that does occur must be of a > surplus that does not eat into the natural capital principal of > the region. > > Vegetarianism is by far the preferred diet for an over-populated > planet under stress, yet eating meat is not unnatural. There > exists a big difference between eating the natural flesh of > animals raised using centuries old sustainable and humane animal > husbandry practices; and recent factory farming methods. Just as > with all non-essential consumption, meat consumption will be > dramatically reduced and eliminated when possible. > > Critical to global ecological sustainability will be personally > learning to sustain ourselves. Personal hang-ups will be gotten > over, the past faced up to, amends made and we will move forward > together. The pervasive ills of modern society -- including > childhood sexual abuse, drug dependence, and alienation from our > fellow humanity -- are intimately entwined with, and are the > logical consequences, of over-population, atomization of > society, and the widening gap between those that have it all and > those dying from want. Healing yourself is a vital, > irreplaceable first step to joining with others to heal the > Earth. Few humans are irredeemable, and all can benefit from > being one with Gaia. Let the journey to full self-actualization > and global ecological sustainability begin. > > --- > You are subscribed to ecological_internet as [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Before unsubscribing, please consider modifying your list profile at: > http://www.ecoearth.info/subscribe/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe, send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Or click here: > http://email.ecoearth.info/u?id=66562M&n=T&c=F&l=ecological_internet > > To subscribe, send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Or visit here: > http://www.ecoearth.info/subscribe/ > > Vote in the National Cheney Impeachment Poll http://www.usalone.com/blogvoices.php?Cheney%20Impeachment%3F Add this text to your own email and blog signatures! > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.12.0/957 - Release Date: 8/16/2007 > 1:46 PM >
