Thanks, George, for your clear description of our civilization and the loop our system is in... As a landowner, I've struggle for decades to keep this land safe from us-humans, but in doing so I'm almost broken, LOL. But nonetheless I'm not going to be defeated by that, or at least, not completely... even though my story of defeat is the only thing that I can left as a legacy. A story capable of inspire others in the future. We must trying again and again... Thanks to technology I can read you today, and I hope technology will help me to survive in the intent of keep this land safe and, if possible, untouched. Take care and thanks again.
In the present time, while the Earth is dying from human activity, we need more and more green and sustainable solutions to tackle the harm we have caused. It is also true that the sustainable solutions labeled as 'green solutions' can be harmful in certain ways due to their involvement in complex, carbon-intensive production chains, which may cause more harm than the present situation. We must explore more appropriate ways to utilize truly harmless technology. As you mentioned, technology itself is the root cause of many issues, but isn't technology inherently neutral and can be directed in any way we choose. While technology causes problems, such as carbon emissions, it is also essential for addressing those very challenges—for instance, through climate modeling, energy-efficient design, and other innovations. Therefore, before labeling technophilia as a 'mental illness' of civilization, I think we should carefully consider its implications. If we go through the societal history, we can see how societies have always adapted technology to fit their cultural contexts. It may not be totally possible or desirable to completely reject technological advancement, as many indigenous and modern communities use both traditional methods with cutting-edge technology to solve today's problems. Many communities depend on the innovations and jobs created by modern industries. When the transition to sustainability is carefully managed, strategies such as green jobs and sustainable development initiatives demonstrate that environmental stewardship and economic progress can coexist. However, it remains true that genuine sustainability would come from practices such as minimalism, degrowth, repair, and rewilding, rather than continued technological expansion.
You'd think that a quick look around would make people realise that "sustainability" and the likes is just greenwashing and rebranding the same capitalist model that led us here.
But no, they'd rather use their passion to hate the cows for farting way too much, and entertain thoughts of blocking the sun to affect the climate (among other deranged scientific fantasies),
than question the capitalist modus operandi, the promised perpetual "growth", eternal wars (carbon footprint, anyone?), etc.
Conclusion?
People learn to find comfort in lies and misery, so much so, that they'd fight with all their might against any potential upset.
In the early 1990s I started picking up waste timber in the streets and recycling it into picture frames that I sold at the local weekend markets. These were completely hand made with hand tools. I made some money, but it was so labour intensive.. And life was much cheaper then. In the late 1990s I ran an architectural salvage yard - we recycled house parts. Traditional joinery, doors, windows, flooring. In my decade + in that industry, I learnt how often recyclable elements are bulldozed, and dumped - quicker, cheaper. Private business did not recycle, it's so expensive. Reuse and recycle need A) Legislation to prevent bulldozing and trashing. B) Government backed storage space and recycle center, for the salvaged materials. It's very complicated, unwieldy, potentially toxic, lead paint, asbestos, etc, but manageable. Recently I was party to dumping a lot of perfect metal shelving, IKEA cupboard doors (we had tried to give these items away but in a short timeframe) at a city waste management depot. All crushed up in some way and most likely dumped somewhere, maybe the metal will be recycled. I'm yet to see anything in a Government (here in Australia) that is remotely interested in recycling resources at this sort of level. Too hard?
This is a great summary of our situation George. I enjoyed reading it and it's very similar to my own thoughts. I came across the phrase Wetiko recently that was used by the native American people to describe Europeans. It is like the psyche ofindividuals are inhabitated by a parasite that causes them to endlessly consume, never be full and think on an individual level entirely separated from connection to nature and others. Total greed and no interest in consequences. I use it as a metaphor for describing our society. I see engineers as something like the architypal magician who can use knowledge for greater good. Or the shadow magician who uses the knowledge selectively or in a way to benefit themselves. I see our leaders as a combination of wetiko shadow magicians. How do we change these behaviors? I believe we need to evolve our psyches to progress. Maybe it's time for a new myth or story to take hold.
A magnificent dissection of the mechanism of humanity's demise.
Thank you Mark
Have you heard of Jem Bendell? He has come to much the same conclusions….
Me and Jem go way back!
Huge fan of his! And of Paul Kingsnorth and the Dark Mountain project.
I'll look those up thank you
https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkingsnorth/chat?r=2sx8q2&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=share
https://substack.com/@darkmountainproject?r=2sx8q2&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile
Terrific essay ❤️
I appreciate that thanks!
Thanks, George, for your clear description of our civilization and the loop our system is in... As a landowner, I've struggle for decades to keep this land safe from us-humans, but in doing so I'm almost broken, LOL. But nonetheless I'm not going to be defeated by that, or at least, not completely... even though my story of defeat is the only thing that I can left as a legacy. A story capable of inspire others in the future. We must trying again and again... Thanks to technology I can read you today, and I hope technology will help me to survive in the intent of keep this land safe and, if possible, untouched. Take care and thanks again.
Totally agree
In the present time, while the Earth is dying from human activity, we need more and more green and sustainable solutions to tackle the harm we have caused. It is also true that the sustainable solutions labeled as 'green solutions' can be harmful in certain ways due to their involvement in complex, carbon-intensive production chains, which may cause more harm than the present situation. We must explore more appropriate ways to utilize truly harmless technology. As you mentioned, technology itself is the root cause of many issues, but isn't technology inherently neutral and can be directed in any way we choose. While technology causes problems, such as carbon emissions, it is also essential for addressing those very challenges—for instance, through climate modeling, energy-efficient design, and other innovations. Therefore, before labeling technophilia as a 'mental illness' of civilization, I think we should carefully consider its implications. If we go through the societal history, we can see how societies have always adapted technology to fit their cultural contexts. It may not be totally possible or desirable to completely reject technological advancement, as many indigenous and modern communities use both traditional methods with cutting-edge technology to solve today's problems. Many communities depend on the innovations and jobs created by modern industries. When the transition to sustainability is carefully managed, strategies such as green jobs and sustainable development initiatives demonstrate that environmental stewardship and economic progress can coexist. However, it remains true that genuine sustainability would come from practices such as minimalism, degrowth, repair, and rewilding, rather than continued technological expansion.
Indeed!!
Πες τα Γιώργο! 👏👏
You'd think that a quick look around would make people realise that "sustainability" and the likes is just greenwashing and rebranding the same capitalist model that led us here.
But no, they'd rather use their passion to hate the cows for farting way too much, and entertain thoughts of blocking the sun to affect the climate (among other deranged scientific fantasies),
than question the capitalist modus operandi, the promised perpetual "growth", eternal wars (carbon footprint, anyone?), etc.
Conclusion?
People learn to find comfort in lies and misery, so much so, that they'd fight with all their might against any potential upset.
Thank you for your work
Thank you for reading ❤️
In the early 1990s I started picking up waste timber in the streets and recycling it into picture frames that I sold at the local weekend markets. These were completely hand made with hand tools. I made some money, but it was so labour intensive.. And life was much cheaper then. In the late 1990s I ran an architectural salvage yard - we recycled house parts. Traditional joinery, doors, windows, flooring. In my decade + in that industry, I learnt how often recyclable elements are bulldozed, and dumped - quicker, cheaper. Private business did not recycle, it's so expensive. Reuse and recycle need A) Legislation to prevent bulldozing and trashing. B) Government backed storage space and recycle center, for the salvaged materials. It's very complicated, unwieldy, potentially toxic, lead paint, asbestos, etc, but manageable. Recently I was party to dumping a lot of perfect metal shelving, IKEA cupboard doors (we had tried to give these items away but in a short timeframe) at a city waste management depot. All crushed up in some way and most likely dumped somewhere, maybe the metal will be recycled. I'm yet to see anything in a Government (here in Australia) that is remotely interested in recycling resources at this sort of level. Too hard?
This is a great summary of our situation George. I enjoyed reading it and it's very similar to my own thoughts. I came across the phrase Wetiko recently that was used by the native American people to describe Europeans. It is like the psyche ofindividuals are inhabitated by a parasite that causes them to endlessly consume, never be full and think on an individual level entirely separated from connection to nature and others. Total greed and no interest in consequences. I use it as a metaphor for describing our society. I see engineers as something like the architypal magician who can use knowledge for greater good. Or the shadow magician who uses the knowledge selectively or in a way to benefit themselves. I see our leaders as a combination of wetiko shadow magicians. How do we change these behaviors? I believe we need to evolve our psyches to progress. Maybe it's time for a new myth or story to take hold.