Great essay. The collapse of the Mayan civilization offers eerie lessons we should heed. Our situation is even more precarious, of course, because collapse this time isn't limited to one civilization, but every civilization. Nature teaches the profound lesson of resilience in diversity. We must nurture that and live to be caretakers of the Earth, not exploiters. This is the next big step for Homo sapiens if we are to have a future.
The stakes are much higher today. The entire biosphere is at risk... a 6th Mass Extinction at our hands. Can we must build a new future, a new culture? No crystal ball here, but I find great fulfillment in the prospect and the effort.
Glad to see the efforts all over the world. There is much to be concerned about, and yet I also see land in the distance, fires lit on the shores by movements... signaling that we may not be lost forever.
I think we’ve already lost—corporations relentlessly continue to downplay “climate change” which is now truly climate collapse. We’ve used up all of Earth’s resources and are still warring for the last extractions of oil (under Gazan sands) while inventing “green” alternatives just as bad—lithium batteries that cause cars to burn without end?? We’re 8.1 billion people; there’ll be no return to sustainable, village life because there’s not enough physical SPACE for even half that number. In this country alone we’ve lost over 3 billion birds in 50 years, and we’re killing everything that lives except for tardigrades and cockroaches in the planet’s 6th Great Extinction. This article was great until it denied there may not be a next time. If humanity goes, there will never be another civilization on Earth—we’ve used it up completely.
In my first paragraph I tried to preface this whole thing with the fact that the past can’t tell us the extent of our current predicament and that it only might tell us how humans would react. The population of the Mayans substantially decreased, which I think is inevitable in the future as well. You might be right, and it also might be that post collapse society may also be possible. Since I don’t know for sure, I act today as if the possibility exists. If I’m wrong, doesn’t matter anyway.
Ok, I get your POV and deeply appreciate your response. (I’ve also read Jared Diamond’s books.) I kept seeing “next time” ringing throughout this (maybe more than is actually there), and I’m frankly exhausted by misplaced optimism. I’m truly crazed by the devastation I can see just in the next 30-40 years, which is what my adult children will have to endure; in their time it is almost certain that supply chains will be completely disrupted, the electrical grid will fail, and our house will be standing in the sea. I’m absolutely frantic that people are even having children now. Maybe because I’m a mother, maybe because I’ve always thought of Earth as mother, but I see end stage capitalism as utter betrayal.
Another thought I have and write about here is that all these ways we can prepare may just make the descent less horrible, relieve SOME suffering… that’s the way I try to look at it.
Hope you don’t mind me going on… :-) I have been through stages of grief. Denial, anger… depression. Hard to know if I’m bargaining or accepting. I feel like I accept it all, just like most of us accept our own deaths. Nothing we can do about it, might as well live while we can. For me, this is part of it… writing and preparing and helping others.
I’ve always liked the message of the Serenity Prayer.
I enjoy a good discussion. The Serenity Prayer was great even after I became an atheist & only failed when I realized I can never accept that my children may not live nearly as long as I have—and may suffer horribly as I never have—because of circumstances deliberately chosen by the greed and hubris of others. I’m not at all depressed, there’s nothing to bargain about, I’m just mad as hell!
Stakes have never been higher. It's a bit surreal bearing witness to this. I'm not sure if I feel fulfilled with engaging with this crisis, but I am driven to do it. It feels like a responsibility, I can't look away. It's also helpful to connect with people who share our concerns. Maybe one of us will light a fire or become one.
Great essay. The collapse of the Mayan civilization offers eerie lessons we should heed. Our situation is even more precarious, of course, because collapse this time isn't limited to one civilization, but every civilization. Nature teaches the profound lesson of resilience in diversity. We must nurture that and live to be caretakers of the Earth, not exploiters. This is the next big step for Homo sapiens if we are to have a future.
The stakes are much higher today. The entire biosphere is at risk... a 6th Mass Extinction at our hands. Can we must build a new future, a new culture? No crystal ball here, but I find great fulfillment in the prospect and the effort.
Excellent article and important to know that there is life after death!!
We, the Community Sustainability Hub in Goulburn Mulwaree and across SE NSW is on the road to building a network of sustainable communities. Interest seems to be on a cusp of exponential adoption. See https://www.cv-4h.org/join-the-csh-newsletter-distribution-list.html#/
Glad to see the efforts all over the world. There is much to be concerned about, and yet I also see land in the distance, fires lit on the shores by movements... signaling that we may not be lost forever.
I think we’ve already lost—corporations relentlessly continue to downplay “climate change” which is now truly climate collapse. We’ve used up all of Earth’s resources and are still warring for the last extractions of oil (under Gazan sands) while inventing “green” alternatives just as bad—lithium batteries that cause cars to burn without end?? We’re 8.1 billion people; there’ll be no return to sustainable, village life because there’s not enough physical SPACE for even half that number. In this country alone we’ve lost over 3 billion birds in 50 years, and we’re killing everything that lives except for tardigrades and cockroaches in the planet’s 6th Great Extinction. This article was great until it denied there may not be a next time. If humanity goes, there will never be another civilization on Earth—we’ve used it up completely.
In my first paragraph I tried to preface this whole thing with the fact that the past can’t tell us the extent of our current predicament and that it only might tell us how humans would react. The population of the Mayans substantially decreased, which I think is inevitable in the future as well. You might be right, and it also might be that post collapse society may also be possible. Since I don’t know for sure, I act today as if the possibility exists. If I’m wrong, doesn’t matter anyway.
Ok, I get your POV and deeply appreciate your response. (I’ve also read Jared Diamond’s books.) I kept seeing “next time” ringing throughout this (maybe more than is actually there), and I’m frankly exhausted by misplaced optimism. I’m truly crazed by the devastation I can see just in the next 30-40 years, which is what my adult children will have to endure; in their time it is almost certain that supply chains will be completely disrupted, the electrical grid will fail, and our house will be standing in the sea. I’m absolutely frantic that people are even having children now. Maybe because I’m a mother, maybe because I’ve always thought of Earth as mother, but I see end stage capitalism as utter betrayal.
Another thought I have and write about here is that all these ways we can prepare may just make the descent less horrible, relieve SOME suffering… that’s the way I try to look at it.
Your attitude is at least emotionally much healthier than mine, LOL.
Hope you don’t mind me going on… :-) I have been through stages of grief. Denial, anger… depression. Hard to know if I’m bargaining or accepting. I feel like I accept it all, just like most of us accept our own deaths. Nothing we can do about it, might as well live while we can. For me, this is part of it… writing and preparing and helping others.
I’ve always liked the message of the Serenity Prayer.
I enjoy a good discussion. The Serenity Prayer was great even after I became an atheist & only failed when I realized I can never accept that my children may not live nearly as long as I have—and may suffer horribly as I never have—because of circumstances deliberately chosen by the greed and hubris of others. I’m not at all depressed, there’s nothing to bargain about, I’m just mad as hell!
Nice piece. Increasingly, it seems our greatest pitfall is the suite of false "solutions" taking the place of real transformation.
Stakes have never been higher. It's a bit surreal bearing witness to this. I'm not sure if I feel fulfilled with engaging with this crisis, but I am driven to do it. It feels like a responsibility, I can't look away. It's also helpful to connect with people who share our concerns. Maybe one of us will light a fire or become one.