Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In my 2012 essay in The Futurist, I concluded that we might no longer be able to get out of the mess we were creating for ourselves, but we could get through it. There was still plenty to dream of, and to strive for. Today, hope remains, unreasonable, hanging by a thread.
What if we could bring the natural world to our own yards? What if we could connect our yards in such a way that we create a kind of continuation of our national parks, where nature is restored and we can be right in the middle of it all?
A while back, I came across a fascinating paper from 2007 by Gurven and Kaplan on longevity among hunter-gatherers that helped me understand aspects of what life was (and is) like outside of modernity. My interest is both a matter of pure curiosity, and to gain perspective on how desperate life feels—or doesn’t—to members of pre-agricultural (ecological) cultures.
Resilience is not measured by wealth and access to power alone. It is often, perhaps even more so, calculated by the culture, strength, and community of a people.
What if we presented possible options for future human developments—let’s say human population as a solid example—and pretend it’s a menu from which we get to choose.
Modernity (even if defining starting 10,000 years ago) is a short-lived phase that will self-terminate—likely starting this century.
Memory is how we orient ourselves in time and space. In the age of the internet the repositories of memory are exceedingly vulnerable.
To inspire hope that ordinary people such as ourselves can bring about meaningful change, I’ve included brief snapshots below of some of the largest and most successful systems-changing strategies I know. Because these kinds of stories are not often reported on in the mainstream media, we need to do everything in our power to get them out as far and wide as possible.
In today’s Frankly, Nate reflects on 7 key aspects of our socio-economic system which are in decline, with a main focus on the pager implication for globalization.
So, yes, I can be reasonably certain that modernity is self-terminating as a short-lived, unusual, demonstrably destructive mode of living that is reliant on one-time resources and not at all integrated into the only real form of life-support on the planet: ecological reciprocity.
The project is documenting Indigenous beliefs, knowledge and practices regarding their health and the environment to improve policies and inform best practices for adaptation to climate change. The information will also be used to collaborate with organizations and institutions working on climate change and health.
Even if this isn’t the end of the harvest or the end of the year, it is the end of the season of growth. It is just on the cusp of the time of contraction and repose, the time of death for many short-lived beings. So this is a natural time to think on the cycles of life.
