Polycrisis, Unraveling, Simplification, or Collapse: Coming Soon to a Planet Near You?
We’ve built a global civilization of unparalleled complexity, wealth, and inequality, all based on depleting, polluting fossil fuels. What could go wrong?
The Great Maw of Consumerism
A friend and I bought the house I live in. It was 2009. A sliver of a moment when the financial system tanked enough that this water/mountain view home in Langley — albeit homely and needing siding — could...
Can Civilization Survive? These Studies Might Tell Us
The world’s shift away from its current reliance on fossil fuels will be the biggest, most expensive, and most complex technical project ever attempted by humans. If it fails, that might mean the end of industrial civilization. For it...
The Final Doubling
This essay is dedicated to the memory of Herman Daly, the father of ecological economics, who began writing about the absurdity of perpetual economic growth in the 1970s; Herman died on October 28 at age 84. Politicians and economists...
Blues for America
Recently my wife Janet and I splurged on tickets to a spellbinding concert by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. The music was memorable, but a comment by orchestra leader and trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis proved even more so. Marsalis...
What you need to know about the energy crisis
In May I wrote about the emerging energy and food crisis gripping the world due largely to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The crisis continues to unfold. However, most people are aware of it only via high prices—for gasoline, electricity, natural...
Holy Sh*t, Overshoot! Don’t Dither; Do
July 28 was EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY. On July 29 we went into ecological deficit. Humans have used the entire annual budget of resources that can replenished by nature. We entered overshoot ~ 40 years ago. When I saw the...
Meet Our Advisors: Elizabeth Sawin
As a way to introduce our new Advisors to our larger community, we’ve asked them to answer a question or two that gives us a better understanding of their background or how they approach their personal or professional lives....
Reclaiming Your Attention is Key to Cultivating Resilience and Avoiding Burnout: Part 1
By Anna Ostermeier There’s a lot of bad news these days. Checking social media and news outlets can feel like being hit with wave after crashing wave of demoralizing stories on how our world is falling apart. The more...
Deadly Optimism, Useful Pessimism
Humanity is hurtling into an era of ecosystem breakdown and social collapse. Most people will understandably respond with horror, gloom, and hostility. But these reactions will just make matters worse. What’s really needed is a realistic sense of what’s...