Faith in Transition July 12, 2009
Posted by Graham in : General, Peak Oil, Science and Rationaltiy, Transition Towns, consciousness , 5commentsUpdate: 16/07/09
See Dan Dennett on “Belief in belief” here
Updates: I’ve just put a couple of updates for clarification and a couple more links. I’ve marked them in the text.
I also want to say, whatever about my concerns regarding the ideology behind Transition, there is heaps of great work being done in the movement, which is hugely influential in exploring responses to Peak Oil and Climate Change. I am particularly looking forward to reading the “Can Totnes District Feed Itself” report- I hope it has some recipes in it!
I paid a visit to a forum on Transition and permaculture over at Transition Culture recently- wow, I only just got out in time before they lynched me! Apparently, post-modern lunacy is alive and well in the Transition Land where in a very interesting discussion on Transition, Permaculture, inclusiveness and the like, it became apparent that some things are just not on the table for discussion- yes you guessed it, yours truly raised the old chestnut of the evils of faith and all Hell broke loose. I quickly found myself embroiled in a disappear-up-your-own backside post- modern attack on my freedom of speech and left the forum just before the hounds were let out to accuse me of “bashing people of faith”. (more…)
Book Review: The Long Descent December 11, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Human Ecology, Overshoot, Peak Oil, Science and Rationaltiy, Tools and technology, book review, collapse, consciousness , 12comments
The Long Descent- A Users Guide to the End of the Industrial Age
John Michael Greer
New Society Publishers 2008
John Michael Greer has written a fascinating and engaging, but also contradictory and perplexing account of how he sees the industrial age ending.
His primary thesis is that collapse will not come as a sudden, abrupt End Of Days or Die Off scenario- one minute thriving bustling affluent society with the universe at its feet, the next a crumbling pile of rubble with nothing but wisps of smoke to hint of its former glory- but will follow a “catabolic” process of progressive disintegration, over possibly a couple of centuries. In Greer’s scenario, short periods of abrupt and sharp downturns- the beginning of which we are experiencing now- punctuate longer periods of relative stability. Like an organism that begins feeding on itself, society will collapse in a series of stepped-down stages as it becomes progressively unable to meet maintenance charges with income.
One of the most interesting parts of the book is the chapter “Tools for the Transition” Greer has a most interesting discussion of the merits of the slide-rule over the pocket calculator, and explains why it is infinitely more suitable to a low-energy world:it is durable- a solid aluminum slde-rule could last nearly geological time-scales-, independent, dependable and perhaps most significant of all its use of transparent- a future archeologist would be able to work out exactly how to use it. I have never actually used a slide-rule, but this discussion has inspired me to get one, and even teach its use on permaculture courses as an example of durable technologies. There are many other insightful observations Greer makes in this chapter, including comments on salvage and organic agriculture, and what will endure into the post-collapse world.
What sets Greer’s book apart and make it really interesting is his focus on “The Stories we tell Ourselves”. He weaves his discussion of the Long descent around what he sees as two modern myths- the myth of unending progress and technological supremacy on the one hand, and imminent catastrophe and collapse on the other. Both are myths or stories that fail to see the much more likely outcome of catabolic collapse. (more…)
Consciousness in Transition April 19, 2008
Posted by Graham in : consciousness , add a commentAt Convergence 13 I hosted two workshops: the first was an introduction to Permaculture, with a focus on Permaculture education and how to spread Permaculture courses through the mainstream education system; the second, with Dave Yaffey and Chris Chapman, had the title “Consciousness in Transition: Exploring Values for Changing Times”. The purpose was to explore the questions:
Why dont more people care about the environmental crisis? and
what values do we need to carry forward with us into this period of transition?
Dave, Chris and myself had not known each other previously but were brought together by Davie Philip for this workshop because of our common interest in Spiral Dynamics
The workshop attracted the largest numbers of participants for that session- the word “consciousness” strikes a cord for many people, but clearly means very different things for different folk.
Chris facilitated the discussion using the “fishbowl” technique. This was ideal as it allowed a focussed discussion to take place on complex issues with a large group.
The basic discussion seemed to split between those who saw consciousness as something that we can hope for some kind of evolutionary leap in which will lead humanity into a new dawn of co-operation and communality; and those including myself who saw it as something that will more likely regress to earlier and perhaps more savage forms as resources begin to run scarce- “Civilisation is only three meals deep”.
“If the rich world does not currently care about the poor world or the environment at a time will unparalleled wealth and resources, how on earth can we expect it to start caring after peak oil?” was one of the comments made to question the more romantic views of the subject.
In a short workshop there was only so much we could go into; I would have loved to have had the time to consider aspects of evolutionary psychology for example; but a good discussion took place nonetheless on a subject that I feel is much neglected by the environmental movement.
After the weekend Dave emailed me and had these reflections to share on the workshop and the general state of the planet:
“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I count the Convergence 13 event as a high quality success but I sense that we are all still tinkering around the edges of a problem that we need to believe we understand.
I hear today of food riots in 28 different countries while Gordon Brown promises he’ll do everything to restore the UK housing market and help 1st time buyers get on the property ladder. We are already in the first rounds of that ‘prisoners dilemma’ game, a grand charade in which tragedy of the commons will be played out with oil and bread alike. I am not impressed by human nature.
All my worst case scenarios seem to be happening years ahead of forecast. I’m not feeling well prepared or potent with understanding and foresight. I do feel an increasing sense of destiny though and believe that those like us will very soon be called to a major step up.
The Global Insight models that correlate UK economic growth rates with energy price ’shocks’ all point to 2.5% negative growth from about 2009. All this is just the economic impact of peak oil and climate change… And I suggest we will see the high water mark of Orange in 2008.
Can we contribute to some kind of message to friends and colleagues about this? I feel a need to warn people. The time for voluntary attendance at greeny workshops might be passed, perhaps we need to get stronger with our communication. It was after all, free will or the illusion of it, that got us into the current mess! I’m serious about this: people need to reconnect in the Joanna Macy sense, they need to understand that “If you haven’t done enough inner work then you cant be sure about where your outer work is coming from.” An attractive choice of workshops to choose from is a mirror of a major part of our human problem – the choice to believe what I will. The antidote is for the subjective to accept the objective – real learning!
I’m ready to try whatever is necessary to wake people up, key players preferably. Choosing to not see is fast becoming the problem that we need to solve. “
Thanks to Dave and Chris for their experience and insights.
