Future Scenarios May 26, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Human Ecology, Peak Oil, Permaculture, Powerdown , 1 comment so farThanks to Adam Grubb (Fenderson), founder of Energy Bulletin for sending me the link to David Holmgren’s new site Future Scenarios- Mapping the cultural implications of Peak Oil and Climate Change, which is launched today. You can read the press release here. The site is an important new resource developing the ideas of permaculture co-founder David Holmgren who has done more than anyone to articulate an ecological understanding for the human situation and promoting practical sustainable design solutions. In terms of bringing together a synthesis of ecological science, cultural anthropology, thermodynamics and sustainable design, Holmgren surely ranks as one of the great thinkers of the modern and post-modern world:
“Let us act as if we are part of nature’s striving for the next evolutionary way to creatively respond to the recurring cycles of energy ascent and descent that characterise human history and the more ancient history of Gaia, the living planet. Imagine that our decendants and our ancestors are watching us.”
The site contains a wealth of analyses and ideas to help understand the world we live in and prepare for a range of likely scenarios that we can see unfolding as the price of oil climbs and humanity passes the historical point of peak Energy.
See also Permaculture Principles
Monbiot on Population February 1, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Environment, Human Ecology, Overshoot, Peak Oil, Population , 8comments[Update: See John Feeney’s excellent response to Monbiot here.]
A few people have pointed me to George Monbiot’s recent article on population in the Guardian. While it is welcome that Monbiot addresses the issue I wanted to reply because I found it really disappointing, failing to join the dots and in some ways misleading.
The main thrust of the article is that some environmentalists complain the issue of population is ignored- perhaps for political reasons- even though it is the “number one environmental problem” and Monbiot sets out to discuss whether this is in fact true. The basic issue in this debate is, can we really give out as it were about the large populations of the developing world when over-consumption in the West is in fact having a bigger environmental impact? (more…)
Back to Nature #5 Consciousness for Sustainabiltiy January 27, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Human Ecology, Overshoot, Permaculture, Science and Rationaltiy , 4commentsConsciousness for Sustainability
The discussion of the “Back to Nature” series has been looking at developmental models of human behaviour, with a view to seeing what light, of any, such approaches can shed on the perplexing question:
Why do so many people seem to be in denial, or to be unable to grasp the reality that the human ecological footprint has far exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth, and that energy depletion, climate change and general environmental degradation will inevitably result in the end of our current way of life?
In this concluding part of the series we will have a look at some of the general implications of this model for achieving sustainabiltiy and try to find an answer to the question: Can we really go Back to nature? (more…)
Back to Nature #4: The Trouble with Green January 13, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Geo-politics, Human Ecology, Science and Rationaltiy , 2commentsThe Trouble with Green
“Here’s the point: you look out there, at the environment, and with your senses you can plainly see the wonderful, glorious, empirical world of nature. And of course you want to help save nature from destruction, not only because nature is beautiful, but because your own existence depends in many ways on a healthy environment. So you say, stop doing those things that are destroying nature! Stop polluting the oceans, stop dumping toxic wastes into our rivers, stop using fluorocarbons that create an ozone hole, stop burning carbon fuels that pollute the atmosphere and cause global warming- instead let us live in accord with nature, let us adopt energy-efficient production, use renewable resources, practice natural capitalism’ and in all ways honour Gaia. “Congratulations, you have just bought into the world of Flatland. And it is flatland that above all else is destroying Gaia. And thus your very efforts to save Gaia are destroying Gaia”.
-Ken Wilber, Boomeritis (2002)
Last week we looked at the story of the cultural and psychological evolution of human consciousness through the Spiral Dynamics model.
We stopped at Green- the environmental stage that has emerged as a significant cultural form in the last few decades in many western countries, influencing politics, social movements and heralding a New Age of transformation and care for all people and All Beings.
Green however, although representing much advancement in terms of ecological and social awareness over the previous stages of Blue and Orange, has failed to recognize that these earlier stages are necessary for the emergence of green in the first place. The Green belief of the dawning of a new Age of renewal and Global Consciousness cannot be realized because to reach Green requires a developmental process that must include and value all the stages and all their values in some way. (more…)
Back to Nature #3 The Evolution of Consciousness January 6, 2008
Posted by Graham in : Geo-politics, Human Ecology, Science and Rationaltiy , 1 comment so farThe Evolution of Consciousness
Part 1
In “Back to nature #2” I explored Deep Ecology and the idea that the response to the environmental problems we face should be to in some way “go back to nature” because “nature knows best”. I questioned this idea on the grounds that some versions imply an anthropocentric stance, projecting human feelings, consciousness and motives onto the non-human world in a way that seems more intended to fulfill our own psychological needs rather than actually healing our relationship with nature.
In this post, I want to explore an alternative: that rather than try to return to an earlier form of consciousness, that our consciousness itself – our way of understanding and relating to the world- is evolving.
What follows should be seen as a Story of the Evolution of consciousness. It is based on one particular model that has become popular in recent years- Spiral Dynamics, which I first came across in the writings of Ken Wilber. I do not endorse either the theory as a whole nor Wilber in particular, but see it as a tool that I think is worth consideration for anyone interested in the question: “Why aren’t more people interested in sustainabilty and protection of the environment?”
I am freely interpreting this version to make a story and adapting it . I am not claiming to attempt rigorous accuracy, but the basic idea does I feel have many different kinds of evidence to support it. The important thing is the implications such a view would have for seeking solutions to current global problems, and considering how it differs from the “return to nature” story.
In Spiral Dynamics, cultural “memes” or stage of development are colour coded, so I am referring to each stage with the same colours.
Enjoy reading it and make of it what you will. (more…)
Back to nature #2: Deep Ecology- Nostalgia for Eden December 10, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Environment, Human Ecology, Science and Rationaltiy , 6commentsNostalgia for Eden
A widely held belief amongst environmentalists, Deep Ecologists and other “post-modern” humans who yearn for a return to the idyllic world of an imagined Garden of Eden is that the struggle for sustainability is a new one: for most of human history, hundreds of thousands of years, people have lived in stable societies with minimal impact on natural resources, and have had the wisdom and respect for the natural world that is required to be sustainable. (more…)
Back to Nature #1 December 1, 2007
Posted by Graham in : Environment, Human Ecology , 2commentsBack to Nature:
Exploring Humans’ Relationship to the Natural World
Modern humans have an uneasy relationship with the “natural world”: there is a sense of separation, of loss, but also an ambivalence and uncertainty in knowing how to relate to Nature.
What we even mean by “the Natural World” or “Nature” is unclear. Some might say, for example, that since culture has emerged from nature, it must in some ways still be governed by the forces of nature.
In what ways can it be said that we are still a part of nature? In what ways, if any, have we escaped the confines of natural processes with our tools and technologies, medicines and machines? And if human society is still governed primarily by the laws and limitations of the natural world, what does this mean for a future of diminishing natural resources and energy after Peak Oil?
This is the first of a series essays in which I want to explore some different approaches to the question of human’s relationship to nature. (more…)
