This has been on many of the mailing lists about energy, resources and climate that I follow:
“The latest from Guy McPherson... is his saddest yet
30. August 2012
http://guymcpherson.com/
In my latest essay in this space I mentioned two phenomena worth fighting for: the living planet and freedom based in anarchy. I surrender. I no longer believe the struggle matters on either front. I no longer think we’ll save the remaining shards of the living planet beyond another human generation. We’ll destroy every — [...]”
Others echoed this position. This is my response.
We can grieve our potential demise as a species. We may cause it. Species come and go. Mortality is a bitch.
But living isn't. It is great joy.
I play cribbage with the senior citizens in my town. At 69, I am the youngest. One of their sayings, "You want some cheese with that whine."
Two of my local friends are farmers. They are both in their 80s. They just stopped milking this year. He has been legally blind since early childhood. Has a rope strung to the barn. I rototill their garden so she can grow their food. They still will cut hay because in is their way. They revel in living.
Because of stupidity, I have emphysema and hardened lungs from radiation that saved me from cancer. When I work, I will often and episodically have to been over to catch my breath. I don't stop working, I revel in it.
We, my partner and I, are building a growing system with rotational fields, trees, berry bushes, large root cellar, new hot house for growing and drying food. Wells that can be worked with human power all for the next generation. We have one young man working with us. We had some 20 somethings visit this summer and they want to come back and volunteer (we will see). I am planting trees and bushes the odds are I may not see come to fruition. If it goes to hell, there is not a damn thing I can do about it. I love the learning, the creating, the work.
We will continue our population stupidity, it is the nature of the beast (all life).
We will continue gorging ourselves on the resource of the earth because it is the nature of the beast (all life).
We will continue to play the us and them game because we are a social animal, we need to belong, we need to have answers no matter how absurd for a sense of control and we will find scapegoats among the "them" because it is the nature of this particular beast.
We will continue to have unintended consequences arising from our acts seemingly well intended and innocuous, again it is the nature of this particular "too smart for our own good" beast.
We will continue to have inequity in power/resource availability whenever we become larger than the gatherer and hunter group size (30 to 200) that we evolve into and lived with for 99% of our existence. Life does not give out the candy of brain and/or brawn fairly. It is the nature of how things shake things out.
I have lived at an incredible time in human history. So many opportunities. So much to enjoy. I am alive because of high tech medicine. I thrive at the knowledge available to me to learn about so much and celebrate the men and women who have contributed to that knowing.
I know I have done it on the backs of others and on the back of "mother" earth. We in the USofA (and much of the west and the rich everywhere else) have benefitted from the rape of others lands, from military incursion when it will be good for business, assassination when necessary and so many other atrocities.
Now it is coming home to roost.
Suck it up.
John Weber
Curmudgeon of Northern Minnesota
