Glad you enjoyed it! It helps me write out the loose thoughts in my brain to solidify things and share with others.
Plenty of good work to do to usher in the next society to help others thrive after this one fully decays. That will be long after we’re gone, but we need to plant the trees now if the grandkids are to have shade later!
Absolutely! The more people we get on board now, the slower and gentler we can ride the curve down the other side, and hopefully avoid a complete collapse, but rather find a new equilibrium.
I know there are many aspects to the solutions we're going to need. Your ideas seem similar to where we're heading. A Network State of Regenerative Intentional Communities.
Wow, thorough article, this looks like a culmination of your passion research. I would argue that some of the issues you mentioned are caused by factors other than lack of cheap energy, however I will not go into detail. It looks like will be a final surge of growth after this election, but unless a brand-new energy source or scientific breakthrough is discovered (which we cannot count on happening), we will not be able to sustain our massive energy load.
I loved your list of "...what I’m doing with my own family to adapt for this apparent end of growth...", indeed, we should be doing these things even during times of growth. Such a good note to end with in this article.
Ultimately, this world and its system will end and those who destroy the earth will be judged: Revelation 11:18 .
You’re right, there are many other factors: secularization, profligate govt spending, greed, etc. Those topics get more into ideology and religion, so I saved those for a future post.
I agree with you, this election will likely prompt another boost, perhaps one of the last.
As a Christian I appreciate your verse at the end. Poetic how the Bible is validated by our actions today
Hi Kemble, nice to read you again. Thanks for sharing your vision.
To start with I would like to say that I agree with you that the energy we've been using to pump up, and create all of these running systems, might be running out, and that newer less denser energies (excepting nuclear), cannot replace that.
On the other hand, I think it is also smart and wise, to try and take a step back and analyze that the overview we are trying to get, is a little bit more complex than it might seem at first sight, and that some ideas, can not be rejected entirely, basically because of lack of evidence. Eg: a technological breakthrough might change how energy is used, distribution, how energy is consumed, or any other.
This idea leads me to conclude, that many of these futuristic reasonings that we sometimes do, are mostly based on our beliefs, which if you have a scientific way of looking at things, can not really be taken into account to calculate or approximate probabilities of future scenarios.
Sustainable living and sustainability is just the next logical step because it is based on natural technologies and systems that have been perfected throughout millions of years. We also agree that if human beings think that they can be better themselves that the intelligence that has created their own bodies, and the whole natural system that feeds and empowers them, that might also be an act of ignorance and one of our bigger sins.
None of this guarantees that the unlimited growth experiment within a limited environment will stop, until maybe some big shock or event happens. That seems to be the stupid part of our nature which unluckily seems to only learn and be rectified the hard way.
The population growth rate declining seems a completely coherent thing that would happen in any insane world where we are isolating ourselves every time more, loosing human interaction and taking personal comfort and selfishness to extremes and undermining our own environment. Any species would stop reproducing themselves given these situations.
Personally I reached the same conclusion you have just exposed almost 10 years ago, and I decided to take a small step aside from my convictions and watch for some time, how this whole mess plays out. So far I've learned that reality is much more complex, abundant, resilient and creative than my wildest ideas could conceive.
I believe our role as thinkers (and doers) is to try and perfect our reasoning, accept that our research and learning will never be over, and relentlessly keep on trying to add value to a confused and ignorant world that seems to have lost its tracks.
Please remember all of this is just a game, and that it shouldn't be taken to seriously. Otherwise, mind health / health might be compromised.
We’re very much on the same page Martin. My article might sound somber as the topics can be heavy, my aim in the video was to convey I’m a pretty happy guy who likes to research how the world works (and doesn’t work) rather than golf or watch football. The more I learn the more I know I don’t know. I write simply to help prompt a few dozen other people hopefully to think a bit more about these curious topics, simplify their lives and free themselves to enjoy what we have more. The one certainty we do have is that we’re all casting about in the dark to illuminate what is to come. Apocalypse? Unlikely. Mars? Unlikely. Life tends to be in the middle. Very anticlimactic honestly.
I’m trying to grow my Christian faith alongside my understanding of the world around us. They seem to compliment each other, for my life at least. I agree with your whole comment, which is rare, and your last line means the most to me. I’ve hit a point where I’m a bit weary of the constant research so I’m ready to start traveling with my wife and boys to see more of this beautiful world and enjoy being in nature daily. I don’t want to live worried, nor do I want to worry others. If anything, learning what I have shared above has prompted me to leave the suburbs, take some risks, and live life more fully exploring the USA for now.
I’m more frightened of a life spent in a cubicle than dealing with a society in slow decline ;)
Hahah agreed with you totally. If you can, try and get your hands on any teaching / book of Paramahansa Yogananda. I deeply recommend his spiritual teachings which are rooted in Christianism and Hinduism, but also linked with science. Really interesting. Hoping the best for you and your family! Cheers.
These are fascinating. It appears they can live and regenerate indefinitely. I don’t see that any of them continue to grow in mass / consumption perpetually. I think the key difference is even these are governed by natures limits that we try to break.
Wowza, that's heavy. I appreciate this perspective even though it's difficult to hear. I think I live off grid and similarly to you and your lifestyle because I have always sensed this decline. I've had this innate desire to go backwards in time. Here in NM, I used to give tours at an old hacienda from 1880s and I loved talking to tourists about that time when people were still bartering and making everything from hand and playing music and riding horse carts. But it wasn't easy at all. The life expectancy was like 40.
We do tend to romanticize the past. It was very hard back then. The future will be very hard. We’re so lucky to live today. It will be a slow downhill that gains speed. We were born into wealth the world worked for thousands of years to realize, the least we can be is grateful
Research from the University of Minnesota indicates that the world’s croplands could potentially feed 4 billion more people by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to growing food directly for human consumption.
The study highlights that only 12% of crop calories used for animal feed ultimately contribute to human diets, suggesting significant inefficiencies in current agricultural practices
Absolutely. Animal protein uses inordinate amount of raw foodstuffs. However, should we reallocate that then another 4 billion would rely on depleting fuels for their calories and the decline would be all the harder. Permaculture as scale might be the only sustainable path, but for a smaller population most likely
Biocyclical Permaculture, not just the mainstream version. This one focuses on no external inputs and no use of animals or animal byproducts. Also Syntropic Agroecology where applicable
That’s what I see from my limited view. Of course I could be wrong, but this makes sense to me. Past wars are almost always about controlling land for resources: agricultural land, mines, energy. Today is no different. Oil and gas in Gaza. Nuclear plants and world class agricultural zones in Ukraine. People don’t actually fight wars over “democracy” or other noble concepts. That’s mostly in fiction and movies
Nailed it, bro. I've felt this, but haven't taken the space to nail down the facts like you have.
Welcome to the SolarPunk Post-Growth Regenerative Renaissance. 🙌💚
Glad you enjoyed it! It helps me write out the loose thoughts in my brain to solidify things and share with others.
Plenty of good work to do to usher in the next society to help others thrive after this one fully decays. That will be long after we’re gone, but we need to plant the trees now if the grandkids are to have shade later!
Absolutely! The more people we get on board now, the slower and gentler we can ride the curve down the other side, and hopefully avoid a complete collapse, but rather find a new equilibrium.
I know there are many aspects to the solutions we're going to need. Your ideas seem similar to where we're heading. A Network State of Regenerative Intentional Communities.
Wow, thorough article, this looks like a culmination of your passion research. I would argue that some of the issues you mentioned are caused by factors other than lack of cheap energy, however I will not go into detail. It looks like will be a final surge of growth after this election, but unless a brand-new energy source or scientific breakthrough is discovered (which we cannot count on happening), we will not be able to sustain our massive energy load.
I loved your list of "...what I’m doing with my own family to adapt for this apparent end of growth...", indeed, we should be doing these things even during times of growth. Such a good note to end with in this article.
Ultimately, this world and its system will end and those who destroy the earth will be judged: Revelation 11:18 .
You’re right, there are many other factors: secularization, profligate govt spending, greed, etc. Those topics get more into ideology and religion, so I saved those for a future post.
I agree with you, this election will likely prompt another boost, perhaps one of the last.
As a Christian I appreciate your verse at the end. Poetic how the Bible is validated by our actions today
Hi Kemble, nice to read you again. Thanks for sharing your vision.
To start with I would like to say that I agree with you that the energy we've been using to pump up, and create all of these running systems, might be running out, and that newer less denser energies (excepting nuclear), cannot replace that.
On the other hand, I think it is also smart and wise, to try and take a step back and analyze that the overview we are trying to get, is a little bit more complex than it might seem at first sight, and that some ideas, can not be rejected entirely, basically because of lack of evidence. Eg: a technological breakthrough might change how energy is used, distribution, how energy is consumed, or any other.
This idea leads me to conclude, that many of these futuristic reasonings that we sometimes do, are mostly based on our beliefs, which if you have a scientific way of looking at things, can not really be taken into account to calculate or approximate probabilities of future scenarios.
Sustainable living and sustainability is just the next logical step because it is based on natural technologies and systems that have been perfected throughout millions of years. We also agree that if human beings think that they can be better themselves that the intelligence that has created their own bodies, and the whole natural system that feeds and empowers them, that might also be an act of ignorance and one of our bigger sins.
None of this guarantees that the unlimited growth experiment within a limited environment will stop, until maybe some big shock or event happens. That seems to be the stupid part of our nature which unluckily seems to only learn and be rectified the hard way.
The population growth rate declining seems a completely coherent thing that would happen in any insane world where we are isolating ourselves every time more, loosing human interaction and taking personal comfort and selfishness to extremes and undermining our own environment. Any species would stop reproducing themselves given these situations.
Personally I reached the same conclusion you have just exposed almost 10 years ago, and I decided to take a small step aside from my convictions and watch for some time, how this whole mess plays out. So far I've learned that reality is much more complex, abundant, resilient and creative than my wildest ideas could conceive.
I believe our role as thinkers (and doers) is to try and perfect our reasoning, accept that our research and learning will never be over, and relentlessly keep on trying to add value to a confused and ignorant world that seems to have lost its tracks.
Please remember all of this is just a game, and that it shouldn't be taken to seriously. Otherwise, mind health / health might be compromised.
Cheers!
We’re very much on the same page Martin. My article might sound somber as the topics can be heavy, my aim in the video was to convey I’m a pretty happy guy who likes to research how the world works (and doesn’t work) rather than golf or watch football. The more I learn the more I know I don’t know. I write simply to help prompt a few dozen other people hopefully to think a bit more about these curious topics, simplify their lives and free themselves to enjoy what we have more. The one certainty we do have is that we’re all casting about in the dark to illuminate what is to come. Apocalypse? Unlikely. Mars? Unlikely. Life tends to be in the middle. Very anticlimactic honestly.
I’m trying to grow my Christian faith alongside my understanding of the world around us. They seem to compliment each other, for my life at least. I agree with your whole comment, which is rare, and your last line means the most to me. I’ve hit a point where I’m a bit weary of the constant research so I’m ready to start traveling with my wife and boys to see more of this beautiful world and enjoy being in nature daily. I don’t want to live worried, nor do I want to worry others. If anything, learning what I have shared above has prompted me to leave the suburbs, take some risks, and live life more fully exploring the USA for now.
I’m more frightened of a life spent in a cubicle than dealing with a society in slow decline ;)
Hahah agreed with you totally. If you can, try and get your hands on any teaching / book of Paramahansa Yogananda. I deeply recommend his spiritual teachings which are rooted in Christianism and Hinduism, but also linked with science. Really interesting. Hoping the best for you and your family! Cheers.
“Nothing grows forever in nature, absolutely nothing.”
Have you ever heard of the following organisms which have exhibited unique abilities for indefinite growth and rejuvenation?
Posidonia oceanica
Hydra
Turritopsis dohrnii
Also the planarian and tardigrades have remarkable abilities to survive death and live indefinitely.
These are fascinating. It appears they can live and regenerate indefinitely. I don’t see that any of them continue to grow in mass / consumption perpetually. I think the key difference is even these are governed by natures limits that we try to break.
Very well written. Thanks for sharing!
Wowza, that's heavy. I appreciate this perspective even though it's difficult to hear. I think I live off grid and similarly to you and your lifestyle because I have always sensed this decline. I've had this innate desire to go backwards in time. Here in NM, I used to give tours at an old hacienda from 1880s and I loved talking to tourists about that time when people were still bartering and making everything from hand and playing music and riding horse carts. But it wasn't easy at all. The life expectancy was like 40.
We do tend to romanticize the past. It was very hard back then. The future will be very hard. We’re so lucky to live today. It will be a slow downhill that gains speed. We were born into wealth the world worked for thousands of years to realize, the least we can be is grateful
We're here and now to do the work. I love the idea of moving toward more community. I think that's a real energy rn.
“Existing cropland could feed four billion more by dropping biofuels and animal feed”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801125704.htm
Research from the University of Minnesota indicates that the world’s croplands could potentially feed 4 billion more people by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to growing food directly for human consumption.
The study highlights that only 12% of crop calories used for animal feed ultimately contribute to human diets, suggesting significant inefficiencies in current agricultural practices
Absolutely. Animal protein uses inordinate amount of raw foodstuffs. However, should we reallocate that then another 4 billion would rely on depleting fuels for their calories and the decline would be all the harder. Permaculture as scale might be the only sustainable path, but for a smaller population most likely
Biocyclical Permaculture, not just the mainstream version. This one focuses on no external inputs and no use of animals or animal byproducts. Also Syntropic Agroecology where applicable
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza are resource wars?
That’s what I see from my limited view. Of course I could be wrong, but this makes sense to me. Past wars are almost always about controlling land for resources: agricultural land, mines, energy. Today is no different. Oil and gas in Gaza. Nuclear plants and world class agricultural zones in Ukraine. People don’t actually fight wars over “democracy” or other noble concepts. That’s mostly in fiction and movies