Thank you for all that you have shared. It was one of your posts on Twitter that finally was a light bulb moment for me about the energy equation which rules our existence. And now, as I watch the great and good fly to yet another climate talk shop, I am disgusted. I have not been able to copy your life yet, but every time I go 35 not 55, it is a credit to the power of your writing. I ride my bike more, I garden, I have relearned how to compost, pickle, preserve. I am removing all invasive plants on my acre and trying to restore my part of a creek. Thank you thank you thank you for all you do.
I feel much the same way. Working towards building a earthen home for myself without electricity. The constant hum of modern living with lights flashing drive me to distraction. Peace be with you. Living fully in the moment on the land is enough for happiness in my thoughts. I enjoy the labor that is tending life and feeding myself through my own efforts.
Adding another thought : in my view, the great majority of humans are currently acting like cancer cells. Humans are a normal part of "the body" (nature, the living planet) but like a cancer cell, we have figured out how to overcome the natural checks and balances that limit normal parts of the body / nature.
As a veterinary pathologist, though...I know that cancer can go into remission, spontaneously, without radiation or chemotherapy. The cancer cells can "decide" to turn off their abnormal growth patterns. And I believe people could go into remission, too. What it would take would be for more people to think about the big picture, beyond themselves, their nuclear families, or their countries. Your writing has obviously had effect on at least a few people already!
Sorry that your last essay (apparently) is the only one I ran across. I completely agree with what you said ... even though I would be dead within just a few days. Thanks for sharing The Grim Truth which is really obvious to anyone who looks around. Best to you, enjoy your remaining time.
I appreciate what you write here very much. No matter what we do, we are not returning to the Holocene. We have shredded the planet earth we knew for centuries - even thousands of years. There is no telling how the future unfolds. We can love one another and the earth for as long as we are here, but individual mortality and species mortality are both realities we cannot avoid. Additionally, we do well to notice that we did not create ourselves or the rest of the web of life in the universe. We are not in charge of what happens in 2050 or in 2100. At best, we can love and cherish all of the life around us, and find ways to make a way for life as best as we can do. We maybe do this best in small communities of care. When I think of the future, I think that the massive rapid anthropogenic extinction event we are living well into now will continue and even accelerate. We humans are not in charge. We never have been. We humans have done the most damage when we think we are in charge. We get to live here for a little while. We are lost in an infinite ocean of life and love. But we too seldom live as though we love.
I'm sorry to read that you will no longer post here on Substack. I read each of your essays, and restack many of them, as well as share them outside of Substack to friends and family. I think your ideas are genius - simple, doable, effective. I do agree that the great majority of people will never even consider the ideas you share here - they can't give up shopping on Amazon, let alone give up every modern convenience to live in harmony with the planet. Most people can't even imagine a life that revolves around the basic needs of human life - food, clothing, shelter, community. They can only think in terms of making as much money as possible so they can have lives of ever increasing luxury and comfort and excess, and IT IS NEVER ENOUGH. I wish you all the best, and will miss your writing.
As it came out, I did not quit. I am torn, every day, about whether it’s worth it or not. My wife encourages me; people like you encourage me; some of my older friends almost make fun of me, kindly, because they know I’m full of shit.
One of them called me “The Tina Turner of social media,” and I couldn’t really argue.
Doing something like you, not so radical, but definitely going backwards to sustainable. To get a foothold, so my children, when they realize what's happening can pick up where I leave off.
I live in an area where we still have " old timers" who do most everything for themselves. We have been helping, watching and learning, collecting old tools, equipment. Just in case.
It may sound pessimistic to some, but I feel the same thing about industrialization as this essay. This is realistic. Is the solution for a viable planet, and humans' continued existence as a species, to return to the older traditions of working the land ourselves, building and using our own tools, and making the necessary products for housing and food ourselves? Living with the land, not exploiting it for only a few to benefit, would seem to be ideal. How we achieve such a life does seem impossible in this age. We are used to modern medicine - the only very good achievement in improving life in the last century imo; but current political systems, and the economic quest for personal abundance that politicians seek for themselves, and pretend they seek for the rest of us, is driving humans into thinking more and more stuff is better. Which thinking is leaving cooperative communities, empathy for others, and people realizing endless economic "growth" is a myth for survival, and is not so great after all - in the dustbin of culture. Is it possible to reverse toxic industrialization?
You said not to subscribe, but I did anyway. There ya go. I hope you'll forgive me. 😊 I raised and trained an ox to pull a cart and work (in northwestern Minnesota). An Ayrshire. He grew to 2400#'s and ate over 60# of hay a day whether he drove or worked that day or not. I loved the slow pace -- as you do. Miss it a lot! I also loved the ox (something I can't say for my gasoline powered automobiles). But efficiency? Show me. Imagine if every family had an ox. If every family was a family of 6 that's 1.38 billion oxen or 82.8 billion pounds of hay. Per day. According to AI, the world consumes only about 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline per day. (All in fun, sir. I agree, we'd all do well to slow down a bit.)
The first step to feeding them would be to tear up all the highways and parking lots. Feed them from yards. From golf courses.
I'm beyond sick of people telling me we can waste all this energy growing "biofuels" for cars, trucks, and jets, but we can't grow grass and forbs for donkeys.
It's all just an excuse to retain business as usual. Earth ain't convinced. She tells us every day.
We need to end fossil fuel use so some of us try , although short durations of self sufficiency might be less than effective at preventing collapse at least it gives people a taste of what it takes just to feed yourself and your family. I can grow, harvest, thresh, winnow , and hand grind grains with nothing more than a grub hoe and a hand-pecked quernstone. Foraging acorns can provide lots of carbs and calories. Getting to zero fossil fuels is an education , not a death sentence. Kinda fun for a few weeks or a couple months but that’s as far as I have gotten.
Please dont stop reaching out. Im 69 and have been trying since childhood to find/contribute to a culture like you describe. My body is giving out and Im envious that you have found 2 young people who want to add their energies to your efforts. I haven't found anyone local -- my area was rural until 50 years ago and its been a heartbreaking , long defeat to see it unraveling. hearing from others and knowing that there are other people "out there" trying to create a better way of being human is important.
I think one of the greatest challenges to making serious change to save the planet is that humans are so disconnected from nature. I think the average amount of time a child in the US spends outdoors every day is maybe 10 minutes. That is a recipe for disconnection from nature and lack of interest, and therefore lack of care for our planet. We only fight for the things we love. If you don’t know nature, whether that is experiencing nature yourself or studying it, you won’t fight for it. Thanks for the powerful essay.
Well, riding is in a sailboat is lots of fun too. And we’ve been doing that for thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of years? I also think people might be more on board with the idea if bicycles could be part of the equation. I know that kind of defeats the purpose that I’m just trying to think of different ways to make it more plausible or feasible…
Thank you for all that you have shared. It was one of your posts on Twitter that finally was a light bulb moment for me about the energy equation which rules our existence. And now, as I watch the great and good fly to yet another climate talk shop, I am disgusted. I have not been able to copy your life yet, but every time I go 35 not 55, it is a credit to the power of your writing. I ride my bike more, I garden, I have relearned how to compost, pickle, preserve. I am removing all invasive plants on my acre and trying to restore my part of a creek. Thank you thank you thank you for all you do.
And thank you for all you do as well. To live a different value system is the most powerful thing.
I feel much the same way. Working towards building a earthen home for myself without electricity. The constant hum of modern living with lights flashing drive me to distraction. Peace be with you. Living fully in the moment on the land is enough for happiness in my thoughts. I enjoy the labor that is tending life and feeding myself through my own efforts.
Adding another thought : in my view, the great majority of humans are currently acting like cancer cells. Humans are a normal part of "the body" (nature, the living planet) but like a cancer cell, we have figured out how to overcome the natural checks and balances that limit normal parts of the body / nature.
As a veterinary pathologist, though...I know that cancer can go into remission, spontaneously, without radiation or chemotherapy. The cancer cells can "decide" to turn off their abnormal growth patterns. And I believe people could go into remission, too. What it would take would be for more people to think about the big picture, beyond themselves, their nuclear families, or their countries. Your writing has obviously had effect on at least a few people already!
Sorry that your last essay (apparently) is the only one I ran across. I completely agree with what you said ... even though I would be dead within just a few days. Thanks for sharing The Grim Truth which is really obvious to anyone who looks around. Best to you, enjoy your remaining time.
It didn't turn out to be my last. I feel like I'm done, but I can't quit.
I appreciate what you write here very much. No matter what we do, we are not returning to the Holocene. We have shredded the planet earth we knew for centuries - even thousands of years. There is no telling how the future unfolds. We can love one another and the earth for as long as we are here, but individual mortality and species mortality are both realities we cannot avoid. Additionally, we do well to notice that we did not create ourselves or the rest of the web of life in the universe. We are not in charge of what happens in 2050 or in 2100. At best, we can love and cherish all of the life around us, and find ways to make a way for life as best as we can do. We maybe do this best in small communities of care. When I think of the future, I think that the massive rapid anthropogenic extinction event we are living well into now will continue and even accelerate. We humans are not in charge. We never have been. We humans have done the most damage when we think we are in charge. We get to live here for a little while. We are lost in an infinite ocean of life and love. But we too seldom live as though we love.
I'm sorry to read that you will no longer post here on Substack. I read each of your essays, and restack many of them, as well as share them outside of Substack to friends and family. I think your ideas are genius - simple, doable, effective. I do agree that the great majority of people will never even consider the ideas you share here - they can't give up shopping on Amazon, let alone give up every modern convenience to live in harmony with the planet. Most people can't even imagine a life that revolves around the basic needs of human life - food, clothing, shelter, community. They can only think in terms of making as much money as possible so they can have lives of ever increasing luxury and comfort and excess, and IT IS NEVER ENOUGH. I wish you all the best, and will miss your writing.
As it came out, I did not quit. I am torn, every day, about whether it’s worth it or not. My wife encourages me; people like you encourage me; some of my older friends almost make fun of me, kindly, because they know I’m full of shit.
One of them called me “The Tina Turner of social media,” and I couldn’t really argue.
I’m very glad you are staying. SOMEONE has to speak truth to power!
Doing something like you, not so radical, but definitely going backwards to sustainable. To get a foothold, so my children, when they realize what's happening can pick up where I leave off.
I live in an area where we still have " old timers" who do most everything for themselves. We have been helping, watching and learning, collecting old tools, equipment. Just in case.
I don't consider it to be backwards.
I consider it to be forward.
For me to go backwards would be to drive cars fast. That's what I did before.
Slow is forward. Slow is progress. Slow is freedom.
It may sound pessimistic to some, but I feel the same thing about industrialization as this essay. This is realistic. Is the solution for a viable planet, and humans' continued existence as a species, to return to the older traditions of working the land ourselves, building and using our own tools, and making the necessary products for housing and food ourselves? Living with the land, not exploiting it for only a few to benefit, would seem to be ideal. How we achieve such a life does seem impossible in this age. We are used to modern medicine - the only very good achievement in improving life in the last century imo; but current political systems, and the economic quest for personal abundance that politicians seek for themselves, and pretend they seek for the rest of us, is driving humans into thinking more and more stuff is better. Which thinking is leaving cooperative communities, empathy for others, and people realizing endless economic "growth" is a myth for survival, and is not so great after all - in the dustbin of culture. Is it possible to reverse toxic industrialization?
You said not to subscribe, but I did anyway. There ya go. I hope you'll forgive me. 😊 I raised and trained an ox to pull a cart and work (in northwestern Minnesota). An Ayrshire. He grew to 2400#'s and ate over 60# of hay a day whether he drove or worked that day or not. I loved the slow pace -- as you do. Miss it a lot! I also loved the ox (something I can't say for my gasoline powered automobiles). But efficiency? Show me. Imagine if every family had an ox. If every family was a family of 6 that's 1.38 billion oxen or 82.8 billion pounds of hay. Per day. According to AI, the world consumes only about 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline per day. (All in fun, sir. I agree, we'd all do well to slow down a bit.)
You may have noticed that I don't advocate oxen.
I'm not opposed to them either.
The first step to feeding them would be to tear up all the highways and parking lots. Feed them from yards. From golf courses.
I'm beyond sick of people telling me we can waste all this energy growing "biofuels" for cars, trucks, and jets, but we can't grow grass and forbs for donkeys.
It's all just an excuse to retain business as usual. Earth ain't convinced. She tells us every day.
We need to end fossil fuel use so some of us try , although short durations of self sufficiency might be less than effective at preventing collapse at least it gives people a taste of what it takes just to feed yourself and your family. I can grow, harvest, thresh, winnow , and hand grind grains with nothing more than a grub hoe and a hand-pecked quernstone. Foraging acorns can provide lots of carbs and calories. Getting to zero fossil fuels is an education , not a death sentence. Kinda fun for a few weeks or a couple months but that’s as far as I have gotten.
Please dont stop reaching out. Im 69 and have been trying since childhood to find/contribute to a culture like you describe. My body is giving out and Im envious that you have found 2 young people who want to add their energies to your efforts. I haven't found anyone local -- my area was rural until 50 years ago and its been a heartbreaking , long defeat to see it unraveling. hearing from others and knowing that there are other people "out there" trying to create a better way of being human is important.
I think one of the greatest challenges to making serious change to save the planet is that humans are so disconnected from nature. I think the average amount of time a child in the US spends outdoors every day is maybe 10 minutes. That is a recipe for disconnection from nature and lack of interest, and therefore lack of care for our planet. We only fight for the things we love. If you don’t know nature, whether that is experiencing nature yourself or studying it, you won’t fight for it. Thanks for the powerful essay.
I disagree.
Walking is the appropriate speed for humanity. It worked perfectly for us and our predecessors for 3 million years.
Second to walking is riding behind or on a horse, donkey, or ox.
Well, riding is in a sailboat is lots of fun too. And we’ve been doing that for thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of years? I also think people might be more on board with the idea if bicycles could be part of the equation. I know that kind of defeats the purpose that I’m just trying to think of different ways to make it more plausible or feasible…
Having known me for some time, you may notice a detail of change here.
You met me on Twitter. Am I still there?
Thank you.
What I write is one thing. Where I write is another.
Since Eel On bought Twitter there has not been a public venue where I felt comfortable. I was happy enough on Twitter even though nothing changed.
I confess that I am disappointed and disheartened that my ideas have fallen so absolutely into the void, but such is life.
Not into the void.
You've had a big impact on me, Jeff. I appreciate your work immensely.
Really no point to discuss that. When the lights go out we won't be able to continue that “protection.”