Articles,
Essays & Websites
Ideas,
solutions, and people
The power of accurate observation is
frequently
called
cynicism by those
who don't have it.
-
George Bernard Shaw
All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is
accepted as being self-evident.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Moving
0ff-the-grid
Unplugging
from the grid and the rat race
Inspirational
examples of people who have moved their homes and
livelihoods off-grid.
Moving Off-the-Grid
Collapse
of Civilizations
A
collection of cautionary tales
Our
culture is like an algae bloom. We are consuming all available
resources and then we are going to drown in our own waste. And while
some spiral down in a fetishistic orgy of conspicuous consumption
others die for want of food & water, never mind education and
medication.
- Sam Webster, M.Div
The articles and essays in the Collapse Section are offered not to
disturb but rather as cautionary tales about what has happened in the
past every time a society refused to heed the warning signs of resource
depletion and environmental degradation. Both loom threateningly on the
horizon for us.
Collapse
of Societies
All civilizations come to an end eventually. The reasons can be
resource depletion (i.e., Peak Oil), environmental degradation, or
what is called "complexity", wherein the returns from maintaining the
society diminish to the point where it's no longer worth the effort.
Civilization: A
Second Look
This is an
interesting series of essays on the downside of being a
member of civilization. They are highly recommended for the
fresh perspective they provide on what conditions might be like if
there is collapse. If energy descent does revert life back to a simpler
and less intense level, it maybe be for the better.
Parallel Social Networks
Due to growing concerns over energy descent, people have begun
exploring alternative means of ensuring their survival if a collapse
does occurs. This group of articles introduces the concept rhizome networks
which can serve to replace our present top-down hierarchical modes of
organization. Some of the essays cover the emergent interest in
tribalism.
After-Culture: an
Anthropology of the Future
An
artistic vision of
life approximately fifty to 100 years from now.
Memes
Powerful,
contagious, and self-replicating ideas
Memes are
contagious
ideas, all competing for a share of our mind in a
kind of Darwinian selection. As memes evolve, they become better and
better at distracting and diverting us from whatever we'd really like
to be doing with our lives. They are a kind of Drug of the Mind.
Confused? Blame it on memes.
- Richard Brodie
For society to adjust successfully to a different way of life in the
power
descent, it will require a new set of memes for the right way to live.
Old memes such as "Neverending growth is the highest good" and "Social
status is derived from the quantity one's material possessions" will
need to be replaced with memes that promote sustainable lifestyles.
It's becoming increasingly apparent that these old memes no longer
serve us. The looming crisis which can be triggered by either energy
descent, global warming, or both, presents us with an extraordinary
opportunity to consciously create and adopt a new set of memes to live
by.
Articles on memes.
Let
us know about other writings which should be included here. Click
to email a link.
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