Thank you for this essay and you are not alone. I spelled much of this out in my 2018 book, "Stress R Us", which Stanford keeps in their e-library and may be downloaded as a free PDF or purchased as a print on demand PB on Amazon. I earn nothing from either. The good news (?) is that Mother Nature long ago built-in population regulation through the stress system and it is currently dramatically reducing fertility. The chronic stress hormone, cortisol, inhibits the master reproductive hormone, GNRH. Again, all in the book. As Guy McPherson has said: nature bats last. HAVE A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY! Gregg Miklashek, MD
I do recommend you check out Project Drawdown. There are many high impact solutions other than what you have listed here.
I can't argue with your logic, and Drawdown won't be enough to change things unless it's adopted worldwide. But I think we should at least do our part to share the information.
Much appreciated hearing about your personal journey as to how you arrived at your conclusions. I looked around in the 80s, when I first heard about greenhouse gases, and I thought, “it sure doesn’t seem like we’re going to be able to stop.” And we haven’t. It feels to me like an avalanche coming toward us and no where to run. We just have the moments we do, while we do.
Thank you for your courage, honesty and clarity. We need to know and understand. We need to see ahead, but few are capable of seeing the whole picture because most people perceive reality in fragments rather than as a whole.
What keeps the growth demand spinning is Wall Street mania and its lock-step rule for quarterly profits. Investors are blind to what real wealth is - as if water, food, clothing and shelter spring from stock trades rather than from Nature, soil, aquifers, snowmelt, animals, bees, insects, trees, flowers, rain. Human alienation from Nature is a sickness.
May we wake up from this sickness before all options are exhausted and all hope is lost. The time bomb is ticking.
Thanks for the eye-opening article. Been reading these articles explaining the reality of our overshoot, since the 70s …. and have always managed to quickly close my eyes and retreat into some soothing, mind-numbing denial fantasy. Hoping I can use some metaphorical toothpicks to keep my eyes open this time
Excellent work! Clearly written and clear-eyed. It’s terrifying… and yet, we must somehow deal with it. There’s no way out of it, not now.
Like Jim Morrison said eons ago, “No one here gets out alive.” I’m glad you’ve chosen to spend some of your finite time on this Earth talking about this most existential crisis. Thank you. 🙏
Best, most objective and comprehensive summary of where we are and what we might realistically be able to do (not much) I've ever read. As a healthy 75 year old, I expect I'll see the leading edge of our capitalistically inevitable trajectory firm up into something more visible/less deniable, and wonder/fear how the world will respond. I find I'm conflicted as I both do, and do not, want to know what my grandkids will be inheriting.
A good summary of important issues, and you obviously put a lot of work into it, so I commend you.
Personally, I come down on the side of reducing overall consumption as much as possible as quickly as possible. As you rightly pointed out, that's not compatible with the currently reigning economic system, so obviously that system needs to be abandoned. People say that's "unrealistic" but I think it's unrealistic to do anything other than that which is most likely to ensure our survival (not just for us humans but for everyone else on the planet).
I became “collapse/overshoot aware” in 2021 thanks to a Michael Dowd video sent to me by a friend. It fucked me up. I spiraled out in my life, made three years worth of poor choices, and have no idea what to do with my life… everything is doomed. It makes it really hard to plan for the future, when one has no idea how the future will unfold, only that it will look nothing at all like the past. It’s hard to be a doomer, on some level I’m glad I know, but honestly it’s made my life worse. Ignorance is bliss.
It's not easy and I've gone through phases of depression and anger, but not too extreme. I've come to accept that our species took a wrong turn a long time ago and it's not my fault. It's sad, but there's nothing I can do about it as an individual. Animals are not supposed to think about the future.
At the end of the day all we have is now, so I try to focus on that. Today, life can still be good. We still have food, water and nature. Enjoy it.
It can also be liberating. I don't sweat the small stuff anymore. It doesn't matter.
Thank you for this essay and you are not alone. I spelled much of this out in my 2018 book, "Stress R Us", which Stanford keeps in their e-library and may be downloaded as a free PDF or purchased as a print on demand PB on Amazon. I earn nothing from either. The good news (?) is that Mother Nature long ago built-in population regulation through the stress system and it is currently dramatically reducing fertility. The chronic stress hormone, cortisol, inhibits the master reproductive hormone, GNRH. Again, all in the book. As Guy McPherson has said: nature bats last. HAVE A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY! Gregg Miklashek, MD
Great article! Thank you.
I do recommend you check out Project Drawdown. There are many high impact solutions other than what you have listed here.
I can't argue with your logic, and Drawdown won't be enough to change things unless it's adopted worldwide. But I think we should at least do our part to share the information.
Just my two cents.
J.
https://youtu.be/D4vjGSiRGKY?si=1vWTVsKf-1XWAgrH
Much appreciated hearing about your personal journey as to how you arrived at your conclusions. I looked around in the 80s, when I first heard about greenhouse gases, and I thought, “it sure doesn’t seem like we’re going to be able to stop.” And we haven’t. It feels to me like an avalanche coming toward us and no where to run. We just have the moments we do, while we do.
Thank you for your courage, honesty and clarity. We need to know and understand. We need to see ahead, but few are capable of seeing the whole picture because most people perceive reality in fragments rather than as a whole.
What keeps the growth demand spinning is Wall Street mania and its lock-step rule for quarterly profits. Investors are blind to what real wealth is - as if water, food, clothing and shelter spring from stock trades rather than from Nature, soil, aquifers, snowmelt, animals, bees, insects, trees, flowers, rain. Human alienation from Nature is a sickness.
May we wake up from this sickness before all options are exhausted and all hope is lost. The time bomb is ticking.
The only refuge is …. reality.
Thanks for the eye-opening article. Been reading these articles explaining the reality of our overshoot, since the 70s …. and have always managed to quickly close my eyes and retreat into some soothing, mind-numbing denial fantasy. Hoping I can use some metaphorical toothpicks to keep my eyes open this time
Excellent work! Clearly written and clear-eyed. It’s terrifying… and yet, we must somehow deal with it. There’s no way out of it, not now.
Like Jim Morrison said eons ago, “No one here gets out alive.” I’m glad you’ve chosen to spend some of your finite time on this Earth talking about this most existential crisis. Thank you. 🙏
Very succinct summary of why humanity is screwed.
Best, most objective and comprehensive summary of where we are and what we might realistically be able to do (not much) I've ever read. As a healthy 75 year old, I expect I'll see the leading edge of our capitalistically inevitable trajectory firm up into something more visible/less deniable, and wonder/fear how the world will respond. I find I'm conflicted as I both do, and do not, want to know what my grandkids will be inheriting.
A good summary of important issues, and you obviously put a lot of work into it, so I commend you.
Personally, I come down on the side of reducing overall consumption as much as possible as quickly as possible. As you rightly pointed out, that's not compatible with the currently reigning economic system, so obviously that system needs to be abandoned. People say that's "unrealistic" but I think it's unrealistic to do anything other than that which is most likely to ensure our survival (not just for us humans but for everyone else on the planet).
If you want to go deeper, go watch William Rees on YouTube… his last work, human brain is obsolete!
I became “collapse/overshoot aware” in 2021 thanks to a Michael Dowd video sent to me by a friend. It fucked me up. I spiraled out in my life, made three years worth of poor choices, and have no idea what to do with my life… everything is doomed. It makes it really hard to plan for the future, when one has no idea how the future will unfold, only that it will look nothing at all like the past. It’s hard to be a doomer, on some level I’m glad I know, but honestly it’s made my life worse. Ignorance is bliss.
It's not easy and I've gone through phases of depression and anger, but not too extreme. I've come to accept that our species took a wrong turn a long time ago and it's not my fault. It's sad, but there's nothing I can do about it as an individual. Animals are not supposed to think about the future.
At the end of the day all we have is now, so I try to focus on that. Today, life can still be good. We still have food, water and nature. Enjoy it.
It can also be liberating. I don't sweat the small stuff anymore. It doesn't matter.
Here's a good video series that can help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QeYM1L0FfY&list=PLNcGo6a-yKuIubvDb6mIyd0KHQ-7UasJH