“I don’t have much hope for this century,” Kristine Tompkins of said in a recent interview. She’s the CEO of Patagonia, and was speaking about the rapid unraveling of ecological and social systems. What she said wasn’t new—but the clarity and steadiness of her voice made it land differently. Sometimes it’s not new facts that move us, but a new weight behind them.
You’re stuck in your doomer-reductionist frame, Barry. It’s become your version of belief—something you defend with near-religious conviction.
But there’s no hopium here. The message is straight Tolkien:
“Through the ages of the world we have fought the long defeat.”
What we need now is honesty—starting with our own psychological immaturity. It won’t change the trajectory, but it might change how a few of us face it—and possibly help lead what comes next.
Time to broaden the lens. The loop you’re in is getting stale.
No what I’m is a pragmatic realist Art, who accepts that what humanity has set in motion it can’t just be turned down like a volume control, we’ve created our own ecological bottleneck we’re on track to reach 10 Billion souls by ~2050, the bottle’s neck at best will probably only let 600 Million through…
Art, literally daily I read articles (or I should say skip through) that tell me, us (humanity) how bad things are: The climates out of control, result: droughts, floods, heatwaves and wildfires, the oceans are rising, becoming acidic, filling with plastic waste and worse microplastic. These plastic pieces and microplastics are being consumed by the wildlife and creatures that inhabit land and sea, in many cases killing them, or regurgitated and fed to their offspring with same result. But it’s not just wild life this plastic is ingested by, as it’s the air we breathe, rainwater and so the water we drink and the food we eat. And of course there’s the near daily reporting of peak or nearing peak of finite hydrocarbons, and so the problem of less energy dense and portable resources becoming unavailable to continue our hubristic lifestyles. All of these articles tell us in no uncertain terms the dire predicament we’re in, all part of the poly and meta crisis that’s racing ever faster towards us, result the extinction of mankind. But just when you think the article offers no hh cough, hhh cough hhhh, cough cough hhhh ope, (Hopium), If we only get together and do what this scientist/expert says or this spiritual leader, or follow this political or economic ideology, all will be well, Really! No, because Ain’t Gonna’ Happen. We are dealing with multiple predicaments not problems, and if you don’t know what that means: problems have solutions, whereas predicaments have outcomes that are difficult if impossible to reverse or fix. We (humanity) are so F%&KED! But if you wish to believe in Hopium you’re an Apocaloptomist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPjwRzoMu8 🤔
I don't do predictions, Bob, because they're always wrong. I assure you that Peak Oil will come. It's just simple material balance. I assure you that it won't look anything like our models.
But the outcomes just the same Bob, but don’t worry you yourself, just keep clinging onto that Hopium, and I’m sure you’ll be okay, but if you’ve any grand or great grandchildren things won’t be so rosey for them, so leave them an apology letter, from us breeders, explaining we’ve enjoyed a full life consuming all the Earth’s resources to the point of overshooting our sustainability, I’m just sorry that you won’t be able to…
Well if you can maintain that Bob, you are to be applauded. The King of the Doomers has this to say in resolving all of Earth’s ills:
“There is ONE THING we can do to save the planet: Keep your pecker in your pants, and do not let your knickers down. Period. End of story.
It will have the added benefit of phasing out coal to zero. Ditto for oil, gas, lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, plastic, chemicals... I think you get my drift. This is not rocket science.” — Sam Mitchell at Collapse Chronicles🤔
I think the orientation of wanting to fix the world (i was one of those) is itself a luxury of modernity, of the oil age. As is living in a fantastic frame of mind in general, as opposed to dying in a fantastic frame of mind, which is what would be happening in the absence of that luxury.
I'm convinced fairly late in life of the way of the beast. Fortunately, attending to baseline survival, provided it is indeed closer to baseline than not - accepting how small you are and living accordingly small - may be one of the most potent things you can do for the planet, relative to your personal puniness that is. There has been no shortage of truly sustainable models of humanity here on earth. None of the people living those models were drilling oil, driving cars nor building skyscrapers. And none ever will be.
You’re stuck in your doomer-reductionist frame, Barry. It’s become your version of belief—something you defend with near-religious conviction.
But there’s no hopium here. The message is straight Tolkien:
“Through the ages of the world we have fought the long defeat.”
What we need now is honesty—starting with our own psychological immaturity. It won’t change the trajectory, but it might change how a few of us face it—and possibly help lead what comes next.
Time to broaden the lens. The loop you’re in is getting stale.
All the best,
Art
No what I’m is a pragmatic realist Art, who accepts that what humanity has set in motion it can’t just be turned down like a volume control, we’ve created our own ecological bottleneck we’re on track to reach 10 Billion souls by ~2050, the bottle’s neck at best will probably only let 600 Million through…
https://medium.com/@alysion42/civilizations-running-out-of-gas-story-50bc79bf8732 🤔
Art, literally daily I read articles (or I should say skip through) that tell me, us (humanity) how bad things are: The climates out of control, result: droughts, floods, heatwaves and wildfires, the oceans are rising, becoming acidic, filling with plastic waste and worse microplastic. These plastic pieces and microplastics are being consumed by the wildlife and creatures that inhabit land and sea, in many cases killing them, or regurgitated and fed to their offspring with same result. But it’s not just wild life this plastic is ingested by, as it’s the air we breathe, rainwater and so the water we drink and the food we eat. And of course there’s the near daily reporting of peak or nearing peak of finite hydrocarbons, and so the problem of less energy dense and portable resources becoming unavailable to continue our hubristic lifestyles. All of these articles tell us in no uncertain terms the dire predicament we’re in, all part of the poly and meta crisis that’s racing ever faster towards us, result the extinction of mankind. But just when you think the article offers no hh cough, hhh cough hhhh, cough cough hhhh ope, (Hopium), If we only get together and do what this scientist/expert says or this spiritual leader, or follow this political or economic ideology, all will be well, Really! No, because Ain’t Gonna’ Happen. We are dealing with multiple predicaments not problems, and if you don’t know what that means: problems have solutions, whereas predicaments have outcomes that are difficult if impossible to reverse or fix. We (humanity) are so F%&KED! But if you wish to believe in Hopium you’re an Apocaloptomist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbPjwRzoMu8 🤔
At 58, I'll die of old age before the world reaches peak oil. Hopium or realistic assessment?
I don't do predictions, Bob, because they're always wrong. I assure you that Peak Oil will come. It's just simple material balance. I assure you that it won't look anything like our models.
All the best,
Art
I wasn't addressing you.
But the outcomes just the same Bob, but don’t worry you yourself, just keep clinging onto that Hopium, and I’m sure you’ll be okay, but if you’ve any grand or great grandchildren things won’t be so rosey for them, so leave them an apology letter, from us breeders, explaining we’ve enjoyed a full life consuming all the Earth’s resources to the point of overshooting our sustainability, I’m just sorry that you won’t be able to…
https://youtu.be/3Lc8GD-39Us?si=dMr4PZW2SwOh9vOD 🤔
I'm not a breeder (for personal reasons).
The outcome will be for those who are alive during the process.
Well if you can maintain that Bob, you are to be applauded. The King of the Doomers has this to say in resolving all of Earth’s ills:
“There is ONE THING we can do to save the planet: Keep your pecker in your pants, and do not let your knickers down. Period. End of story.
It will have the added benefit of phasing out coal to zero. Ditto for oil, gas, lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, plastic, chemicals... I think you get my drift. This is not rocket science.” — Sam Mitchell at Collapse Chronicles🤔
I think the orientation of wanting to fix the world (i was one of those) is itself a luxury of modernity, of the oil age. As is living in a fantastic frame of mind in general, as opposed to dying in a fantastic frame of mind, which is what would be happening in the absence of that luxury.
I'm convinced fairly late in life of the way of the beast. Fortunately, attending to baseline survival, provided it is indeed closer to baseline than not - accepting how small you are and living accordingly small - may be one of the most potent things you can do for the planet, relative to your personal puniness that is. There has been no shortage of truly sustainable models of humanity here on earth. None of the people living those models were drilling oil, driving cars nor building skyscrapers. And none ever will be.
"Science isn’t just a method. It’s a way of being in the world."
Methods that are not evidence-based should not be referred to as science.
Yes, there are other ways of seeing, and language has terms that distinguish them from 'science', which has unfortunately become an umbrella term.
Science should be regarded as a strict methodology, so that we remain aware of its limitations.
Much like the Trump regime.