All the news coming out of the Gulf of Mexico is horrific. Now, in the past few days, I've been reading how various scientists are warning that we may have less than one hundred years before civilization collapses, before (perhaps) the extinction of humanity. If we let this happen, we don't deserve to call ourselves homo sapiens.
But worse than the news about the gulf, worse than the collapse of our oil-based economy, worse than Republican victories in the fall, Worse Than Anything, is our apparently innate desire to deny the evidence, blame others, and moan that nothing can be done.
Bullshit!
It may be that damage to our planet cannot be reversed. Scotty may be right when he cries, "Captain, I canna break the laws of physics!" But sometimes, all you need is a bigger hammer.
Sometimes, a lot of little hammers will do even better.
If I Had A Hammer
Ready or not, the end of oil is coming. Consider it here. Our once great economy ain't coming back either. And neither BP nor the US government will restore the Gulf of Mexico. Too many of us are already unemployed or underemployed. In the long run, we are, all of us, surely dead. And maybe, in the short run, say the next 50 years, most of humanity will die. So why bother?
GET OVER YOURSELVES!
As I see it, there's still hope, and still a lot for us to do--whether we survive as a species or not.
Let's assume that you can actually read and think critically about what you read. I know, that's assuming a lot, but if you aren't willing to assume we deserve to survive, then go crawl off, die, and get out of the way. Let's accept, for the moment, that we are in serious crisis. That if we don't act now, then civilization as we know it, is doomed. OK? Pretend that's it's just a game, a thought experiment, if the idea seems too scary.
I Need a Hero
Now if you are waiting for a hero to save us--it's not gonna happen. On lifeboat Earth, we are going to have to save ourselves. I don't mean in a libertarian, Red Dawn, GOP wetdream sort of way. No one person is going to be able to fix this mess. It took all of us (yes, I mean US) to screw things up this bad. And thinking that you and yours can head for the hills and hole up until the eco-pocolypse is over is not only impossible; it's just plain stupid. Noah's ark was fantasy. Not only do you need some sort of genetic variety, but any definition of "civilization" necessarily includes other people. Lots of other people. And plants. And animals.
Now, I'm just an untenured professor of English. I am not a scientist. If I were dropped in the woods alone I might be able to survive a few days, at best. It's entirely possible than I am full of shit, for my speciality is--wait for it--science fiction. I've read just about every post-apocalyptic novel I can find. I read a lot of nonfiction, too. We can--and should--think about survival in terms of water, food, heat/power, shelter, and there are better experts out there to discuss survival in that way. There are also broader ways to consider the problem.
One note before we begin. Far too many of our dkos family are already hurting, living on the razor's edge. This change is already pure hell on too many good people. So if you are one of the fortunate ones who still has options, look around and help out your family, friends and neighbors who, through no fault of their own, are already victims of our greed and shortsightedness. If you don't know anyone who isn't hurting, you aren't looking hard enough.
So what do we do?
- Begin by learning all you can about the problem (we have several from which to choose). We need more synthesists. Robert Heinlein (don't tune me out now) said back in the 1950's that we are experiencing the crisis of the librarian. He explained that we had too many specialists, whose focus was far too narrow. We need smart people who can think across multiple disciplines. You don't have to become an expert on everything overnight, but start learning.
We have a wealth of info right here on dKos: regular diaries on gardening, home repair, science, foraging, frugal living, the environment, space. If you want to learn a skill, ask for help. If you have a skill to teach, start writing those diaries.
- Start changing your lifestyle now. If you are living in a good place, with long term sustainability, then help others get to where you are. If you feel like your life is not sustainable where you are, then start checking out what you may have to do. I know the economy sucks--so start creating a new job in a better location now. You might need to change careers. You might need to reinvent yourself completely. There may be lots of reasons not to change, but trust me, like it or not, we are going to have to change if we are going to make it. If you are already unemployed, I know I sound like an idiot. There are no new jobs out there that pay a living wage, much less health insurance. If you are stuck and desperate, find a friend to talk to. Ask for help. Then ask another. And another. We are all in this together.
- Build new communities, new economies, new everything. Make them sustainable. Here's one way: You've got a house, too big for your needs, but you can't seem to sell it. Rent some rooms--not necessarily for money. Maybe a renter will do yard work (ie, planting and tending a vegetable garden). Maybe another can provide child care. Even if they can't pay rent $, they can perhaps provide a service that will free up more of your income for that insane mortgage. In every scenario I know, the only way to survive is through the strength of community. We've got a pretty good one here at dKos. Let's put it to work.
- If you can, move away from obvious danger zones, ie, coastal areas. Vacations at the beach are nice, but I wouldn't want to live near the ocean right now. I'm looking to move north and west. My ideal location would be Oregon, Washington, or BC, wet-side of the Cascades. I lived there before; I want to again. Not too hot, not too cold. For now.
- Consider your career. Do you need to change it? To what? I'm a 48-yr-old untenured professor of English. For me, it's a calling. I love it. But for some weird reason, schools aren't hiring professors, only adjuncts. I can accept this, or I can change my career. Maybe I need to reconsider my delivery model. Maybe I need to offer tutoring services on the side. There are plenty of high school kids around whose parents want them to write better. Hell, maybe I should open my own "unschool" in my kitchen. How much should I charge for small group lessons? How much for private? Again, there are no jobs out there that pay a living wage, so we are going to have to reinvent the concept of "work." There's plenty of work to do--the difficulty is how to make a living doing it.
- Think of the kids. Whether or not you have children of your own, you at least have an interest in seeing to it that children learn as much as they can so that they can take care of you when you are sick or old. What do kids today need to know? How to plan, plant, and tend a garden. How to store food for the winter. How to hunt. How to forage. How to make. How to repair. How to MacGyver. How to think critically about what they read and what they are told. Basic and Advanced first aid. Teach them well, via scouts, church groups, or neighborhood activities.
- Do something. I've had my own bouts with depression, and for me the best way out of it has been to DO SOMETHING. Start small. I know, some days getting out of bed is a victory. Well, saving humanity is the same process. Do something. You don't have to do it all today; just pick one thing that you can control, and take care of that. Ask an elderly neighbor over to teach you how to can some beans. Split the cans between you. Plant a seed. Some of us work on labor issues. Other work on environmental issues. Others work on space colonization. No one can do it all, but we can each do something.
- Rethink everything. If your family can't survive without 3 cars, then make a change so you can. Instead of getting your kids a car for their 16th birthday, get them really good bicycles. Lobby your city for more safer bike paths. If you have credit card debt but you are still paying for cable tv, a pool guy, or a gardener, then you know what you need to change. If you are a student, study ideas that will help you no matter what happens.
I have lots of students who are business majors because they want to make money. They all think they will graduate and Wall Street will be calling. That world no longer exists. Other students are getting a degree in management. They all plan to graduate and get jobs managing people to do something they themselves don't know how to do. I don't think those students are ready for this new world either.
- Elect more better democrats. Democrats are far from perfect, but Republicans would be even worse.
- Relax. As my Buddhist friends remind me, "Don't just do something, sit there!" Find a way to restore yourself. Me, I find great comfort in my practice of Buddhism. Since I started reading Pema Chodron in 2004, I haven't had a serious depressive episode. Maybe your comfort is music, or dance, walking, or tai chi. Whatever you do, find a way to renew your spirit.
So how is all of this going to save the planet? One piece at a time. Start rationing your own oil, now. Start changing your life now, while you can make choices, instead of having the change forced upon you. Start modeling the better life we all want for your family, friends, neighbors, and community. Find someone who needs help and help them the best way you can. We are all morale officers on lifeboat Earth, so get to work. Quit your whining and join me. Even if we fail, I want alien archeologists to find our ruins one day and know that we were special. Maybe they can even learn something from us that will keep their own race from dying.
Because this is not a thought experiment. This is real. We can't wait anymore. We must be the change.
"You are the people. You are this season's people--there are no other people this season. If you blow it, it's blown."--Stephen Gaskin
To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)