The world is not ending. The world is ending.

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Friday December 21, 2012 · 12:35 PM PST

2012/12/21 · 12:35

Most people realize that this idea of the world ending on December 21, 2012 is apocalypse porn. It isn't what the Maya predicted. Not to mention that having the world end on a particular day runs into the inconvenient detail of the International Date Line: it's always simultaneously two different days on planet Earth. Or would the world come to an end one hemisphere at a time?

But--and this is a planet-sized 'but'--the world as we know it is pretty obviously coming to an end. Just not with a theatrically satisfying all-at-once boom. Because it's slow, it's that much easier to deny. And our human sluggishness at recognizing slowly-unfolding catastrophe is helped along by a highly paid Denial and Distraction industry.

So let's trudge to the top of Mount Apocalypse (by the way, the word "apocalypse" means "revelation" or "disclosure"), seat ourselves delicately on the orange curlicue conveniently placed there, and survey the landscape.

tacet

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Monday February 06, 2012 · 1:33 PM PST

2012/02/06 · 13:33

Two diaries are currently nestling almost side-by-side on the Recommended list: Clint Eastwood Has a Message for "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" Mitt Romney, which praises the Super Bowl ad that celebrates Detroit, as a symbol of the auto industry; and
Jeff Masters: the Climate Has Shifted to a New State, which discusses the unfolding climate disaster.

I recommended both diaries, which puts me in a double bind. Explanations below the orange binding device.

tacet

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Thursday August 04, 2011 · 1:49 PM PDT

2011/08/04 · 13:49

Consider what The World As We Know It is based on:
-An economic system requiring endless growth
-Cheap, abundant fossil fuels
-Cheap, abundant commodities
-Stable climate

Unless you’ve been brainwashed (Thanks, Rupert! Thanks, Koch brothers! Thanks, Jesus Camp!), you know that not only is none of that sustainable, it’s been doing a slow crash-and-burn for at least 4 decades. The early 1970s, when the US hit peak oil, is as good a marker as any for the start.

Could the decline have been stopped? That’s an interesting theoretical question, but the fact is, it wasn’t. Instead, those at the top launched a long-term campaign to wring more of the shrinking wealth from the bottom.

As the decline has become steeper, that campaign has become more blatant and vicious. It’s now on full display in statehouses across the US, and of course in Washington DC. It’s been on display in Europe for some time.
Obviously, for many people the debt ceiling deal was another lost battle in that long war. Certainly it was a sign that nothing will be done to address the economic and environmental roots of our problems.
In short, the world as we know it is slowly dying. Which brings us to Kubler-Ross, who famously laid out the stages of response to tragedy, large and small:
• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

Look around this site. You’ll see diarists and front-pagers in all of those stages. Often enough, they’re clashing with others who are in different stages.

Me, I like to think I’m at Acceptance. All Things Must Pass.

Your dinner is burning

tacet

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Tuesday August 01, 2006 · 9:00 AM PDT

2006/08/01 · 09:00

I realize that if you live anywhere between New York City and St. Louis, where the temperature is headed for triple digits, your immediate concern is avoiding heatstroke.
But give some thought to things that can't come inside for a blast of AC and a drink: food crops. Specifically, grains. Staff of life, and all that.

Yeah, I know: the media are churning out the standard "crops are wilting in the fields" stories that you always see during heatwaves. For nonfarmers, these stories have no relevance to daily life: the bakery shelves in stores are still piled with loaves of bread.

But let's consider this in the context of global warming. Most global warming stories focus on the potential for spectacular disaster, like the Amazon rainforest dying. This, though, is a more slow-motion, boiling-the-frog type situation.

Follow me below the fold for the frog legs entree... Read More

Historical note: 2004 park-ins

tacet

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Thursday October 28, 2004 · 3:46 PM PDT

2004/10/28 · 15:46

As every 22nd -century schoolbot knows, the stolen election of 2004 ignited a firestorm of protest that finally brought down the illegitimate presidency of George W. Bush.

A uniquely American feature of these protests was the "park-in." This phenomenon was partly an outgrowth of the so-called flashmob, which made use of the newly popular cellular phone to coordinate the arrival of many people at a prearranged location. It owed its remarkable efficacy to the dependence of early 21st-century Americans on automotive transport.

A park-in would begin when a clot of cars on a major artery suddenly slowed and came to a stop. The drivers would then get out of their parked cars, lock the doors, get into a van waiting at the front of the group, and drive off. In a sardonic gesture, many of the drivers would then call the police to report that their cars had been stolen.
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The world is not ending. The world is ending.

A Tale of Two Diaries

It's a Kubler-Ross thing

Your dinner is burning

Historical note: 2004 park-ins