Beyond Hope

 Many years ago, in the early 90's when the Internet first enabled online conversations with people all over the world, I got into a dialogue with a guy named Jay Hanson, who lived in Hawaii and passed away in 2019. Jay was a thoroughgoing pessimist, and his website, Dieoff.com, was, by far, the darkest and most unnerving scenario for the future of humanity that I had ever encountered. 

At the time, I was still an optimist; I still believed that if and when Gaian consciousness--the dawning awareness of our total dependence upon a unique and magnificent living planet--spread inexorably around the globe, it would lead to a great awakening, and that everyone, from the top down and bottom up simultaneously, would reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, build out solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass systems, grow organic food, limit their reproduction, preserve threatened species and ecosystems, clean up pollution on air, water, and land, and learn how to close the loop on manufacturing, recycling everything. 

My byword in those days was a quote from Norman Myers, editor of the first Gaia Atlas of Planet Management, who said in his preface, "We have two choices: a Gaian Future, or No Future." And so I argued vehemently with Jay Hanson about this, but he was adamant that given our inherently aggressive, self-serving, and short-sighted animal nature, we would never abandon our dependence on fossil fuels--and the instant wealth and gratification provided by them--until it was far too late, the oil ran out, the climate heated up, the system crashed, and humans died off en masse, turning savage and cannibalistic along the way to oblivion.

Fast forward thirty years, and it appears that Jay Hanson was right about this. Years of persistent, truthless climate denial by Republicans, and hypocritical doubletalk by Democrats (who are equally dependent on the fossil fuel industry), coupled by 24/7 advertising for more and bigger cars, houses, and consumer goods,  have closed any window of opportunity we might have had for an orderly and phased transition from a "growth" economy to a ecologically sustainable steady state, or from fossil fuels to renewables.  Meanwhile, the rising levels of atmospheric CO2 have already pushed the global climate beyond many tipping points, ensuring a horrific and catastrophic future for younger generations and their descendants. So it appears we now have only one choice: no future.

All of which begs a painful question: what do we tell our children now? But let's first ask a different question, taken from the tired old joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto, when they are surrounded by hostile Indians: "What you mean 'we,' white man?"

A quick scan of the rising number of editorials about the climate crisis will reveal no shortage of recommendations on what "we" need to do. "We" must convert, en masse, to solar and wind-powered electricity; "we" must put a price on carbon emissions; "we" must build carbon recapture machines to suck all the excess CO2 out of the atmosphere; "we" must block the sun's rays by geo-engineering, whether by sending big mirrors into space or generating stratospheric dust clouds for albedo; "we" must ban all SUVs and pickup trucks; "we" must prohibit the eating of meat; and so forth...But who is this "we"? Certainly not ordinary citizens, who are powerless to do any of these things; nor corporations, who have an overwhelming vested interest in the status quo, which ensures continued rising profits into the next quarter; nor our elected officials, who depend entirely on these corporations and their wealthy stockholders to fund their ever-more-costly re-election campaigns. So what should we do?

Let's convert this to a different question: knowing that our "civilization"--that is, our fossil fuel-driven global market economy (Glomart)--is doomed to a catastrophic collapse and die-off that has already started, what can you and I (not the generic, unspecified "we") do, starting today?

For starters, I will turn to the wisdom of Lao Tzu, who, writing during the catastrophic "Warring States" era of Chinese history, laid out a simple recipe for social regeneration. Let's take it one line at a time:

Cultivate Virtue in your self/And Virtue will be real.

Real cultural transformation always begins with personal transformation--from the bottom up, not from the top down, "Virtue"--the (untranslatable) Chinese concept de--can be understood as the ability to work effectively with things as they are (rather than as we might wish them to be). This, of course, entails cultivating such qualities as equanimity, mindfulness, empathy, and skillfulness.

Cultivate it in the family/And Virtue will abound. Or as the old Crosby-Stills-Nash tune had it, "Teach your children well." That is, from an early age, teach them to cultivate their innate curiosity and love of all living things, and the skills of coping, of self-reliance, and of compassion.

Cultivate it in the village, and Virtue will grow. This is vitally important in our time, when most of our social connections are remote--via the Internet, our workplaces, or our social hangouts (whether school, church, or local bar)--while we are estranged from our immediate neighbors. But true community is face-to-face; people you've worked with, learned from, or taught, and whom you can call on or assist, when disaster strikes.

Cultivate it in the nation/And Virtue will be abundant.

Cultivate it in the universe/And Virtue will be everywhere. These last two I group together because they point to the importance of playing the long game--setting goals that will extend well beyond the span of our own lives; in this case, a Gaian future arising from the ashes of No Future. 

In practical terms, this recipe for regeneration can be summed up in a few of my signature slogans:

Grow Gardens, Grow Community, and Grow Awareness.

Learn Gaia--i.e. learn Permaculture principles and practices;

Teach Gaia--i.e. teach regenerative knowledge and skills to others at every opportunity;

Heal Gaia--apply what you have learned to healing, as best you can, our topsoil, our biota, and our communities;

Create Gaia--through all of the above, dedicate your life to creating a Gaian future for yourself, your family, all living beings, and all future generations--no matter what happens. 

A Gaian Revolution

 

Unlike the connotations of “revolution” that arise in most people’s minds these days, a Gaian Revolution does not entail a violent overthrow of a government or social order from the top down, as in the French Revolution, the American Revolution, or the Communist Revolutions. Rather, I refer to the older, less violent, but more comprehensive meanings of the word, as implied by such concepts as the Industrial Revolution, the Scientific Revolution, the Gutenberg (print) Revolution, the Reformation, the Italian Renaissance, the Carolingian Renaissance (12^th Century)—and long before that, the rise of Islam and Christianity from combined Hebraic and Hellenic roots, and the rise, in the Far East, of Buddhism—and giving rise to all of the above, the worldwide Agricultural Revolution, starting around 10,000 years ago. Each of these revolutions changed everything; they arose when pre-existing socioeconomic, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual orders had clearly become obsolete, and could not adapt to the changing world around them. Some (but not all) of these revolutions were spearheaded by charismatic leaders; others arose out of a zeitgeist created or activated by some new technological innovation or scientific discovery. (Neither Gutenberg nor Galileo nor Darwin, for example, were charismatic leaders; they were simply tinkering, and stumbled upon an innovation, an insight, or an observation that changed everything, through calibration and feedback.)

So what is the Gaian revolution?  It begins, like many of these others, with a new insight by a scientist—Dr. James Lovelock—a British atmospheric chemist who, as a consequence of his research (for the US Jet Propulsion Lab) into the startling difference between the (equilibrium) Martian atmosphere and the (far-from-equlibrium) atmosphere of our own planet, derived an explanation, based on systems theory, that seems perfectly obvious in retrospect, but that no others had thought of: that life itself—the biosphere—is directly responsible for the constant mixing of our atmosphere (through photosynthesis, respiration, and other biogenic reactions) that keeps it in a stable, but far-from-equilibrium state, and has done so for several billion years. This insight might well have become buried in the scientific literature and had no cultural influence whatsoever, if Lovelock had not taken a walk with his neighbor, novelist William Golding, who, with his classical background, suggested that Lovelock call his new theory the ”Gaia” hypothesis, after the ancient primordial Greek Earth-mother goddess. Lovelock took Golding’s advice, published his findings as Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth—and all hell broke loose in the scientific community, because he had violated a deep taboo within the scientific literature: never to mix myth and science. So they attacked his theory with a vengeance because it also violated their other major premise—scientific reductionism, or the idea that all causality can be explained from the bottom up; that is, by looking first at mechanisms at the atomic and molecular scale, then working up from there to larger and larger macro-scales. But Lovelock’s theory began from the insights of emerging general systems theory and cybernetics: that while the parts constitute the whole, the emergent characteristics of the whole reciprocally influence the behavior of the parts. That is, causality is a two-way street, from parts to whole and back again. Hence a simple explanation of Gaia theory is this: life creates, sustains, and propagates the biosphere, which in turn sustains and further propagates life.

But while Gaia as a scientific model was already revolutionary, it still retained the mythic resonance of its name, and this led to its embrace by the counter-culture (arising out of the cultural convulsions of the Sixties and Seventies) and simultaneously to its vehement denunciation by Christian fundamentalists, who saw it as a heretical resurgence of paganism. So Lovelock and his colleague, Lynn Margulis, managed to alienate both the mainstream scientific community and the religious right! And this endeared them even more to the “new age” counter-culture—much to their own dismay.

But besides being both a myth and a scientific model, Gaia gained cultural currency among intellectuals  as a metaphor for the holistic way of thinking championed by leading-edge philosophers such as Fritjof Capra, William Irwin Thompson, Francisco Varela, Humberto Maturana, and Ken Wilber. And because it resonated with the worldwide environmental movement, it likewise became a new banner for activists in that movement as well. Finally, of course, entrepreneurs saw dollar signs in its rapid cultural dissemination, so (with no understanding of, and even less concern for) its revolutionary implications, they trivialized the Gaia concept, turning it into a niche-marketing device for cosmetics, tarot cards, and yoga paraphernalia. (see Gaia.com).

But while all this was happening, another revolution was occurring, well beneath the radar of mass media. Around the same time as Lovelock was working out his revolutionary hypothesis, the Australian agronomist Bill Mollison, inspired by Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog and the systems thinking that infused it, conceived of a revolutionary new, Earth-friendly approach to the design of landscapes, gardens, and human habitat, which he called “Permaculture”—a portmanteau word for “permanent agriculture” (later expanded to “permanent culture”).  Mollison likewise acknowledged Lovelock’s Gaia theory as the source of his inspiration for emulating natural systems in his designs. And significantly, he and his colleague David Holmgren designed a 72-hour curriculum for teaching others the principles and basic practices of permaculture design, and this curriculum became self-replicating, and has spread all around the world, simply because these design principles are universal, and apply to every conceivable bioregion and ecosystem.

And so now we have two of the prime prerequisites for a global Gaian revolution: Gaian theory (i.e. general systems theory, as applied to living systems) and Gaian praxis (permaculture or regenerative design). The third prerequiste, of course, is the obsolescence of our existing status quo of “More is always better”--industrial consumer culture and media-driven politics as a blood sport, all while the forests burn and ecosystems collapse worldwide. (There is little need, these days, to elaborate on this!)

And the fourth, which is yet to come, are effective means of codification and dissemination, since the Gaian revolution presently goes under a bewildering variety of names, each appealing to distinct constituencies that are often unknown to one another, or even in competition for limited philanthropic donations or grants to their respective nonprofits. Hence we have the proliferation of concepts and entities like Postcarbon Institute, Transition Towns, Biodynamics, Steady State Economics, Ecovillages, Green parties, etc. etc.—all pursuing their own variations or portions of a common goal: what Paul Hawken and Daniel Christian Wahl refer to, in their latest books, as “regeneration.”

This is all very inspiring for intellectuals or activists—people like me, who are already “on board” with the whole Gaian vision of a human culture that is symbiotic with, rather than parasitic upon, its biological support system. But what about the ordinary Joe and Darlene out there, driving their pick-ups or SUVs to Walmart or Costco to fill them up with processed food wrapped in plastic, trying to make ends meet, worried about their children getting gunned down in school, getting brainwashed daily by strident corporate media and 24/7 advertising everywhere they look, which constantly drums in the notion that to be is to buy; that their identity and value are entirely contingent on how much stuff they own. How can a Gaian Revolution reach, and involve, the broad masses of stressed-out and brainwashed humanity, here and elsewhere?

If I had a good answer to this, I would already have accepted my Nobel Peace Prize. I don’t. But I have, at least, an idea worth sharing. What are two things that those of us who live in individual suburban homes or duplexes are likely to have in common with our neighbors—even if we don’t know them at all, and even if they are polar opposites in their politics? First, we both eat food and drink water. Second, we both own, or at least have some control over, the land we occupy.  That is the starting point for a Gaian revolution. We are both Gaians, whether we know it or not!

The next step is to find a good occasion to meet our immediate neighbors, where they are less likely than usual to be hostile or suspicious of our motives. One of the easiest ways to do this is to be out in our yards when they are out in theirs, and use the occasion to strike up a chat about gardening. Or even, during harvest season, bring our neighbors some fresh tomatoes or strawberries!

And here is where I can introduce our Gaian marching orders: Grow Gardens, Grow Community, Grow Awareness. In that order.  By growing gardens, we become less dependent on Glomart (e.g. our global market economy) and more dependent on Gaia (our topsoil). By growing community, we become less isolated—less dependent on television and the internet, and more habituated to actual conversation with our neighbors.  Then we can form Garden Guilds, which are “cells” of Gaian consciousness, where we can meet periodically in potlucks, keep in touch online, sponsor gardening educational events at our homes or elsewhere, organize neighborhood work parties to assist one another in expanding our self-reliance by growing more food, teach Permaculture principles and skills to our children and youth, and donate our surplus produce to feed, house, and teach in turn, the growing masses of homeless and landless people all around us. It is through such simple mechanisms—growing gardens, growing community, and growing awareness, that the Gaian revolution can gain traction, and transform or displace Glomart—one backyard at a time.  But as we all know, there is no time to lose!

The Gaians: A dystopic fantasy

 "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,/Nothing is going to get better--it's not." --Dr. Seuss, "The Lorax."

Imagine, if you dare, a worst-case scenario, (short of the total extinction of humanity and all higher life forms).  Unfortunately, that is not difficult these days, with the rapid acceleration, worldwide, of climate-related and environmental catastrophes, coupled with the increasing strains on the global market economy caused by inflation and supply-chain disruptions, and on our political culture, both here and everywhere else, by the rise of corporate-backed brutal, thuggish fascist regimes, with contempt for truth, science, democracy, civility, and diplomacy alike. Future prospects have never looked as grim as they do today. So let's venture imaginatively a bit deeper into this unfolding hellscape of the future--in order to seek out the last "truffula seeds" of hope....

The grisly details--if you have been paying attention--have already haunted your imagination: ecological collapse; mass starvation and die-off of most of humanity; vast swarms of desperate refugees, both from the superheated global South and from inundated coastal cities worldwide as the polar ice sheets collapse; small, fiercely defended islands of extreme wealth and privilege (for a while) in a rising sea of poverty, starvation, and violence--whether from murderous drug gangs, tyrannical fascist regimes, rival warlords and their armies, or whoever...all coupled with relentless pandemics, including an epidemic of suicides, especially among the young...

But let's zero in a bit to the small, scattered colonies of survivors here and there. These fall into two broad categories: survivalists and Gaians. Survivalists are those people, mostly from rural areas, who have abundant survival skills already, and who own lots of guns. They will, no doubt, build walled fortifications to protect themselves, gun down anyone who approaches, and divide other survivalist enclaves into either rivals or allies in an endless war of attrition for vital, vanishing resources. Life will be ugly and short for them, most likely; they will likely have to indenture themselves to fascist thugs and their armies in order to survive, and of course, they will be easy prey for scurrilous demagogues (like Trump, Erdogan, or Bolsonaro) who celebrate, reward, and encourage their violence.

Urban areas will most likely disintegrate into hellscapes of starvation and gang violence (as is already happening throughout Mexico and Central America). And that leaves...the suburbs.

Most suburbanites, of course, will die fairly quickly, as their college degrees, SUVs, mortgages, and ornamental gardens will do them little if any good as things fall apart. Some, of course, will emulate their rural survivalist counterparts by building walls, getting big dogs, and packing lots of guns--but lacking both the land-based resources and the skills, they will be hard put to survive the destitute and violent predators who will attack their fortified homes relentlessly and mercilessly for whatever they can steal.  And that leaves the Gaians...

The Gaians are those who saw what was coming and have prepared for it systematically in advance--not by fleeing to the countryside in pursuit of a survivalist fantasy, nor by walling themselves in with lots of guns, but by reaching out and making friends with their neighbors, and by devoting their time and energy to learning Gaia, teaching Gaia, healing Gaia, and creating Gaia. By growing gardens, growing community, and growing awareness. By practicing Permaculture, but also teaching it to others, whenever, however, and wherever possible. And by pledging their lifelong allegiance--not to any nation-state, ethnicity, religious organization, or drug gang--but to Gaia--the only living planet we will ever know.

Gaians--like everyone else--may well need to defend themselves from marauders as civil society collapses and vast swarms of destitute people may turn violent and predatory in order to feed their children. But their first task--as they organize themselves into neighborhood Garden Guilds--will be to generate enough surplus from their regenerative methods of growing food to set up distribution centers for the needy and destitute--and then teach them Gaian consciousness and Permaculture skills as well.

Many Gaians (like everyone else) will die violent, horrible deaths, of course, but their training in meditation skills like Tonglen and nonviolent resistance (Satyagraha) will prepare them emotionally, helping them overcome their fear of death in order to reach out to, and teach others, whether by precept or example, right up to their final breath. As with the early Christians in the Roman empire, their fearless willingness to face death rather than compromise their principles will inspire many others to embrace Gaianity as well.

And fortunately, no one needs to “convert” to Gaianity, since everyone who breathes air, drinks water, and eats food is already a Gaian. It is not a “belief system” so much as it is a way of knowing what is already self-evidently true: that we are a part of, not apart from, Gaia — the only living planet we will ever know — and will survive only if we learn to work with Gaia rather than against her — energetically, ecologically, and ethically.

And who knows--after the Great Die-Off has run its course, Gaians may proliferate, sowing their Truffula seeds of Tonglen, Satyagraha, and Permaculture to engender a whole new culture, in a symbiotic, rather than parasitic relationship with our magnificent, wounded living planet.

None of this may happen, of course. But it is worth trying...worth living for.