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Showing posts from 2023

What Does Lack of Universal Perspective From Society Imply?

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  Buchanan, Virginia

Do You See Technology From a Complete Perspective?

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  Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Why is Excessive Optimism Often Rewarded With a Reset of Reality?

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  Fairy Stone State Park, Stuart, Virginia

Why Do Today's Realities Escape Society?

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  Philpott Lake, Virginia, as seen from the Visitor Center of Philpott Dam

What Are GeoDestinies?

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  Lover's Leap Overlook, Virginia

Why are "Solutions" Really Just Bargaining?

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Flag Rock Recreation Area, Norton, Virginia

Time for a Reality Check?

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  A turkey vulture flying over Yatesville Lake in Kentucky

Dave Gardner For President!

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  Dave Gardner is going to run for President of the USA in 2024!   I've never been much into politics simply due to the fact that there are no political (or any other types) solutions to the predicaments we face. This is extremely difficult for most people to fathom, as denial of reality and optimism bias seem to rule the day with so many people who think technology or some other form of idolatry will save us. I also realize that reducing overshoot in the US might not have much effect around the rest of the world. As I've seen some people put it, so-called "solutions" are 4 or 5 decades too late. Still, I do see benefit in attempting to reduce the harm by reducing overshoot. Whether or not such attempts are successful are not as important as simply making the effort, in my mind. Of course, I've been made fun of for quite some time for this very stance, and yet it doesn't really bother me anymore. More often than not, the reasons folks laugh are because they

The Chief Cause of Problems is Solutions

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  Coxhall Gardens, Carmel, Indiana

IT BEARS REPEATING: BEST OF…VOLUME 1

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  Today, rather than just an article I wrote, I have an entire collection to share! For anyone who is interested in ecological overshoot, this has just been released: IT BEARS REPEATING: BEST OF…VOLUME 1 With a Foreword and Afterword by Michael Dowd, authors include: Max Wilbert; Tim Watkins; Mike Stasse; Dr. Bill Rees; Dr. Tim Morgan; Rob Mielcarski; Dr. Simon Michaux; Erik Michaels; Just Collapse’s Tristan Sykes & Dr. Kate Booth; Kevin Hester; Alice Friedemann; David Casey; and, Steve Bull. Follow the link in the title above to access the downloadable PDF. Enjoy!

What Are Self-Sufficient Communities and Why Are They More Hype Than Substance?

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Some selected images from Pike Lake State Park

How Did We Get Here?

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  The chairlift at Natural Tunnel State Park, Virginia

Collapse and the End of Industrial Civilization

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On the  Big Four Bridge  in Louisville, Kentucky

The Climate Crisis, Localization, and Collapse

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Louisville, Kentucky skyline as seen from the Big Four Bridge at Waterfront Park

Overshoot, Insurance, and Sacrifice Zones

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  Two pictures from Cairo, Illinois

Why Do We Lack Agency and What Makes Humans Happy?

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  Viking Mountain Overlook, Tennessee

Feedback Loops and Unsustainable Systems

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Mountains as seen from Tennessee Welcome Center

Solutions, Outcomes, and Unsustainable Systems

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  Lake Powhatan Swimming Beach, North Carolina

The Exponential Nature of Collapse

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  Silver Springs Filling Station , US 176, South Carolina

Myths About Hunter/Gatherers, Violence, and Outcomes

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  Lake Juniper at Cheraw State Park, South Carolina

What is Hopium?

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Seriously Thorny Issues

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Kure Beach Pier, North Carolina How often do you develop a theory about something or hear about one and then try to prove that theory wrong? I keep trying to prove my theories wrong but instead keep finding proof that they are actually correct (highly disappointingly, I might add). I'm constantly asking WHY we haven't come to realize and accept the facts and then actually ACT upon those facts collectively. For instance, why aren't we working on reducing technology use? The Degrowth Movement recognizes that energy and resource throughput must be reduced either by design or by disaster, and that as such, this necessarily dictates a reduction of technology use. One cannot keep introducing new technologies which require the infrastructural platforms which already exist and magically expect the energy and resources to build, power, and maintain these devices to appear out of nowhere. Furthermore, the energy to power and maintain the infrastructural platforms we ALREADY have

Aquifer Pumping and Land Subsidence

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Green anole at Hoop Pole Creek Nature Trail, North Carolina  

False Beliefs and Denial, Part Two

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Atlantic Ocean, Kure Beach, North Carolina

What Are Superbugs and How Are They Related to Ecological Overshoot?

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Looking towards the Atlantic Ocean from Fort Macon, North Carolina

Bargaining and Degrowth

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  Gazebo at Fort Macon, North Carolina

Don't Postpone Joy!

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  Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Morehead City, North Carolina I have a list of posts coming which I am working on finishing, but I decided to insert one post dedicated to something I find highly frustrating and add some enlightening information about these topics, centered once again around so-called "solutions" which often don't really add up. So many people and organizations are offering educational "journeys" (also known as "manifestation mindsets" in some circles) into many different themes and in different ways in an effort to help people who are suffering with the grief, confusion, anxiety, or other troubles caused by the predicaments we face. While I applaud such efforts, the one thing that is annoying is how little attention is paid to "free" information, such as the information I provide here. How hard can it be for folks to give helpful advice without demanding money or payment of some sort (click the "like" button and s

What is a Man-Made Disaster?

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    First picture: The massive slag pile at the former Anaconda Copper Company Smelter Second picture: The slag pile behind the old guard shack at the smelter entrance More info about this company Man-made disasters abound almost everywhere, but most of us cannot "see" them because we are "blind" to this destruction. Without a sense of reality regarding ecological overshoot, many people turn a blind eye to the destruction taking place daily in cities and towns (and plenty of rural or remote places as well) throughout the world. Joni Mitchell's famous song Big Yellow Taxi comes to mind. But seriously, how often does one happen to be driving somewhere and see what once were fields and forests being leveled for some new housing addition or shopping center or roads or other infrastructure?  It's also interesting as I began thinking about writing this article what disasters in particular came to mind. There are literally countless small towns which were once inh