Posts

Exploring Acceptance

Image
  Seeing the forest through the trees can be difficult; this is the Section Eight Woods in the Cache River Wetlands in Southern Illinois

What's a Hyperobject and Why Can't We Control Them?

Image
  Playhouse (for the landowners' grandchildren) in Jonesboro, Illinois Four of my articles over the past couple of years are part of a four-part series titled, " So, What Should We Do? " The first three articles were written, one after the other, back in 2021 after I discovered our lack of free will which condemns us to make choices based upon our biological (see the Maximum Power Principle ) and cultural conditioning (see this article ). This led me to realize that we truly lack agency to be able to control hyperobjects such as nature, climate change, ecological overshoot , the biosphere, etc. Not only is the predicament of overshoot too difficult for most people to grasp, many people unfortunately place it in the category of problems (with answers or solutions) rather than predicaments (with outcomes). Attempting to reduce issues seen as problems tends to turn those issues into bigger problems and/or predicaments. Often this is due to those working on these issues ...

Conservation, Saving Species, Fighting Climate Change, and Rebelling Against Extinction

Image
Gazebo in Jonesboro, Illinois

Carbon Sinks Are Becoming Carbon Sources

Image
Cliff View Park, Alto Pass, Illinois

What is Latent Heat of Fusion?

Image
  Artwork from Ken Avidor

Ignorance, Hubris, and Stupidity

Image
  Artwork from Ken Avidor

What Are The Most Popular Forms of Hopium?

Image
  Artwork by Ken Avidor

So, What Should We Do? Part Four

Image
  Pictures from Seneca State Forest, West Virginia

How Intractable is Our Lack of Agency?

Image
  Farm near Douthat State Park, Virginia

The Evolution of My Thinking

Image
  Douthat State Park Beach, Virginia

Why Is Society Still Mired in Mainstream Thinking?

Image
  Eagle Rock Train Station, Eagle Rock, Virginia

External Change Can Only Come About From Internal Change

Image
  Recently, I saw a comment from John Robin Strohl that really struck home, quote: " We are here for conversation, not conversion. " I see it the same way; that most everyone wants change, but nobody wants TO change. People are consistently looking for external change but don't seem to realize that external change can only come about from internal change. Another set of facts about change is equally important: Here's the thing...changing behavior isn't really as difficult as it may seem, but it does require a desire to change and the commitment to follow through. Most people really just don't want to convert (change), thinking that, "Why should I do it if I don't have to?" Most of my regular readers will understand that in reality, it isn't optional. If society doesn't change our collective behavior, then nature will force behavior change upon us and those who don't comply will perish. Of course, people are going to perish regardle...

Rationalizing, Storytelling, and Narrative-Generating Apes

Image
  Falling Spring Falls, Falling Spring, Virginia

What Does Lack of Universal Perspective From Society Imply?

Image
  Buchanan, Virginia

Do You See Technology From a Complete Perspective?

Image
  Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia