Author: The Hopeful Realist

Analyst of the human illusions about our place in the Earth System. Soon to be published: Holding It Together: Social Control in a New Era of Great Transformation. My eBook, HOPEFUL REALISM: A Climate Manifesto, is available on Amazon; free download via Kindle Unlimited. https://smile.amazon.com/Hopeful-Realism-Robert-MacNeil-Christie-ebook/dp/B0B52F18CX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LWKLZZGP6BB3&keywords=hopeful+realism:+a+climate+manifesto&qid=1656946028&s=books&sprefix=,stripbooks,428&sr=1-1

The Big Climate Blunder and Its Antidote: Risking Everything for What?

July 1, 2015

The Industrial Era has provided prosperity for many in the nations that industrialized first. In many ways it has also involved the plunder and pollution of both Body and Planet for over 200 years. After beginning to improve material existence for industrialized nations, especially through the 1950s and 1960s, the broadening participation in prosperity began … More The Big Climate Blunder and Its Antidote: Risking Everything for What?

Funny Money: Social Illusions about Value, Reward, Cost, and Risk

June 22, 2015

Money is a funny phenomenon, funny-peculiar that is. Money has a lot of odd characteristics, most having something to do with social definitions and the assumptions that shape perception. It exists, for example, only because we have willed it so – it is a social construction. Money has value only because we value it – … More Funny Money: Social Illusions about Value, Reward, Cost, and Risk

Local Community Resilience to Reduce Climate Disruption

June 15, 2015

In some ways, Northern New Mexico may be ahead of other regions in building local community resilience and adapting to increasingly difficult environmental conditions. Santa Fe sports a reputation for one of the lowest per capita water usage rates in the nation. On the other hand, its recycling program is dismally inadequate. Over-dependence on a … More Local Community Resilience to Reduce Climate Disruption

How to Create a Corporate State and Destroy the Planet

June 6, 2015

Ever wonder why President Obama insists that the “Trans-Pacific Partnership” (TPP) be “fast-tracked” through Congress? Why does its content have to be kept secret from the Congress and the American people? Yes, members of Congress may view its drafts in a secure room but are not allowed to even take notes away with them. Under … More How to Create a Corporate State and Destroy the Planet

A Teachable Moment: Criminalizing Everyone

May 29, 2015

A recent “dust-up” in Santa Fe, New Mexico, between the school district and the police department ought to be an important “teachable moment.” But the opportunity to resolve institutional overreach and get back to basics is likely being ignored. It all started when a highly respected middle-school teacher Marcy Slaughter allegedly threw a paperback book … More A Teachable Moment: Criminalizing Everyone

How to Arrest a Bank

May 23, 2015

Seems like an absurd question, “How do you arrest a bank?” Well, it is absurd. Someone said, “If corporations are persons, then why doesn’t Texas execute some of them?” That is another seemingly absurd, though valid, question. The answer, of course, is simple. Corporations – including banks – are not persons, nor could they be. … More How to Arrest a Bank

Delusions of Democrats Continue: Denying Bernie

May 7, 2015

Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness ~ George Orwell Vermont is a rather independent state. Its outspoken independent senator, Bernie Sanders, is the only politician I know of who has been able to attain office without prostituting himself to the powerful. His independence extends beyond party affiliation. It is … More Delusions of Democrats Continue: Denying Bernie

The Death Dance Continues: “There is no excuse for …” But there are Reasons

May 2, 2015

The upsurge of rage over the apparent police killing of twenty-five year old African American Freddie Gray in Baltimore is emblematic of widespread public discontent with law enforcement. It is just the latest incident demonstrating the continuing chaos in the relationship of American law enforcement to the citizenry. There is little point in listing here … More The Death Dance Continues: “There is no excuse for …” But there are Reasons

Can We Get There from Here? Stalling on the Path to Species Survival…or Not

April 24, 2015

You can find just about any message you’d like to hear about climate change. The gloomiest of fatalists: “It’s too late; we’re doomed; party on.” The science denier: “It’s the greatest hoax ever to deceive the American public; those scientists are just making these claims to get grants.” The suburban consumer: “It’s not my problem; … More Can We Get There from Here? Stalling on the Path to Species Survival…or Not