When I first heard “The Deep State” mentioned, it caught my attention. The possible implications of the term were many. Former senior analyst for Congress, Mike Lofgren had discussed it on Bill Moyers’ website, posted in 2014. As I mentioned in a 2018 blog post, “The Deeper Deep State,” Lofgren was apparently the first to use the … More Three Cheers for the “Deep State”
Many folks toss about the term, “sustainable” quite cavalierly these days. Like “green products” and “green consumption,” it often implies that a practice or product can continue as part of the industrial-consumer economy for a very long time. Yet the global corporate economy as presently constituted is hardly sustainable itself. Well, quite often the product … More What is Sustainability? Even the Experts Struggle with its Complexity
I deepened my carbon footprint this week by flying to Toronto for a conference at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, on “Sustainability: Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice, and Action,” (STTPA) The topic seems crucial for understanding how we must move forward to stem the tide of planetary destabilization of climate, ecosystems, and the threat of societal collapse. … More Renewable Energy and Sustainable Life
DISCLAIMER: This essay does not refer to “The Oath Keepers,” the extremist “anti-government American far-right organization associated with the white supremacy and militia movements.” Those who keep their oath to defend the U.S. Constitution by becoming whistleblowers in the era of Trumpery are the heroes referenced here. Most Americans have complained about the “faceless bureaucrats“ … More Keepers of the Oath: Honor Confronts Trumpery
We live in increasingly complex systems, more and more of them are of our own making, though not always of our own conscious design. There are two basic kinds, natural complex adaptive systems, such as the Earth System and its many subsystems, and human-made complex adaptive systems, such as social groups and corporations. It appears … More How to Control Complex Adaptive Systems to Survive
Here is a brief video that shows the nature and prospects for the global youth climate movement led by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg and others even younger, who realize that they will be the real victims of the accelerating climate chaos as the planet heats up. Sociologist, Dana R. Fisher adds some context on how the … More The Meaning of the Youth Climate Movement
As I watched Richard Engel’s “On Assignment” program last night, which focused on the unmitigated ruthlessness in the rise and fall of ISIS in the Middle East and beyond, once again the human capacity for violence and even the creation of a cult of death collided with my sense of how good and brave people … More Apocalypse Maybe? Risks of Chaos and Violence
Remember the 1962 movie, The Manchurian Candidate based on Richard Condon’s 1959 novel? There was a remake in 2004, with Denzel Washington playing the man who knows something is wrong about the presidency. A slick candidate for the U.S. presidency has been “brainwashed” to do the bidding of a foreign power. The inevitable struggle between good and evil … More Trump, the Manchurian President: Culture Jam from Far Away
If we can Save the Banks, We can Save the World. ~ Greta Thunberg During Elizabeth Warren’s segment on the CNN Climate Forum on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, Chris Cuomo asked her whether the government should dictate the kinds of light bulbs and straws we use. It was typical of mass-media-pundit questions, which so often … More Light Bulbs and Straws vs. Human Survival
Can we get there from here? That is an open question. It all depends on what we do, and if we do. So far, we have done almost nothing in comparison with what we must do to retain a livable world into the Anthropocene. Overwhelming evidence on global warming and its effects destabilizing the key … More Getting Real: How to Constrain Climate Chaos for a Livable World
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 