I appreciate this article. It’s exactly what I was hoping to find on Substack—people thinking differently about important issues. People challenging orthodoxies, even some orthodoxies I have embraced. I agree that the exclusive focus on climate change as THE existential threat is skewing the conservation agenda in unhealthy ways and marginalizing divergent view points. Thanks.
Carbon tunnel vision. It is a widely experienced affliction that leads to blindness regarding other environmental disruptions. I often think part of the reason is that the profit-seekers/takers (politicians, corporations, financial institutions) of our planet discovered a means of monetising carbon so have helped to elevate it to be THE problem that they have THE solutions to (e.g. ‘green/clean’ energy products, taxes, etc.). It’s also a means of continuing to support business-as-usual growth and avoid any discussion around degrowth and contracting/simplifying our existence.
"Carbon tunnel vision" -- yeah that's a great way of putting it. And I totally agree that the focus is on carbon because that allows profit-seeking and business-as-usual to continue. It's frustrating how good the elite are at co-opting things.
It's about overconsumption, plain and simple. Climate change is just a symptom of the destructive changes of the explosive human population and our technology. Trying to save the status quo with green energy only prolongs the problem
This is so good, Kollibri. I particularly liked this passage: "In the bigger "bigger picture" we should be striving to reduce our overall use of energy, so that there is less need for new energy production facilities of any kinds." Yes and Yes a million times over. Your words need shouting from the rooftops. I am so glad to know you and your work. The voice of reason in the din.
I was amazed at the biodiversity in Joshua Tree. Every wash, nook and cranny seemed to host it's own biome. It's not a waste land. Thank you for your circumspect article.
Thank you so much for this post. It's so important. One easy answer to many of the environmental problems that few will dare say is "Just stop reproducing." When any of us does say that, we are accused of wanting to wipe out humans, which is ridiculous when the population keeps doubling. (Two billion when my best friend was growing up, and now close to 9.) It's actually overpopulation that is killing humans and stopping it is a way to survive -- and also means stopping harming other animals and plants and the entire earth. Humans have no right to keep harming other beings.
As I'm sure you know, it's been documented repeatedly that when the education rates among women rises and birth control is available, birth rates fall. So that's one piece. And as someone who grew up Catholic (but left the church) I know it would be huge if the Pope were to reverse policy. Yes, some traditionalists wouldn't go along with it and consider that heretical somehow, but if the wealth and influence of the church was put behind encouraging lower birth rates, it would surely make a big difference, so there's another piece: a cultural one.
Thank you! I grew up catholic too but quit at 19. So many of my Radical Lesbian Feminist friends did. It's interesting. Yes, the Pope still has tremendous power. I think also pressure off by family, culture, etc. to reproduce helps. I certainly never wanted to and neither have most of my friends. In my community, it feels like a betrayal of the earth and all women to keep reproducing. A lot of pregnancy is from sexual assault too, which trump is helping happen with no escape for the victims.
Yes to all of the above. This is mostly a joke but a disadvantage of legalized marriage equality is that it opened us up to pressure from family etc. to marry, which we had been able to dodge before lol.
Yes, but I'll never understand it since it's so horrible on so many levels, though the family pull is powerful. I think that is beyond so much of what harms us on so many levels. Not for some of us though! Are you gay then?
You are completely right about this. And I remember the desert tortoise from long ago- a thorn in the side of the Obama administration...
I have an entomology background, and studying insects one learns to appreciate that those scrub desert habitats are incredibly biodiverse. Some of my all time favorite collecting sites were in the Columbia basin region (which as you probably know has its own environmental struggles). Amazing, beautiful animals living out there.
As for where the supplies for 'green' energy come from: I am currently in Indonesia, where massive (often foreign owned) mines for precious metals are causing horrid environmental destruction, as well as upsetting traditional ways of life and local economies. As you point out, the only real way forward is to start consuming less!
I'm not formally trained in entomology but I've been an insect lover my whole life, so I've always got my eye out for them wherever I go. It must be enjoyable work!
So sorry to hear about what's happening in Indonesia. I've knew about clearcutting for palm oil plantations, but haven't heard as much about mining. Mining really doesn't get much attention in the public eye unfortunately, so few people are aware of how destructive it is. The enormous Morenci Copper Mine in Arizona is just a couple hours drive from where I sit, and I've been there once. It was the closest thing to a description of Hell that I've ever seen on earth.
Thanks for posting and I'm glad you appreciated the article.
I have seen those palm oil plantations from the air, both in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia heading into Kuala Lumpur. It's really shocking when you look down at the Borneo jungles going on for miles and miles, and then suddenly you see this giant checkerboard pattern of tree plantations, with little collections of shacks where the workers live. It reminded me of the American midwest- all that wheat and corn and not much else...
The mining doesn't get as much attention, but it is increasing; there have actually been some protests about it this year- mines being opened on traditional tribal lands in eastern Indonesia and Kalimantan. They were talking on the news here a while ago about runoff from mines in Sulawesi polluting coastal ecosystems and making it hard for village fisherman to make a living- but of course the government is more interested in investments from the American and Chinese 'green energy' sectors...
Glad to meet another insect lover... I got the 'bug' for insects when I was about three years old and have been fascinated ever since- you never run out of new things to learn!
So mainstream is striving to reduce CO2 emissions.
When have we ever had a reduction in CO2 emissions?
As far as I understand it happened at the start of the pandemic when everything but essential businesses were shut down (and apparently any economic recession, the great depression, etc).
How come this is never offered as a solution?
I have this neighbour, here in the Philippines, who is an American CEO of a very big company and who is very much involved in SDGs and also involved in the IPCC documentation for healthcare. It's a business opportunity he admits to me. He's just hoping to be on the right side of history. There's a lot of money to be made. I must sound like an idiot when I suggest the only reasonable response to this crisis is shutting down all essential businesses and paying people to stay at home. I keep wondering if it's me, is there something wrong with me, I'm confused?
I don't think you sound like an idiot when you suggest shutting things down. What you're describing is basically a "pause." I would take it a step further and ask how we can press "stop." I'd like to see us collectively bring our society down for a soft landing, so that we're all living in a way we're not destroying the planet. It would look very different than what we're doing now, but I think it has the potential to be much more enjoyable for people because it would be a life with much less stress.
I wish I could remember the study I read, I think it was something Jason Hickel referenced in his latest paper, about the health benefits of a recession! They’re felt for about a decade or so after. So when you say a life with much less stress, there’s data to reflect that!
You're not confused, there's nothing wrong with you (and there is something seriously wrong with people who are simply out to make a buck on this situation). The only time we have reductions in CO2 emissions is when there is a recession.
We need to shut it down, or it will be shut down for us.
Sorry but absolutely not, climate lockdowns are supposed to be a conspiracy theory and stay that way. That being said pointless make work projects and businesses that expand for the sake of expansion should rein themselves in. Regulate corporations, never individuals.
Yes, I agree. The point was shutting down non-essential pointless businesses, not locking down people. Depending on which part of the world you were from, "lockdown" during the pandemic meant different things.
Bravo, thank you for your work and I am glad to meet you!
I moved to my husband's family farmland that has been in his family since 1902. Not long after we arrived, the forest across the street was burned down by BP and an out of State oil company. Bald eagles and other wildlife lived in the forest. I did everything I could to stop it to no avail. One of their attorneys told me that he agrees, but, well, um... money talks. (I wrote a bit about this in Chaos, Conflict and Resilience, in Wildlands.)
We witness regular, frequent parades of wide-load semi truck trailers with their side car and trucks hauling windmill parts. More gas and oil needed for these hauls, and coal is part of powering electricity, too. There is nothing green or sustainable about the truth of these "green" projects. Indeed, it is a power grab and they are gobbling up nature and her beings, which is bad for humans, too.
I have spoken for the trees and nature's beings (including the Desert tortoise) on the floor of a State Capitol and at local agencies and governments about this topic and and you are on point. I had a Senator call me and thank me for helping him protect animals. I do a lot of environmental work and am all in with protecting-conserving-restoring and have small local projects doing such. Wildlands features the work and more. If you would like to be a guest writer, please DM me. I work solo, and I am also working with others to increase health and well-being for our beautiful planet.
Thanks! And bless you for your work and dedication! It is soooo appreciated! I do believe that grassroots efforts can push back on individual projects, and every little bit helps!
Me, too, I have a CV to prove the efforts, many successful ones. Wildlands shares these stories, as well as how to’s for those who want to create change for a better world.
I agree completely. I have not heard a single politician or pundit, including so-called Greens, speak out against the paradigm of unlimited economic growth and consumerism which is at the heart of all these issues. "Sustainable development" is an oxymoron.
I want to shout this from the rooftops for all those who think driving an electric vehicle is somehow better and more environmentally friendly. Thank you for such an insightful piece.
We have to look beyond the clever packaging of the things shoved at us. Often the trade off is as bad or worse. It’s all smoke and mirrors. And now I know why there is such a push to exterminate the wild horses in the west. To create the solar farms or mines for lithium. And here I thought it was just the ranchers.
We are really chasing our tails when we reduce our concern for the environment to simply climate change. There’s nothing simple to be sure but we’ve politicized the word and stupefied it and made it such a dog whistle that habitat loss and species loss has no room for discussion at the table any more.
I am with you. Climate change is only the canary in the coal mine--the bellwether for the decimation of our natural gifts (I refuse to use the term "natural resources").
I've noticed that even old growth protection organizations have shifted to ranting about carbon and are far less interested in forest issues. But forests are what protect us from the heat island effect and create rain, absorb flooding and stop erosion. Instead they are being cut down for solar and wind.
One organization raising awareness of what wind turbines are doing in Australia to wildlife.
Yup. And they'll think *you're* the irrational one.
I know it. I'm bracing myself!
I appreciate this article. It’s exactly what I was hoping to find on Substack—people thinking differently about important issues. People challenging orthodoxies, even some orthodoxies I have embraced. I agree that the exclusive focus on climate change as THE existential threat is skewing the conservation agenda in unhealthy ways and marginalizing divergent view points. Thanks.
So glad you appreciated this article! And yes, I also like Substack for the presence of people who are thinking differently.
Carbon tunnel vision. It is a widely experienced affliction that leads to blindness regarding other environmental disruptions. I often think part of the reason is that the profit-seekers/takers (politicians, corporations, financial institutions) of our planet discovered a means of monetising carbon so have helped to elevate it to be THE problem that they have THE solutions to (e.g. ‘green/clean’ energy products, taxes, etc.). It’s also a means of continuing to support business-as-usual growth and avoid any discussion around degrowth and contracting/simplifying our existence.
"Carbon tunnel vision" -- yeah that's a great way of putting it. And I totally agree that the focus is on carbon because that allows profit-seeking and business-as-usual to continue. It's frustrating how good the elite are at co-opting things.
You might be interested in this post of mine regarding the topic: https://open.substack.com/pub/stevebull/p/todays-contemplation-collapse-cometh-17d?r=d0w3p&utm_medium=ios
Part 2: https://stevebull.substack.com/p/todays-contemplation-collapse-cometh-1de
And Part 3: https://open.substack.com/pub/stevebull/p/todays-contemplation-collapse-cometh-26d?r=d0w3p&utm_medium=ios
"Energy blindness" is a fact I haven't given enough thought to
I read part 1 and yes I appreciated it. I really like the carbon tunnel vision graphic. It really illustrated the point well.
Yep, it's maddening. And honestly, enough to make one become a bit of a conspiracy theorist.
There are a lot of conspiracies out there. Question everything—especially if the ruling caste is involved.
Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It
- Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, Max Wilbert
It's about overconsumption, plain and simple. Climate change is just a symptom of the destructive changes of the explosive human population and our technology. Trying to save the status quo with green energy only prolongs the problem
Yep, I read it, and consider Max a comrade and a friend.
This is so good, Kollibri. I particularly liked this passage: "In the bigger "bigger picture" we should be striving to reduce our overall use of energy, so that there is less need for new energy production facilities of any kinds." Yes and Yes a million times over. Your words need shouting from the rooftops. I am so glad to know you and your work. The voice of reason in the din.
Aw shucks, Joanna, thanks! That's a high compliment coming from someone like you who produces such high quality work.
Thankyou!!!
You're very welcome!
I was amazed at the biodiversity in Joshua Tree. Every wash, nook and cranny seemed to host it's own biome. It's not a waste land. Thank you for your circumspect article.
Hi David, great to hear from you! Yes Joshua Tree is amazing in that way.
Thank you so much for this post. It's so important. One easy answer to many of the environmental problems that few will dare say is "Just stop reproducing." When any of us does say that, we are accused of wanting to wipe out humans, which is ridiculous when the population keeps doubling. (Two billion when my best friend was growing up, and now close to 9.) It's actually overpopulation that is killing humans and stopping it is a way to survive -- and also means stopping harming other animals and plants and the entire earth. Humans have no right to keep harming other beings.
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
As I'm sure you know, it's been documented repeatedly that when the education rates among women rises and birth control is available, birth rates fall. So that's one piece. And as someone who grew up Catholic (but left the church) I know it would be huge if the Pope were to reverse policy. Yes, some traditionalists wouldn't go along with it and consider that heretical somehow, but if the wealth and influence of the church was put behind encouraging lower birth rates, it would surely make a big difference, so there's another piece: a cultural one.
Thank you! I grew up catholic too but quit at 19. So many of my Radical Lesbian Feminist friends did. It's interesting. Yes, the Pope still has tremendous power. I think also pressure off by family, culture, etc. to reproduce helps. I certainly never wanted to and neither have most of my friends. In my community, it feels like a betrayal of the earth and all women to keep reproducing. A lot of pregnancy is from sexual assault too, which trump is helping happen with no escape for the victims.
Yes to all of the above. This is mostly a joke but a disadvantage of legalized marriage equality is that it opened us up to pressure from family etc. to marry, which we had been able to dodge before lol.
Yes, but I'll never understand it since it's so horrible on so many levels, though the family pull is powerful. I think that is beyond so much of what harms us on so many levels. Not for some of us though! Are you gay then?
Yep! 🏳️🌈
Great!!!
You are completely right about this. And I remember the desert tortoise from long ago- a thorn in the side of the Obama administration...
I have an entomology background, and studying insects one learns to appreciate that those scrub desert habitats are incredibly biodiverse. Some of my all time favorite collecting sites were in the Columbia basin region (which as you probably know has its own environmental struggles). Amazing, beautiful animals living out there.
As for where the supplies for 'green' energy come from: I am currently in Indonesia, where massive (often foreign owned) mines for precious metals are causing horrid environmental destruction, as well as upsetting traditional ways of life and local economies. As you point out, the only real way forward is to start consuming less!
I'm not formally trained in entomology but I've been an insect lover my whole life, so I've always got my eye out for them wherever I go. It must be enjoyable work!
So sorry to hear about what's happening in Indonesia. I've knew about clearcutting for palm oil plantations, but haven't heard as much about mining. Mining really doesn't get much attention in the public eye unfortunately, so few people are aware of how destructive it is. The enormous Morenci Copper Mine in Arizona is just a couple hours drive from where I sit, and I've been there once. It was the closest thing to a description of Hell that I've ever seen on earth.
Thanks for posting and I'm glad you appreciated the article.
I have seen those palm oil plantations from the air, both in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia heading into Kuala Lumpur. It's really shocking when you look down at the Borneo jungles going on for miles and miles, and then suddenly you see this giant checkerboard pattern of tree plantations, with little collections of shacks where the workers live. It reminded me of the American midwest- all that wheat and corn and not much else...
The mining doesn't get as much attention, but it is increasing; there have actually been some protests about it this year- mines being opened on traditional tribal lands in eastern Indonesia and Kalimantan. They were talking on the news here a while ago about runoff from mines in Sulawesi polluting coastal ecosystems and making it hard for village fisherman to make a living- but of course the government is more interested in investments from the American and Chinese 'green energy' sectors...
Glad to meet another insect lover... I got the 'bug' for insects when I was about three years old and have been fascinated ever since- you never run out of new things to learn!
So mainstream is striving to reduce CO2 emissions.
When have we ever had a reduction in CO2 emissions?
As far as I understand it happened at the start of the pandemic when everything but essential businesses were shut down (and apparently any economic recession, the great depression, etc).
How come this is never offered as a solution?
I have this neighbour, here in the Philippines, who is an American CEO of a very big company and who is very much involved in SDGs and also involved in the IPCC documentation for healthcare. It's a business opportunity he admits to me. He's just hoping to be on the right side of history. There's a lot of money to be made. I must sound like an idiot when I suggest the only reasonable response to this crisis is shutting down all essential businesses and paying people to stay at home. I keep wondering if it's me, is there something wrong with me, I'm confused?
I don't think you sound like an idiot when you suggest shutting things down. What you're describing is basically a "pause." I would take it a step further and ask how we can press "stop." I'd like to see us collectively bring our society down for a soft landing, so that we're all living in a way we're not destroying the planet. It would look very different than what we're doing now, but I think it has the potential to be much more enjoyable for people because it would be a life with much less stress.
I wish I could remember the study I read, I think it was something Jason Hickel referenced in his latest paper, about the health benefits of a recession! They’re felt for about a decade or so after. So when you say a life with much less stress, there’s data to reflect that!
You're not confused, there's nothing wrong with you (and there is something seriously wrong with people who are simply out to make a buck on this situation). The only time we have reductions in CO2 emissions is when there is a recession.
We need to shut it down, or it will be shut down for us.
Sorry but absolutely not, climate lockdowns are supposed to be a conspiracy theory and stay that way. That being said pointless make work projects and businesses that expand for the sake of expansion should rein themselves in. Regulate corporations, never individuals.
Yes, I agree. The point was shutting down non-essential pointless businesses, not locking down people. Depending on which part of the world you were from, "lockdown" during the pandemic meant different things.
Bravo, thank you for your work and I am glad to meet you!
I moved to my husband's family farmland that has been in his family since 1902. Not long after we arrived, the forest across the street was burned down by BP and an out of State oil company. Bald eagles and other wildlife lived in the forest. I did everything I could to stop it to no avail. One of their attorneys told me that he agrees, but, well, um... money talks. (I wrote a bit about this in Chaos, Conflict and Resilience, in Wildlands.)
We witness regular, frequent parades of wide-load semi truck trailers with their side car and trucks hauling windmill parts. More gas and oil needed for these hauls, and coal is part of powering electricity, too. There is nothing green or sustainable about the truth of these "green" projects. Indeed, it is a power grab and they are gobbling up nature and her beings, which is bad for humans, too.
I have spoken for the trees and nature's beings (including the Desert tortoise) on the floor of a State Capitol and at local agencies and governments about this topic and and you are on point. I had a Senator call me and thank me for helping him protect animals. I do a lot of environmental work and am all in with protecting-conserving-restoring and have small local projects doing such. Wildlands features the work and more. If you would like to be a guest writer, please DM me. I work solo, and I am also working with others to increase health and well-being for our beautiful planet.
Thanks! And bless you for your work and dedication! It is soooo appreciated! I do believe that grassroots efforts can push back on individual projects, and every little bit helps!
Me, too, I have a CV to prove the efforts, many successful ones. Wildlands shares these stories, as well as how to’s for those who want to create change for a better world.
I agree completely. I have not heard a single politician or pundit, including so-called Greens, speak out against the paradigm of unlimited economic growth and consumerism which is at the heart of all these issues. "Sustainable development" is an oxymoron.
Yes I was disappointed that Jil Stein's platform this year was heavy on "green energy" and really light on other environmental issues.
I said it before, I'll say it again: standard "climate crisis" framing IS denialism: https://guyberliner.substack.com/p/climate-shlimate
Good piece! I restacked it.
I want to shout this from the rooftops for all those who think driving an electric vehicle is somehow better and more environmentally friendly. Thank you for such an insightful piece.
We have to look beyond the clever packaging of the things shoved at us. Often the trade off is as bad or worse. It’s all smoke and mirrors. And now I know why there is such a push to exterminate the wild horses in the west. To create the solar farms or mines for lithium. And here I thought it was just the ranchers.
We are really chasing our tails when we reduce our concern for the environment to simply climate change. There’s nothing simple to be sure but we’ve politicized the word and stupefied it and made it such a dog whistle that habitat loss and species loss has no room for discussion at the table any more.
I am with you. Climate change is only the canary in the coal mine--the bellwether for the decimation of our natural gifts (I refuse to use the term "natural resources").
I've noticed that even old growth protection organizations have shifted to ranting about carbon and are far less interested in forest issues. But forests are what protect us from the heat island effect and create rain, absorb flooding and stop erosion. Instead they are being cut down for solar and wind.
One organization raising awareness of what wind turbines are doing in Australia to wildlife.
https://x.com/rainforestsaus