http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/ Humans have tinkered with the natural world since we appeared on the evolutionary stage. Our days certainly seem numbered: As the home team, Nature bats last. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:39:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-7084 Stacy Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:52:47 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-7084 So, it's a cycle -- rise and fall of civilizations. And we're on the downward side of the cycle. Can't go backwards, history tells us. Can't stop it -- too big, too far gone. Glad my kids are taking up farming! And they like me. So, it’s a cycle — rise and fall of civilizations. And we’re on the downward side of the cycle. Can’t go backwards, history tells us. Can’t stop it — too big, too far gone.
Glad my kids are taking up farming! And they like me.

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2067 Peter Jones Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:38:00 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2067 Guy, Stan, Charlene, et al, Thank you! (And thanks to Jay for linking to this blog today). I'm seeing 40 years of inquiry and living/learning/(denying at times) summarized so well here....I just recalled reading "Silent Spring" about 40 years ago, and the sense of wonder continues to grow....just read 3 of Guy's posts, and feel (almost) overwhelmed by the futility and folly of it all....then I read the comments and see I'm not the only one coming to grips with these feelings and facts. Nothing more to add today, a bit overwhelmed....and grateful for the insights of "non-dual philosophy" (consciousness is all) to maintain serenity while I "act as it".... Peter Guy, Stan, Charlene, et al,
Thank you! (And thanks to Jay for linking to this blog today). I’m seeing 40 years of inquiry and living/learning/(denying at times) summarized so well here….I just recalled reading “Silent Spring” about 40 years ago, and the sense of wonder continues to grow….just read 3 of Guy’s posts, and feel (almost) overwhelmed by the futility and folly of it all….then I read the comments and see I’m not the only one coming to grips with these feelings and facts. Nothing more to add today, a bit overwhelmed….and grateful for the insights of “non-dual philosophy” (consciousness is all) to maintain serenity while I “act as it”….
Peter

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2066 Charlene Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:24:03 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2066 Sorry for the Jack Handey moment, but you've got to have those from time to time. Sorry for the Jack Handey moment, but you’ve got to have those from time to time.

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2065 Michael Irving Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:02:13 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2065 Brutus, Thanks for clearing that up. Being only a member of the public I thought entropy was the tendency of systems to go from a state of order to a state of disorder. Mike Brutus,
Thanks for clearing that up. Being only a member of the public I thought entropy was the tendency of systems to go from a state of order to a state of disorder.
Mike

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2064 Frank Mezek Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:29:22 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2064 Memo to Our Stan: The answer to your first question above--I must humbly confess--it was I that said that.Glad to be of service old buddy. I'm about to depart for my favorite Mexican restaurant(owned by two Greek brothers,go figure)where I enjoy a great Margarita,and a bottle of Bohemia,the world's best beer from Mexico.Fosters is a close second matt.I recommend you do likewise Stan. Helpful Frank Memo to Our Stan:
The answer to your first question above–I must humbly confess–it
was I that said that.Glad to be of service old buddy.
I’m about to depart for my favorite Mexican restaurant(owned by two Greek brothers,go figure)where I enjoy a great Margarita,and a bottle of Bohemia,the world’s best beer from Mexico.Fosters is a close second matt.I recommend you do likewise Stan.
Helpful Frank

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2063 Stan Moore Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:57:21 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2063 Did some wise man say that happiness is found within oneself, or was it me? :) I sometimes engage in a vigorous self-debate: one side says I should let go of anxiety and care and focus on happiness; the other side says it is selfish to seek one's own happiness and one must struggle to right wrongs, expose lies, battle greed. One side of me says: you can't save the world because it does not want to be saved, but the other side says I must try regardless. Overall, my training from an early age says I should do what is right, even at personal cost and I try to do that most of the time (using my subjective view of "what is right". Of course, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did what they thought was right, and so does most everyone else, I suppose. In the end, it all sorts itself out, some way, somehow. In the final analysis, we die and most of us are eventually forgotten. Stan Did some wise man say that happiness is found within oneself, or was it me?
I sometimes engage in a vigorous self-debate: one side says I should let go of anxiety and care and focus on happiness; the other side says it is selfish to seek one’s own happiness and one must struggle to right wrongs, expose lies, battle greed.
One side of me says: you can’t save the world because it does not want to be saved, but the other side says I must try regardless.
Overall, my training from an early age says I should do what is right, even at personal cost and I try to do that most of the time (using my subjective view of “what is right”.
Of course, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did what they thought was right, and so does most everyone else, I suppose. In the end, it all sorts itself out, some way, somehow. In the final analysis, we die and most of us are eventually forgotten.
Stan

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2062 bubbleboy Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:55:37 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2062 A positivist does practical things to make his/her life better. Worms will make a positive impact in the sphere that you control. Too many people are focused on expanding a sphere that is full of junk. We push those limits without a solid foundation. (The normative choice.) We run away instead of learning to grow through trusting ourselves. A positivist does practical things to make his/her life better.
Worms will make a positive impact in the sphere that you control.
Too many people are focused on expanding a sphere that is full of junk.
We push those limits without a solid foundation. (The normative choice.)
We run away instead of learning to grow through trusting ourselves.

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2061 Brutus Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:43:25 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2061 Entropy is pretty well misunderstood by the public. It's a measure of the unavailability of energy as it changes from one form to another. The arrow points only one direction: less available. For example, plants capture the heat/light of the sun and transform the energy into a less available form. In cosmological time, the end of the universe is called heat death, where all the current hot spots -- burning stars -- dissipate their heat relatively evenly through space. There is no such thing as negative entropy. To say entropy doesn't function in a human timescale pretty much overlooks the glaringly obvious fact of peak oil and finite resources. If you want to complicate matters further with talk of fusion, fission, and quantum energy, be my guess. But realistically, once we've used up the energy captured (at a loss) over millions of years and laid down in the form of fossil fuels, there is no handy, ready substitute. That's the law of entropy: the energy we consume/transform becomes less available. Entropy is pretty well misunderstood by the public. It’s a measure of the unavailability of energy as it changes from one form to another. The arrow points only one direction: less available. For example, plants capture the heat/light of the sun and transform the energy into a less available form. In cosmological time, the end of the universe is called heat death, where all the current hot spots — burning stars — dissipate their heat relatively evenly through space. There is no such thing as negative entropy. To say entropy doesn’t function in a human timescale pretty much overlooks the glaringly obvious fact of peak oil and finite resources.
If you want to complicate matters further with talk of fusion, fission, and quantum energy, be my guess. But realistically, once we’ve used up the energy captured (at a loss) over millions of years and laid down in the form of fossil fuels, there is no handy, ready substitute. That’s the law of entropy: the energy we consume/transform becomes less available.

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2060 Michael Irving Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:42:08 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2060 What an interesting discussion. There are a number of threads here that I have been trying to braid together into a rope, a lifeline if you will, to hang on to. For me, Guy’s later response regarding living “as if” is the key. Randy White is involved in a worm farming based system in Portland, and I know the value of that because I raise worms in my kitchen. The extension of the system throughout the city and its environs is exciting. But Wendy asks if there are any communities making significant progress toward living sustainably and suggests there aren’t. So in effect she is saying that the worm system won’t make up for the destruction caused by 21st century Portland as a whole. For example, how many worms have to be raised by how many people to balance out the daily commute in Portland? But that’s not the point. The point is that Randy is living “as if” what he is doing is going to make a difference over the long term. Stan is changing his life style and beginning to eat “as if” doing so will make a difference for him personally over time. Matt, semi-serious, reminds us of the value of planting trees “as if” doing so will fight back against chaos. Charlene, however, is a problem. Or maybe I should say entropy is a problem. Yes, entropy happens. However, as long as the sun keeps pumping energy into the system we are building up negative entropy within the system (making it more complex rather than less complex). It will all come to naught in the future but that future is a on a geologic time scale and therefore not relevant to humans—our species will be long gone by then. So what? Well, throwing in current events, both Desmond Tutu, and Lech Walesa commented on Obama’s Nobel Peace Price and were talking about it being based on the “promise” of change for the better rather than a reward for accomplishment. Both Tutu and Walesa are examples of people who acted “as if” what they were doing would make a difference. Living “as if” fights entropy by making a promise to the future that things can and will change if we do our part. So I guess I’m trying to live more “as if” raising worms will make a difference rather than “as if” the best response is to up my daily dose of fukitol (thanks for that Charlene). Oh, and Stan, yup they award it for that too. Mike What an interesting discussion. There are a number of threads here that I have been trying to braid together into a rope, a lifeline if you will, to hang on to. For me, Guy’s later response regarding living “as if” is the key.
Randy White is involved in a worm farming based system in Portland, and I know the value of that because I raise worms in my kitchen. The extension of the system throughout the city and its environs is exciting. But Wendy asks if there are any communities making significant progress toward living sustainably and suggests there aren’t. So in effect she is saying that the worm system won’t make up for the destruction caused by 21st century Portland as a whole. For example, how many worms have to be raised by how many people to balance out the daily commute in Portland? But that’s not the point. The point is that Randy is living “as if” what he is doing is going to make a difference over the long term.
Stan is changing his life style and beginning to eat “as if” doing so will make a difference for him personally over time.
Matt, semi-serious, reminds us of the value of planting trees “as if” doing so will fight back against chaos.
Charlene, however, is a problem. Or maybe I should say entropy is a problem. Yes, entropy happens. However, as long as the sun keeps pumping energy into the system we are building up negative entropy within the system (making it more complex rather than less complex). It will all come to naught in the future but that future is a on a geologic time scale and therefore not relevant to humans—our species will be long gone by then.
So what? Well, throwing in current events, both Desmond Tutu, and Lech Walesa commented on Obama’s Nobel Peace Price and were talking about it being based on the “promise” of change for the better rather than a reward for accomplishment. Both Tutu and Walesa are examples of people who acted “as if” what they were doing would make a difference. Living “as if” fights entropy by making a promise to the future that things can and will change if we do our part.
So I guess I’m trying to live more “as if” raising worms will make a difference rather than “as if” the best response is to up my daily dose of fukitol (thanks for that Charlene).
Oh, and Stan, yup they award it for that too.
Mike

]]> http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2059 Stan Moore Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:17:23 +0000 http://guymcpherson.com/2009/10/linking-the-past-with-the-present-resources-land-use-and-the-collapse-of-civilizations/#comment-2059 Obama as Nobel Peace Prize winner? Did he make peace with the Republicans? the Democrats? the Taliban? Al Qaeda? Iran? North Korea? I don't quite get it, but I am sure they wouldn't have awarded that distinguished prize for some sort of symbolic reasons, would they? Stan Moore Obama as Nobel Peace Prize winner?
Did he make peace with the Republicans?
the Democrats?
the Taliban?
Al Qaeda?
Iran?
North Korea?
I don’t quite get it, but I am sure they wouldn’t have awarded that distinguished prize for some sort of symbolic reasons, would they?
Stan Moore

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