Guy McPherson's blog

The morality of imperialism, continued

My latest post stirred considerable interest, as indicated by my email in-box as well as several thoughtful comments online. Although I tried to be clear about my position, questions continue to flow in, suggesting my no-holds-barred approach lacked clarity. I’ll try again in this post, recognizing that my position is so nuanced it is likely [...]

Continue reading...

A tale of three cities

I've returned to the U.S. after a trip to Italy. My goals for the trip were three-fold: (1) Visit the heart of western civilization before we complete our ongoing trip to the new Dark Age and then the neo-Neolithic, (2) collect anecdotes about the collapse of a large, powerful, seemingly invincible empire, and (3) try to determine if the hatred for a living Earth by Homo sapiens, which at this point is nearly all-consuming, was initiated -- or at least accelerated -- by the Renaissance. These goals echo the general themes I've considered throughout the history of this blog, so they seem appropriate to my one hundredth post.

Continue reading...

If you want to know what came before infinity, then you don’t understand infinity

Religious believers like to believe we’re special, that Somebody is watching over us. And they use the most stunning logic to explain the notion of Somebody: Science only explains our universe back to the Big Bang. What about before then? And what caused the Bang, and all the matter associated with it? It must have come from something. By which they mean Somebody.

Continue reading...

Christmas, Christianity, and the fall of empire: A year-end reflection

Reason is the basis for understanding the material world. Mysticism has proven an insufficient foundation for dealing with peak oil and runaway greenhouse. As such, I suspect it will prove inadequate for saving humanity. Whether or not we're worth saving is a separate issue.

Continue reading...

The founding fathers, through the lens of Empire

Dubya should be justifying his lust for war by invoking this Jeffersonian line in every speech: "In war, they will kill some of us; we shall destroy all of them."

Continue reading...

Welcome

I look forward to comments from rational human beings. I especially welcome solutions to the planetary crises we face.

Continue reading...