2024
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXVIII-Magic Permeates Our Thinking About ‘Solutions’. February 27, 2024. Blog    Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXVII–Despite Warnings We Have Continued Business-As-Usual and Doubled-Down On Our Avoidance Behaviours. February 13, 2024. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXVI–Confessions Of A Fossil Fuel Shill. February 11, 2024. Blog     Medium      Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXV–Energy and Its Interconnections With Our Financialised Economic System. February 7, 2024. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXIV–To EV Or Not To EV? One Of Many Questions Regarding Our ‘Clean/Green’ Utopian Future, Part 2. January 14. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXIII–Human Ecological Overshoot: What to Do? January 8. Blog     Medium     Substack

2023
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXII–Human Ecological Overshoot and the Noble Savage. December 26. Blog      Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXXI–A ‘Solution’ to Our Predicaments: More Mass-Produced, Industrial Technologies. December 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXX–To EV Or Not To EV? One Of Many Questions Regarding Our ‘Clean/Green’ Utopian Future, Part 1. December 18. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXIX–Fiat Currency Devaluation: A Ruling Elite ‘Solution’ to Growth Limits. December 11. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXVIII–Avoiding ‘Collapse’ Awareness. December 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXVII–The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be. November 30. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXVI-Societal ‘Collapse’: Past is Prologue. November 27. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXV-Rackets: Keeping the Curtains on Reality Drawn. November 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXIV-Growth and Denial: A Bad Combination. November 17. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXIII-Keep Calm and Carry On. November 15. Blog      Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXII-Reality is an Inconvenience to Beliefs. November 13. Blog      Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLXI–A Self-Sufficient Community–Better Than Precious Metals or Fiat/Digital Currencies. November 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLX–Solace Will Not Be Found Within Our Sociopolitical Systems—Biogeophysical Limitations Cannot Be Overcome By Way Of Policy. November 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLIX–Ruling Elite Rackets Everywhere…. November 1. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLVIII–Most People Don’t Want Their Illusions Destroyed. October 30. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLVII–Overshoot, Hydrocarbon Energy, and Denial: Avoiding the Pain. October 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLVI–Peak Oil, Complexity, Psychology, Magical Thinking, and War. October 26. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLV–Planetary Boundaries, Narrative Management, and Technology. October 23. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLIV–Overreach And Diminishing Returns: Contributing To Complex Society Collapse For 10,000 Years. October 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLIII–Carbon Tunnel Vision And Resource/Energy & Ecological Blindness, Part 3. October 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLII–Housing ‘Crisis’: Real Or Contrived?, September 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CLI–Critiquing Renewables Is Simply A Right-Wing Conspiracy, September 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CL–Carbon Tunnel Vision And Resource/Energy & Ecological Blindness, Part 2, September 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLIX–Carbon Tunnel Vision And Resource/Energy & Ecological Blindness, Part 1, September 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLVIII–What Do Previous Experiments In Societal Complexity Suggest About ‘Managing’ Our Future, September 1. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLVII–Degrowth: A Philosophy Worth Sharing (But Understand, We’re In A Predicament Without ‘Solutions’ And Time Is Not On Our Side), August 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLVI–Managed Verses Unmanaged Degrowth: Do We Truly Have A Choice?, August 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
It Bears Repeating: Best of…Volume 1, August 23.
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLV–Non-Renewable, Renewable Energy-Harvesting Technologies (NRREHTs): For and Against…Again. August 18. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLIV–Enough Already You Malthusian Doomer! August 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLIII–Ruling Caste Responses to Societal Breakdown/Decline, August 3. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLII–We Need Degrowth Not An Expansion of Complex Technologies, July 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXLI–Declining Returns, Societal Surpluses, and Collapse, July 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXL–You Keep Using That Word ‘Sustainability’; I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means, July 13 (self-published) Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXIX–Our Deep Future: Techno-Utopia Or A Return To the Distant Past, July 10 (self-published) Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXVIII–We’re In A Predicament but Insist On Making It Worse, June 26 (self-published) Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh — An Interview with Erik Michaels and Myself by Michael Dowd June 25
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXVII–Our Political Systems Are Not Going To Help Our Predicament As They Want/Need Growth, June 21 (self-published) Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXVI–Chasing The Growth Chalice Lands Across The Street, June 15 (self-published) Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXV–Collapse Now To Avoid The Rush: Our Long Emergency, June 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXIV–‘Renewables’ Are The Solution: Just Ignore All That Ecological Systems Destruction Over There, May 31. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXIII–Our Banking System: Government Verses Private Control, Part 4, May 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXII–A Population Bottleneck For Humanity: Ecological Overshoot And Energy Descent. May 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXXI–Sociopolitical Agency, Narrative Control, and Collapse. May 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXX–Only Local Leadership Can Help Communities Now. May 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXIX–Sustainable Growth: An Oxymoron Of Epic Proportions. May 15. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXVIII–Our Banking System: Government Verses Private Control, Part 3. May 10. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXVII–Local Self-Reliance Is Imperative To Pursue In Light Of Ecological Overshoot. May 8. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXVI–The Growth Ponzi Must Be Kept Alive. April 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXV–Hydrocarbons And The Maximum Power Principle: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? April 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXIV–Leveraging Non-Renewable, Renewable Energy-Harvesting Technologies To Expand Wealth-Extraction/-Generation. April 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXIII–Carbon Tunnel Vision, Externalised Pollutants, And Story-Telling Apes. April 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXII–Storytelling To Avoid The Reality Of Peak Oil. April 17. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXXI–Dream The Impossible Dream: ‘Renewables’ Will Save Humanity. April 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXX–Relocalise And Decommission Our Dangerous Complexities. April 11.  Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXIX–Local Community Resiliency And Political Systems. April 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXVIII–Degrowth, Green Growth, And The Ruling Caste of Society. April 8. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXVII–Our Banking System: Government Verses Private Control, Part 2. April 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXVI–Another Nice Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into. April 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXV–More Bargaining: ‘Electrify Everything’. April 3. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXIV–Price Inflation, Protests, and ‘Clean/Green’ Energy. March 31. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXIII–Fossil Fuel Shills Are Us. March 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXII–Our Banking System: Government vs. Private Control, Part 1. March 27. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 7, Mar 25. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CXI–Most Have Taken the Blue Pill. March 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CX–Those Dominant Story-Telling Apes Keep Guiding Our Beliefs. March 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CIX–‘Renewables’: Virtuous Circles, Resource Limits, and Ecological Systems. March 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CVIII–‘Hope’ Is A Two-Edged Sword. March 13. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CVII–Our Future Will Be One Of Local Self-Sufficiency. March 11. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CVI–Believing In Lies To Avoid Reality. March 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CV–That Uncertain Road, Part 2. March 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different—Local Self-Sufficiency: Improving Soil Health Through Composting. March 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CIV–Thou Shall Not Disturb the ‘Renewables’ Force. March 1. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CIII–We All Believe What We Believe…Evidence Be Damned. February 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CII–That Uncertain Road, Part 1. February 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 6. February 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh CI–Theory Is Great, In Theory: More On Our ‘Renewable’ Energy Future. February 13. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh C–Grieving: A Natural Response To Recognition Of Growth Limits. February 11. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCIX–Energy Future, Part 4: Economic Manipulation. February 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCVIII–‘Inevitable’ Growth: Helping To Keep the Profiteer Gravy Train Pumping. February 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCVII–Saying ‘Infinite Growth. Finite Planet.’ Is Not Allowed! February 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCVI–Technological ‘Breakthroughs’, Ponzi Schemes, and ‘Green’ Energy. February 3. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCV–We All Believe What We Want To Believe. January 31. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCIV–‘Representative’ Democracy: A Ruse To Convince Citizens That They Have Agency In Their Society. January 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCIII–Energy Future, Part 3: Authoritarianism and Sociobehavioural Control. January 25. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCII–Ecological Overshoot and Collapse: Rearranging the Deck Chairs On the Titanic. January 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 5 January 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XCI–Mainstream Green Narratives: It’s About Selling More Industrial Products. January 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 4 January 13. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XC–A Societal Phase Transition This Way Comes. January 10. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 3 January 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different, Part 2 January 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXIX–We’re Knee Deep In Ecological Overshoot. January 3. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXVIII–Collapse: Just Like Boiling A Frog. January 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: And Now For Something Completely Different…. January 1. Blog     Medium     Substack

2022
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXVII–Limitless, ‘Clean’ Energy: More Magical Thinking. December 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXVI–Energy Future, Part 2: Competing Polities and Geopolitical Stress. December 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXV–Energy Future, Part 1. December 23. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXIV–Chasing Perpetual Growth On a Finite Planet. December 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXIII–Ruling Class Endgame For Everything: Wealth Generation and Wealth Extraction. December 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXII–Government: Constantly Forsaking Our Ecological Systems to Chase the Perpetual Growth Chalice. December 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXXI–Diminishing Returns On Investments In Complexity. December 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXX–Ignoring Ecological Systems Destruction. November 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXIX–Non-Renewable Renewable Energy-Harvesting Technologies (NRREHT): A Paradox For Our Times?. November 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXVIII–Personal Experience With ‘Renewables’. November 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXVII–It’s Too Late For Managed Degrowth. November 15. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXVI–Roadblocks to Our ‘Renewable’ Energy Transition: Debt, Resource Constraints, and Diminishing Returns. November 12. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXV–Decoupling Energy Use From Growth: More Bargaining. November 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXIV–Our Ruling Class: Always Pushing Us In the Wrong Direction. November 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXIII–Pessimists Are Optimists Who Have All the Facts. October 31. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXII–Differing Opinions On ‘Renewables’. October 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXXI–The Pursuit of ‘Renewables’: Putting Us Further Into Ecological Overshoot. October 10. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXX–Democracy: It’s Not What You Think It Is. October 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXIX–Geopolitics: It’s About Wealth Extraction and Generation For the Ruling Class. October 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXVIII–Growth Is Great! Except It Isn’t. September 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXVII–Those Dangerous Complexities of Human ‘Progress’. September 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXVI–Surplus Energy From Hydrocarbons: Another Predicament Catalyst. September 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXV–Capitalism: One Of Several Predicament Catalysts. August 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXIV–Will Another Civilisation Rise From Our Ashes? August 15. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXIII–Primary Motivation For Society’s Elite. August 11. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXII–Magical Thinking About the Energy Transition. July 31. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LXI–Peak Oil: Not Ready For Mainstream Consumption. July 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LX–Infinite Growth. Finite Planet. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part Two. July 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LIX–Infinite Growth. Finite Planet. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Part One. July 13. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LVIII–Magical Thinking to Help Avoid Anxiety-Provoking Thoughts. July 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LVII–Ecological Overshoot Cannot Be ‘Solved’. July 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LVI–Cognition and Belief Systems: Part Six—Sociopolitical ‘Collapse’ and Ecological Overshoot. June 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LV–Expediting ‘Collapse’: Financialisation of Our Economic System. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LIV–Cognition and Belief Systems: Part Five—Justification Hypothesis. June 18. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LIII–Cognition and Belief Systems: Part Four—Cognitive Dissonance. June 11. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LII–Cognition and Belief Systems: Part Three—Groupthink. June 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh LI–Cognition and Belief Systems: Part Two–Deference to Authority. May 27. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh L–Cognition and Belief Systems in a ‘Collapsing’ World: Part One. May 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLIX–Sometimes People Don’t Want to Hear the Truth. May 5. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLVIII–We Are Not Prepared For Shutting Down the Fossil Fuel Industry. Apr 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLVII–Faith in Government: A Misplaced Belief. Apr 13. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLVI–Preparing For Collapse. Apr 4. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLV–Chasing Maladaptive Strategies. Mar 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLIV–The Ruling Class: Chasing Growth Regardless Of the Consequences. Mar 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLIII–War. What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing! Mar 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLII–Criticising ‘Renewables’ is Not a Sin. Mar 1. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XLI–More Bargaining: Doughnut Economics. Feb 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XL–The Road Not Taken. Feb 19. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXIX–Climate Change ‘Solutions’: Follow the Money. January 29. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXVIII–The ‘Predicament’ of Ecological Overshoot. January 25. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXVII–Decline of ‘Rationality’. January 15. Blog     Medium     Substack

2021
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXVI–On Narrative Control and ‘Fact Checking’. December 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXV–Exponential Growth, Natural Carrying Capacity, and Ecological Overshoot. December 8. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXIV–Energy-Averaging Systems and Complexity–A Recipe For Collapse. November 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXIII–Overlooking Ecological Overshoot. November 25. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXII–Greenwashing, Fiat Currency, and Narrative Management: More On Climate Change and Elite Confabs. November 6. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXXI–Beware the Snake Oil Salesmen: Climate Change and Elite Confabs. November 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXX–Ecological Overshoot and Political Responses. September 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXIX–Are We Being Duped Regarding Global Warming? August 17. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXVIII–The Predicament of Ecological Overshoot Cannot Be ‘Solved’, Especially Via ‘Renewables’. August 10. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXVII–Ecological Overshoot, Hydrocarbon Energy, and Biophysical Reality. July 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXVI–Is It Too Late For Pessimism? July 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXV–More Greenwashing: ‘Sustainable’ Development. July 8. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXIV–Climate Change and Narratives to Support Continued Economic Growth. July 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXIII–‘Clean’ Energy and the Stages of Grieving. June 28. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXII–‘Net Zero’ Policies: Propaganda To Support Continued Economic Growth, June 22. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XXI–Loss of Trust in Government: A Stage of Collapse, June 16. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XX–Climate Emergency Action Plan: Electrification and Magical Thinking. June 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XIX–Fossil Fuels: Contributing to Complexity and Overshoot. June 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XVIII–‘Renewables’, Electrify Everything and Marketing Propaganda. June 5. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XVII–‘Renewables’ and the Overton Window That Ignores Biophysical Realities. June 1. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XVI–Finite Energy, Overconsumption, and Magical Thinking Through Denial. May 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XV–Finite Energy, ‘Renewables’, and the Ruling Elite. May 21. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XIV–Reducing Population: Degrowth or Enrich Everyone?. May 20. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XIII–Electrify Everything: Neither ‘Green’ Nor ‘Sustainable’. May 17. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XII–Growth Greenwashing: A Comforting Narrative. May 14. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh XI–Fiat Currency, Infinite Growth, Finite Resources: A Recipe for Collapse. May 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh X–Who Do Representative Governments Actually Represent? April 29. Blog     Medium     Substack

2020
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh IX–Hear, Speak, See No Evil: Sociopolitical Collapse. November 7. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh VIII–Peak Oil and Sociopolitics. October 30. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh VII–Science: It May Not Be All You Think It Is. October 12. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh VI–Infinite Growth, Finite Planet; What Could Possibly Go Wrong? October 9. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh V–Electrify Everything: The Wrong ‘Solution’. October 2. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh IV–Fiat Currency: Debasement and Infinite Growth. September 24. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh III–Grieving: There Are No ‘Solutions’ to Overshoot. August 14. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh II–Feeding the Growth Monster: Fiat Currency and Technology. August 8. Blog     Medium     Substack
Today’s Contemplation: Collapse Cometh–Mythical Narratives Everywhere to Avoid Reality. August 8. Blog     Medium     Substack

2018
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, October 13 (Election campaign promises rarely align with reality)
Medium Is ‘Growth’ a Positive Force? Part One, April 5 (self-published)
Medium Don’t Spill the Beans, March 4 (self-published)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, January 25 (True objectivity ‘virtually impossible’ for anyone including news organizations)

2017
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, November 20 (Stouffville should limit tax Increase to CPI)
Medium ‘Patriotism’ and Manipulation of it by the State, September 30 (self-published)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, May 26 (Climate change one impact of continuing growth)
Olduvai III: Cataclysm, February 15

2016
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, December 1 (‘Coming soon’ sign raises questions about democracy)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, October 7 (Trump’s rise more complex than editorial suggests)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, September 1 (We don’t have a great track record of predicting future)
The Survivalist Blog, May 18 (Preserving and Creating Wealth) (no longer available online–see below)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, April 15 (Are you paving over more farms, forests, council?)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, February 12 (Tax increase ‘criminal’)

2015
Rissa–A Short Story August 3 (available in Olduvai III: Cataclysm)
Stouffville Sun Tribune Letter, June 12 (Time to consider ‘degrowth’)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, February 12 (Stay out of the beer business, town council)

2014
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, October 16 (Growth creating a predicament)
Toronto Star Letter, September 22 (Re: The harmless professor who was spied on by the RCMP, Sept. 19)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, July 17 (Why spray weeds with chemical, town?)
Olduvai II: Exodus, July  7
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, July 3 (Record number of declined provincial ballots solid start)
Toronto Star Letter, May 10 (More voices on provincial election)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, May 8 (Are we still country close to city?)
Two Ice Floes Article, March 24 (Hell in a Hand Basket and Why We’re Going There, Guaranteed (sort of))
London Free Press Letter, March 12 (Hypocritical response to Ukraine)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, Feburary 28 (Challenges issued to new town council)

2013
Peak Oil News and Message Boards, Article, November 24 (Peak Oil responds: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”)
Transition Voice Article, November 11 (Faith and trust in the system is collapsing)–no longer posted (see this)
Toronto Star Letter, November 6 (The many flaws of economists)
Stouffville SunTribune Letter, October 24 (Why assume Stouffville will keep growing?)
Alumni Gazette Olduvai New Releases From Western Alumni Fall
Toronto Star Letter, July (This is a recipe for economic disaster)
Stouffville Radio Interview May (Olduvai) (no longer on server)
Globe and Mail Letter, May (The west’s narrative)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Guest Editorial, May 18 (Our dependence on growth has us in an awkward spot)
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Article, April (Author hopes to outsell Cusack movie character)
Olduvai, February

2012
Toronto Star Letter, December (Growth culture is problem)
Toronto Star Letter, October (Wages not unions’ main beef)
Toronto Star Letter, September (Return to a gold standard makes sense)
Toronto Star Letter, July (Start at the top to fix system)
Toronto Star Letter, June (Selective capitalism needs to end)
Toronto Star Letter, June (PM’s new military policy)
Resilience.org Article, April (Education in a post-carbon world)
Toronto Star Letter, April (U.S. serious about tax evasion)
Toronto Star Letter, January (This economic crisis is different)

2011
Toronto Star Letter, October (A series to explain Greek crisis)
Newmarket Era Guest Editorial, October (Three issues that should dominate elections)
Toronto Star Letter, August (U.S. economy under fire)
Newmarket Era Letter, August (Growth only good for development industry)
Toronto Star Letter, April (Egypt’s moment)
Toronto Star Letter, March (Our lifestyle is not sustainable) (not available online–see below)
Association for the Study of Peak Oil-ASPO Canada Article, March (What is the purpose of our education system?)

2010
Stouffville Sun-Tribune Letter, September (Trees axed for pipeline just planted)

2009
Toronto Star Letter, August (Debating the merits of system-wide testing)

2002
Markham Economist and Sun Letter, February 2 (Teachers deal with more reality than many other professions) (not available online–see below)

1999
National Post Letter, February 5 (Childish idea) (not available online–see below)

1997
Ontario Public School Teachers’ Federation News, February (Subtle and insidious propaganda) (not available online–see below)
Stouffville Sun Letter, September 10 (Politicians not telling whole truth) (not available online–see below)

1994
Markham Economist and Sun Letter, October (‘Standardized tests not panacea for system’) (not available online–see below)
Markham Economist and Sun Guest Editorial, September 28 (‘Knowledgeable people needed’) (not available online–see below)

1992
Markham Times Letter, March 6 (Racial Stereotyping) (not available online–see below)

1989
McMaster Courier Letter, June (Academic freedom re-examined)
The Silhouette Letter, March 16 (Research push very real) (not available online–see below)
Reconstructed Ceramic Pots: Relationships Between Whole Vessels and their Rim Sherds Canadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d’Archéologie
Vol. 13 (1989), pp. 219-222

1988 (with M.W. Spence)
The Birkette Burial. Kewa 88(7):6-11.

1987
Notes on an Investigation of the Relation Between Iroquoian Whole Vessels and Their Rim Sherds. Arch Notes, September/October. 87-5, pp. 29-30.

1986
The Gazette Letter, November (Reader left skeptical, pessimistic) (not available online–see below)
The Gazette Letter, March (Sloppy profs defended, teaching ability relevant) (not available online–see below)

AWARDS
Ontario Public School Teachers’ Federation, Harold Pinkerton District Newsletter Editor’s Award, ‘COM-PAC’, 1998
Ontario Public School Teachers’ Federation-York Region, Outstanding Service, 1997

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Our lifestyle if not sustainable

Re: Can we scale back our appetite for energy? Opinion March 20

Angelo Persichilli’s column asked a great question, but misses the real issues facing us in the very near future. The business model of perpetual growth to sustain our economy, combined with the imminent loss of fossil fuels and population growth all lead to one stark reality: we cannot continue to live the way we have been living.

It’s a simply case of mathematics and the declining resource base of a finite planet. At 1.3 percent population growth (Canada and Ontario), it only takes 54 years to double our population; where will we find the energy resources to support such a population (not to mention food), particularly when we know that oil and gas resources have passed their peak in production and are declining? And this example is just for Ontario.

Either we choose the means to reign in our lifestyle (i.e. stop population growth and find ways of supporting the current population using a decreasing resource base) or we can ignore all the signals and simple mathematics and wait for the consequences (e.g. disease, war, famine).

To think that it can’t happen here in a resource-blessed country is simply ignoring reality.

February 2, 2002 Markham Economist and Sun
Teachers deal with more reality than many other professions

Re: Teachers’ refusal to take tests is extremism gone too far; letter to the editor, Jan. 26

While there are many aspects of Frank Gray’s letter I could take issue with, the one I would like to challenge is his insinuation that educators do not live in the ‘real world’.

I’m not sure what Mr. Gray’s ‘real world’ consists of, but I would suggest that an educator’s world is far more reflective of the ‘real world’ than many other professions.

Is having to deal with the Children’s Aid Society when signs of abuse or neglect have been identified not ‘real’?

Is having to comfort children when a tragedy of some kind has befallen them or their family not ‘real’?

Is having to balance the political ideology of politicians and policy-makers–whose concern tends to be with the bottom line or powerful lobby groups–with the pedagogical research that shows many of the imposed reforms are actually detrimental to student learning not ‘real’?

Is having to meet the needs of 25 to 35 individuals on a regular basis, some whose only stable environment is a classroom, not ‘real’? I could go on ad infinitum, but my point is made. Educators deal with far more of the real world than can ever be realized in a board room or on Bay Street.

Mr. Gray needs to take a much closer look inside a school before suggesting educators do not live in the real world.

February 5, 1999 National Post
Childish idea

Re: School Discipline Ideas from Tories Called Election Talk, Feb. 3

Just where did Dave Johnson and the Ontario Ministry of Education get the hair-brained idea that school uniforms will improve student behaviour and therefore student achievement? There is absolutely no evidence that such a move would create the change they suggest. There is, however, evidence that the behavioural problems I tend to face in my classroom are directly related to having 36 students in the same classroom–a size that shouldn’t occur given the government’s much touted class size legislation.

February, 1997 Ontario Public School Teachers’ Federation News
Subtle and insidious propaganda

Our current provincial government has been changing the education system in an unprecedented manner. This restructuring runs the entire spectrum from assessment, to professionalism, and the amalgamation/elimination of school boards.

Change is nothing new to education. In the seven years I have been a teacher, I have witnessed countless new initiatives and teachers who have been in the profession much longer tell me it has always been this way. Consequently, teachers have learned to be a flexible and resilient lot. In addition, teachers themselves are constantly evaluating their programmes in an attempt to improve their classrooms.

However, the form that change is currently taking is both dangerous and offensive. It is dangerous in that most of it flies in the face of research. For example, the elimination of a year of high school while the government removes money for junior kindergarten is the opposite of what the Royal Commission concluded, based upon a “mountain of research.”

The changes are offensive in the approach that has been taken. While it is one thing to contemplate how to bring about constructive alterations to a system, it is quite another to invent crises, propagate lies, and create data to justify a massive transformation.

A pertinent example came to light recently after I wrote to a local MPP outlining my concerns about the government’s attack on education. With his response was included a pamphlet entitled Questions & Answers About the Ontario Government’s Education Policies, which outlined the government’s answers to certain questions about their education policies. Upon perusal of this document, I discovered that most of the data provided were false. One statement which contradicts available evidence is that “testing seems to show that our schools are becoming less successful than they were at such basic things as teaching children how to read.”

I immediately contacted the Minister’s office and asked for the research upon which the statement was based. After more than eight weeks and discussions with at least a dozen people in both the Minister’s office and the Education Quality and Accountability Office, I discovered, as I knew I would, that no such data exist. I was informed “there is no supporting documentation, little long-term comparable assessment data, and no systematic study has been carried out by the Ministry.” The only conclusion I can reach is that this information was concocted to try and persuade the public that the current educational system is in desperate need of repair.

This is a subtle and insidious type of propaganda. It builds upon established myths, which hold no basis in reality, and plays upon parents’ concerns for their children’s future. It is both immoral and irresponsible. But the real question is why the Tories are lying to the public.

It seems to me that by getting the public to believe there is a significant problem, the government can justify massive changes. One of these changes could include taking responsibility for financial matters away from school boards. By taking hold of the purse strings, the government can then make further changes. Among these could be: the privatization of non-teaching positions; the abandonment of collective agreements with teachers in order to establish lower salaries and increased teaching responsibilities.

From my perspective, as a parent, teacher, and taxpayer, I do not see an improvement in education being the result. Rather, the opposite will occur. Teachers will still provide the best education they possibly can, but it certainly won’t be as good as it could be. Students and educational workers are being held hostage by a government which is more intent on stealing money from education to pay for a 30% tax cut, than in ensuring quality education. And they are misleading the public with false information and manufactured data to ensure they win support for their beguiling claims.

Gerald Caplan has suggested that creating a crisis in education will not work because, without the support of teachers, no change can succeed. Well, Mr. Snobelen and his government will find little support from teachers when he and his Ministry mislead and misinform. Teachers will not stand idly by while the government destroys what has taken decades to build.

September 19, 1997 Stouffville Sun
Politicians not telling whole truth

J.A. Lee unfortunately mistakes an attempt to clarify issues and present facts as whining. (Not only teachers make sacrifices. Stouffville Sun, Sept. 3/97)

If he/she wishes to base his/her opinion upon misinformation, propaganda and stereotypes, that is his/her prerogative. However, I feel compelled to address such misleading statements and attempt to present the facts from a different perspective.

It is most disturbing to see politicians mislead the public. It is even worse when they make misinformed decisions based upon numbers on a sheet of paper.

The point of my letter, which J.A. Lee seems to have missed, is that numbers don’t lie but they certainly don’t tell the whole story.

We all need to be more critical of, instead of accepting as gospel truth, the numbers used by politicians in attempting to justify cuts to education–especially if we wish to decide if these cuts will help or harm students in the long run.

October 1994, Markham Economist and Sun
‘Standardized tests not panacea for system’

Upon reading the letter from Barry Kavanagh (Oct. 8), I felt it was important to clarify some misconceptions he made about my guest editorial. Besides the reference to The Mismeasure of Man (1981) I made, there are numerous academic articles that debate the validity and reliability of standardized testing.

For example, Goldman, Stein, and Guerry (1983) and Pearson (1984) both question the use of standardized tests and argue that the tests used to assess achievement in scholastic material do not control for variables which have significant impact upon test results; thus making their results meaningless.

Any statistical test which claims to be valid and reliable must control for variables which impact upon the results. I would ask Mr. Kavanagh how, in a democratic society, the education system could control the following: parental involvement and education; student health and nutrition; cultural differences; student diligence, ability to learn and work habits; language of origin; etc.. These will all affect a student’s performance on a standardized test. If Mr. Kavanagh is genuinely interested in this subject, I would direct him to do some research at any university library.

Second, I don’t know how Mr. Kavanagh arrived at the conclusion that there is no curriculum in the schools. The York Region Board of Education’s curriculum guidelines outlines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are to be taught in each subject and grade. However, these documents are not structured to provide a daily plan. The teacher must use these guidelines to develop strategies and lesson plans to teach these requirements to the students.

The teacher uses the curriculum to plan daily lessons and goals for each student. Observation, written assignments, daily work, individual conferences, tests, and many other assessment techniques are then employed by the teacher to determine if individual students have achieved the essential skills taught.

Every student–and every class–is different. The teacher must take this into account when preparing to teach. Because of this, the same skills may not be taught at the same time–or in the same manner–during the school year in different boards, schools, or classes. Standardized tests do not take this into account. Should our tax dollars be spent on this testing? Aren’t there better ways to use these resources so that we can improve the system? Standardized tests are no panacea for the education system.

There are no magic bullets or simple solutions to improve the system. But if the government and boards of education continue to condone a decrease in education funding and an increase in class size, then it is likely that our system will not remain among the best in the world.

One does not become an expert in the education system simply because one has gone through the system. The upcoming trustee election is extremely important. We need knowledgable people making the decisions which are going to be affecting our children’s future.

Finally, I find it unfortunate the Mr. Kavanagh missed the main points in my editorial and subsequently made disparaging comments about the teaching profession in his letter. If he could offer some constructive criticism, I would welcome it.

March 28, 1994, Markham Economist and Sun
‘Knowledgeable people needed’

Upon seeing the list of candidate running for public school trustee positions (Economist and Sun, Sept. 21), I am deeply concerned that there are very few challenges to the incumbents. It would appear that many of them will be acclaimed without having to justify their positions. As an elementary teacher, I find this unfortunate since some of the current trustees have agendas which I consider to be detrimental to maintaining the quality of education.

A pertinent example arises from another Economist and Sun article (Sept. 21) which outlines Paul Bennett’s platform.

He states that “Now that we have restored system-wide testing the real challenge will be to hold schools accountable for acting on the results.” This statement underscores his misunderstanding of standardized tests.

If he were to do some critical research, he would realize that standardized, or norm-referenced, tests used in the manner that he advocates have little validity or reliability: they provide little information which could be used to improve the education system. Such tests were discarded years ago for this very reason.

Professional researchers have criticized such tests because they do not account for factors over which schools and teacher have no control (e.g. socioeconomic status; parental involvement and education; student diligence, ability to learn, and work habits; local curriculum; etc.). In addition, such tests do not account for the fact that: 1) each province sets different curriculum guidelines; 2) each board of education interprets these guidelines and sets different expectations and priorities; and 3) each teacher interprets the board’s guidelines and adapts them to his/her teaching style and knowledge.

When my Grade 6 class wrote the Canadian Achievement Test last year, it became obvious that the test was not evaluating what the students had learned in the classroom. For example, one of the questions displayed  the picture of a library reference card and then asked several questions about it. Most of my students had no idea wha the picture was and could not answer the questions. Does this mean my school was negligent in teaching research skills or the use of the library? No! It means our school and community libraries use a computerized system for locating information. The answer is even simpler as to why my students did not perform well on the fraction section of the math test. Since the test was given in the middle of the year, I had yet to teach the fraction unit. Under Bennett’s plan, my school would have to reorganize its priorities in oder to address the fact that the students scored relatively lower in the area of fractions and research skills. This blind acceptance of standardized test results is dangerous–and ridiculous.

How can we ensure that schools are teaching what they are supposed to be teaching? The answer lies in criterion-referenced tests: test which are provided at no additional cost to the system. These are tests which evaluate students based upon what they have been taught in the classroom. Such tests are designed by the person most suited to the task–the teacher. My students write many such tests and these have far more intrinsic value for evaluating what the students have learned than the norm-referenced tests that the York Region Board of Education is implementing.

I would suggest Bennett and other trustees read The Mismeasure of Man by Harvard professor Stephen Jay Gould. This is an excellent monograph which outlines the political misuse and inappropriateness of statistical tests such as those being used to assess the education system.

Boards of education rid themselves of such tests years ago when it became apparent that they were invalid; they do not measure what they hope to: the ability of students to demonstrate what they have learned in the classroom.

Yet trustees  in York Region have reinstated these tests at a great expense.

How can they rationalize this expenditure when standardized tests do not provide them with the information they are presumed to provide?

It is important that trustees be accountable for such actions. They should be answering why they bring in such tests when they are not reliable and will cause misguided changes. They should be asked why they continue to spend exorbitant amounts of money fighting pay equity when every other board in this province has settled the issue.

They should be questioned as to why they insist on increasing class size beyond what the Social Contract calls for, without investigating the effect this has on our children.

Trustees need to be accountable for their actions when such actions impact so significantly upon our children. But without any challenges from other candidates, trustees can take such action without having to justify them beyond traditional political rhetoric.

We need knowledgeable people to run for trustee positions and make the incumbents answer for their past actions.

March 6, 1992 Markham Times
Racial Stereotyping

Your February 28 article “French Lessons Labelled Racist” made an interesting point about our lack of awareness concerning racial stereotyping. As an elementary teacher in York Region, I can assure you that I am constantly on the lookout for material which presents a biased perspective.

Your article follows on the heels of a similar article int eh Feb. 27 edition of the Toronto Star. In the Star’s coverage of this issue, the Toronto Board of Education’s approach to similar problems in textbooks is discussed. I would have to disagree with their approach to this dilemma however.

Removing books from the libraries because their contain passages or interpretations which are unfavourable at this time is unwarranted censorship. This tactic also removes a beneficial teaching-learning opportunity.

A lesson on stereotyping can be integrated very naturally during exposure to such material. In fact, stereotyping and bias in historical interpretations are the major themes which I emphasize in my history courses. The students receive the following information at the beginning of the Canadian history courses I teach:

This year’s history will try to look at what history is, not just what happened in the past. For the most part, history will be perceived as an interpretation of historical “facts”. Consequently, we will look at the perspective from which events are being interpreted and the bias inherent in such interpretations.

This “interpretive” approach to history results in a better understanding of numerous issues. Many of the issues which arise have importance in today’s changing Canadian society. For example, we will deal with such phenomena as ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, intercultural relations, and cross-cultural understanding within the context of historical interactions between Native peoples and Europeans.

My students and I discuss historical events from various perspectives. While it is true that history tends to be from a “European” perspective, we attempt to understand all points of view. If, for example, Jesuit missionaries had prejudiced attitudes, then students need to discuss the basis and cultural context of such views. We cannot bury our heads in the sand by ignoring biased interpretations, otherwise students will miss the opportunity to identify and critically assess such perspectives.

We must use such interpretations to enlighten our students so as to be able to deal with similar problems which will affect them today and in the future. It is obvious that we must become more educated with respect to such controversies, students and teachers alike.

March 1989,The Silhouette
Research push very real

The Silhouette article ‘Tenure pressure creates poor teaching at Mac’ (March 9) was most interesting, but I believe the problem goes much deeper than stated. The problem is not a lack of funding, as the administration would like the students and public to believe: it is a result of a distorted philosophy about the purpose of an educational institution.

For the most part, university administrations and faculties are far more interested in research and propagating their own intellectual images than in educating students. This was made most evident to myself several years ago when I was an undergraduate attending another university in Ontario. I was an executive member of the students’ union within one of the departments and had the unique ‘privilege’ of attending departmental assemblies.

During the course of the year, one of the professors came up for tenure and immediately her publication record came to the surface as a reason to deny her tenure (for the fourth year in a row). I, however, had taken some of her classes and argued that she was an excellent teacher and deserved the tenure regardless of her publication record. I was working on the assumption that a university was an educational institution. I soon found out, however, that several members of the department were not interested in her teaching record. It was my first encounter with the ‘publish or perish syndrome’, and what an enlightening experience it was.

The only recourse the students had was to begin a letter-writing campaign and have them placed in her file which would be sent to the faculty Dean. We managed to get a relatively large number of letters together and the professor eventually got her tenure. I am not sure if the letters had anything to do with this, but I am sure they did not hurt her cause. But, I have always been baffled by the struggle she went through to achieve her tenure. She was consistently the highest rated professor in the department, she was always approachable, and extremely helpful; she could just not jump that last hoop to become part of the “old boys club”.

This convinced me that many academics are more more interested in research and publications than in teaching, and this philosophy is not just exhibited by those academics attempting to gain tenure. This is, I believe, due to the milieu within which academics must work. There are both social and political pressures to publish articles in prestigious journals. By doing this, universities hope to attract both big-name faculty and highly motivated graduate students. This, in turn, raised their “intellectual image” and increases their potential for more government grants and private industry contracts. Unfortunately, many excellent “teachers” are caught in this trap and have no choice but to conform.

So, when you hear administrators say that teaching is very important, take it with a huge boulder of salt: it just is not true. If this were the case, then perhaps the administration would require all academics to take mandatory courses in teaching. Not only would academics have to take such courses, but they would have to pass them! And I am sure there are a few thousand students who would love to be the ones to evaluate their performance.

November 1986, The Gazette
Reader left skeptical, pessimistic

It is with great candor (yet somehow tainted with pessimism) that I would like to put forward several thoughts for both students and staff to ponder. These ideas have been motivated in part by several articles and letters to the editor which have graced the pages of The Gazette over the last several years, and in part by the readings and avenues of thought imparted upon me by certain professors; but have mostly been due to thoughts passed on to me by my grandfather, Jack Flynn. These ideas probably apply to most universities in the western world, but most particularly to those I am acquainted with here in North America.

Back the days when our education institutions were ‘evolving’, it appeared that wisdom and knowledge were acquired because learning and service were ends in themselves. After several years of exposure to the student population here at Western I have become extremely suspicious of the reasons many people now pursue the ‘higher’ echelons of learning. The popular belief has been the achievement of an advanced education. The apparent reason, however, is to gain an economic advantage over one’s peers. To hold the ‘magic ticket’ is supposed to lead to a better (read better-paying) job; but as more students battle for the tickets, the end result can only be envisioned as a stalemate. I urge students to take a serious look at what kind of jobs are available in their particular field of study. As more people pursue a narrow range of knowledge, the positions available, after the education process is over, become severely limited. A very small percentage of people actually find jobs working in their particular field of knowledge.

It would appear that in our present chaotic world situation, remuneration has become the primary reason for entering an ‘educational’ institution. I suppose it all depends on what you want from life. If the purpose is (as so many businesses tell us) to acquire material things, to drive an expensive car, to eat in the best restaurants, or to live the lifestyle of a never-ending beer commercial, then we must concede that pursuing the professions that our educational institutions offer us is a reasonably successful adaptive mode. It would appear that even the universities are more interested in making money than educating the students. Why else would they have to worry about divestment in South Africa? (Perhaps an argument could be made that the governments should be providing more funds; but this is a whole new topic, somewhat divorced from the thoughts I currently wish to express)

Yet it would appear that a strong case could be make for believing that in the past money was a poor substitute for commitment. But I wonder if those days have not passed us by, leaving in their wake a myth about what education is all about. It seems to me to be extremely unfortunate that there is a highly opaque border surrounding my original idealistic views concerning the purpose of an education, and the reality that exists within our education system.

Universities do not appear intent on producing the prudent humans necessary to combat the world problems that exist. They only end up adding to them, by promulgating (perhaps unconsciously) to those ‘fortunate’ few who can afford it, a myth about what higher education ultimately represents. As I go on and get more exposure to this geo-political and economic ‘world-system’ we are creating, I cannot help but become both skeptical and pessimistic. In the words of singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, “I use to be indecisive; but now, I’m not so sure!”.

March 1986, The Gazette
Sloppy profs defended, teaching ability relevant

I am writing in response to what I feel is a totally irrelevant question posed by John Staikos in the Feb. 14 edition of The Gazette. First of all, I am curious as to the reason John is at Western; if it is to be exposed to the latest in Miami Vice fashions may I suggest that he save the cost of tuition and invest his time and energy into watching the show itself.

Personally, I find myself here in order to acquire what wisdom I can front he learned men and women that teach here. Whether that individual is wearing a five hundred dollar outfit or a pair of cheap track pants and an old, comfortable top is totally immaterial. I pity the individual who can only judge another person on materialistic and culturally-biased concepts such as fashion, and ultimately, looks. What comes to mind are the age-old adages ‘looks are only skin deep’ and ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’

John, please open your eyes to what the purpose of an educational institution is: it is not to expose students to the co-ordinating fashion of Professor Calvin Klein. It is, however, an institution in which to open your mind to knowledge and various concepts of that knowledge.