Home » Posts tagged 'justin mcaffee'
Tag Archives: justin mcaffee
An Ecocentric Second Age of Enlightenment
An Ecocentric Second Age of Enlightenment
Five Tenets for a Livable Future
The Age of Enlightenment, spanning the late 17th to the early 19th centuries, was a pivotal period in human history characterized by a profound transformation in thought, culture, and society. Intellectuals and philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, and John Locke championed reason, individualism, and empirical science, laying the groundwork for modern democratic societies, scientific advancements, and human rights. This era fostered a spirit of inquiry and skepticism, encouraging people to question established norms and authorities, ultimately leading to significant political and social revolutions, including the American and French Revolutions.
However, despite the monumental changes achieved during the first Age of Enlightenment, contemporary society faces unprecedented challenges that the Enlightenment thinkers could scarcely have imagined. The industrial civilization that emerged from Enlightenment principles has led to environmental degradation, social inequalities, and a disconnect from the natural world. These issues compel us to reconsider the Enlightenment’s legacy, integrating biocentrism, the rights of nature, bottom-up democratic self-organization, feminism, and a cooperative economy. This new Enlightenment would address the consequences of industrial civilization, offering a pathway towards a truly sustainable and just future for humanity and the planet.
This Second Age of Enlightenment, much like its predecessor, I believe is an ongoing process. Powerful thinkers have already began laying the groundwork, from indigenous writers, to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, to the amazing contemporaries to numerous to justly name here. Unfortunately this process may unfold over centuries. This slow progression poses a significant challenge given the urgency of ecological overshoot and the biodiversity crisis we currently face. Many consequences of our past actions are already irreversible, and we must acknowledge the gravity of future consequences not yet seen…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Feathers Fall, Humanity Falters: An Indictment of Our War on Wildlife
Feathers Fall, Humanity Falters: An Indictment of Our War on Wildlife
In the Shadows of our Progress, the Pelicans of California Starve—A Harrowing Testament to the Devouring Maw of Industrial Greed
In the face of nature’s grim scene on the California coast, where the corpses and struggling forms of brown pelicans accumulate against a backdrop of society’s indifference, we are handed a stark revelation: our civilization is not just faltering, it is actively dismantling the very web of life that sustains it. Here lie the pelicans—emaciated, entangled in our refuse, discarded like the wrappers and cans we so carelessly toss aside—victims not just of an immediate crisis but of a deep, systemic failure that gnaws at the marrow of our environmental ethics.
We, the industrious apes, the oil-blooded, growth-addicted shapers of the Anthropocene, are watching the slow-motion collapse of biological networks that have thrived for millennia, and yet, what do we do? We turn away, obsess over technological fixes and market-based ‘solutions’ that further entrench the very causes of the ecological carnage we witness. Our oceans are not just water bodies; they are vast, pulsing entities, life-giving and life-taking, now bearing the brunt of our chemical effusions and thermal greed.
The pelicans—those majestic beings who should soar with the coastal winds—are instead plummeting in droves. Starvation? In a sea that teams with fish? It’s not just a natural anomaly; it’s a consequence of human actions. Fishing lines and hooks, remnants of our insatiable consumption, strangle and maim these birds, symbols of a planet under siege. Yet, as these creatures lay dying on our shores, the pervasive response is to shuffle paperwork, to make tepid gestures towards conservation, and then to continue the drilling, the fishing, the relentless extraction that underpins our very mode of life.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Collapse & Camping Skills?
Collapse & Camping Skills?
Why I Talk About Operational Capabilities of Our Communities
Imagine a world where the grating buzz of civilization has quieted, where the conveniences we once took for granted—clean running water at the turn of a handle, shelves stocked with food at every corner, the comforting glow of streetlights guiding our way home—have faded into memory. In this world, the fabric of society has frayed under the weight of its own unsustainable practices, leaving communities to navigate the remnants of a system that can no longer support the basic needs of its populace. As essential infrastructure crumbles, the void it leaves behind becomes a breeding ground for uncertainty and danger.
In the absence of the societal order we’ve grown accustomed to, securing the necessities of life becomes a daily challenge. Imagine venturing out to tend to your garden, now a vital source of sustenance, with the constant vigilance that someone might lay claim to your hard-earned produce. Water sources become fiercely guarded treasures, as purity and access can no longer be taken for granted. The roads and paths we traverse in search of trade of resources and information, once safe and mundane, are now pathways rife with unpredictability, where encounters with those driven to desperation or opportunism could turn perilous.
This scenario is not spun from the threads of dystopian fiction but are indeed a reality in places around the world already, and these conditions are poised to become more widespread under the business-as-usual governance our societies face. It underscores the pressing need for skills and knowledge that our ancestors wielded with adeptness—skills that empower us to reclaim autonomy over our lives, ensure our security, and foster communities resilient enough to withstand the storms of change…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Don’t Just Hope For Adequate Emergency Response
Last month, I, along with many fellow Oregonians (and others in the Pacific Northwest), faced the chilling grip of a devastating ice storm. At work, I experienced the test of a power outage. The storm’s fury was evident in the menacing dance of falling trees and limbs, a stark reminder of nature’s unpredictable power. Navigating icy roads became a treacherous ordeal, each journey a test of nerve and skill.
At work, my worries deepened for a person I support. The biting cold seeped into the house rendered heatless by a power outage. The sealed fireplace, once a potential source of warmth, stood as a silent witness to our unpreparedness. Our reliance on modern amenities was laid bare when even gas-powered appliances, like the oven and furnace, became useless without their electrical control components.
This experience was not just mine alone; it was a shared ordeal across the state, highlighting the harsh realities of our infrastructure’s vulnerabilities and the limitations of governmental response in the face of such extreme weather. Several people died of hypothermia, injury from falling trees, and downed power lines. As we struggled through the darkness and cold, it became abundantly clear: we need to be better prepared, both as individuals and as a community, for the challenges that such natural disasters bring.
The Oregon ice storm of 2024 was a brutal lesson in the fragility of our infrastructure. The storm’s icy grasp strangled power lines, leaving them limp and lifeless, plunging neighborhoods into darkness. Roads, once arteries of our daily life, transformed into treacherous ice rinks, cutting off communities and halting the pulse of the city. Water treatment facilities, overwhelmed, faltered under nature’s assault, prompting advisories that turned the simple act of drinking water into a calculated risk…
…click on the above link to read the rest…
What If There Are No Politically Feasible Answers?
What If There Are No Politically Feasible Answers?
Political Realism vs Ecological Realism
At times, we are confronted with choices that demand us to pick between two undesirable alternatives, often known as a dilemma. The annals of history are brimming with such instances. When Hitler ascended to power in Germany and commenced his invasions across Europe, we were presented with the dire decision of either passively observing country after country succumb to Germany’s might or intervening in the war to halt him by force. There was no solution that could be deemed politically feasible, at least not in the traditionally peaceful democratic sense. Sometimes, circumstances unfold just like that.
It appears we find ourselves in the grip of a similar quandary at present. We’re forced to select from a set of distressing options. Some would present it as a decision between climate change causing widespread avian fatalities, or in their judgement, causing fewer with the installation of wind turbines and transmission lines and thwarting the climate crisis.
L.A. Times journalist Sammy Roth penned an article exploring the Audubon Society’s endorsement of wind turbines and transmission lines, notwithstanding the escalating tally of bird deaths attributed to these structures. Roth expressed via Twitter that while the loss of birds may not be the optimal outcome, it could be a required sacrifice for the broader objective of addressing climate change.
The Audubon Society and many others, including Roth, perceive our options as a choice between renewable energy and climate change. However, in my view, they overlook a critical component that they, along with the majority, are reluctant to contemplate.
…click on the above link to read the rest…
