“We should be spending more time negotiating the hard work and sacrifices that lie ahead, and less time hallucinating”.

August 23, 2023

Illuminem.com republishes my blog interview

https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoices/my-interview-with-richard-heinberg-we-should-be-spending-more-time-negotiating-the-hard-work-and-sacrifices-that-lie-ahead-and-less-time-hallucinating

Richard Heinberg is regarded as one of the world’s foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on #fossilfuels. I have been quoting him (and ‘Post Carbon Institute’) on what thought leaders and policy think tanks call #polycrisis. Meant “to refer to the tangles of global #environmental and #social dilemmas that are accumulating, mutually interacting, and worsening”.

Here Richard shares a broad spectrum of scenarios – all that could possibly unfold if we remain addicted to a fossil fuel powered economy. His diagnosis is candid – for instance the warning not to hallucinate – and prescriptions are tough. Inequality is a top concern and cooperation the way forward.

In “Navigating the #polycrisis of environmental and social breakdown”, he goes into the root cause. “During the 20th century, he explains, humanity’s increasing adoption of fossil fuels as sources of cheap and abundant energy enabled rapid industrialization. The result was a massive increase in nearly all human activities and their ecological and social impacts, a process that has been called the Great Acceleration.

Now, in the 2020s, the Great Acceleration is losing steam and shows signs of reversing direction”.

Richard is a prolific author and speaker. Leaders and parents/grandparents, in particular, seeking a resilient future in turbulent times can only benefit from the brilliant nuggets.

The Great Unraveling – Post Carbon Institute is a must read.