Author Archives: juscoll

James Lovelock, creator of Gaia theory, died last week aged 103. He was a controversial figure within environmentalist circles, but will be well remembered for changing the way we perceive our home, planet Earth. Gaia theory (/ˈɡaɪ.ə/) states that the Earth and all its human and nonhuman inhabitants are one living organism that is self-sustainingContinue reading “RIP Gaia”

Anthropocene is a word used to describe the current flurry of human impact on the Earth. Yet describing this as an ‘epoch’ grossly overstates the significance of human activities in geological time: ‘If, in the final 7,000 years of their reign, dinosaurs became hyperintelligent, built a civilization, started asteroid mining, and did so for centuries…Continue reading “If dinosaurs became hyperintelligent”

#CollapseCapitalism. A definition: when profiteers exploit a planet and its inhabitants in the throes of collapse; profiteering in the #GreatDescent; a global version of Naomi Klein’s ‘disaster capitalism’ (making profit out of regional disasters and unrest). For example, profiteering from energy scarcity triggered by #PeakOil, or futuristic green-tech pipedreams. After 50 years in overshoot, collapseContinue reading “Collapse Capitalism”

Four days ago, we postulated that economic collapse could be the first horse across the apocalypse finish line. However, geopolitical tensions, heightened by intersecting economic, climate, and energy crises, compound the risk of nuclear annihilation. “It doesn’t matter who is bombing whom. It can be India and Pakistan or NATO and Russia. Once the smokeContinue reading “Nuclear annihilation”

Out of all the horses in this ‘race to the apocalypse’, economic collapse may be the first horse to reach the finish line. “The pandemic was bad enough and highlighted how certain groups of people were going to be worse affected, the poor, minorities and so on. But the combination of energy and food shocksContinue reading “‘This will impact everyone’”

Complex systems are complicated. The interaction of many complex systems – climate, ecology, economy, and society, is more so. It is natural and normal for the human mind to look for signs of certainty. Two things that are certain is the absolute certainty of collapse and with it, an uncertain future. Finding shared purpose andContinue reading “Predication is difficult”

‘…there’s just a 10 percent chance that human civilization will be able to make it through the next 20 to 40 years without a catastrophic collapse.’ Collapse is hard science, not ‘conspiracy’ or ‘doomerism’, and it’s happening now! #TalkCollapse

Defence strategists and military experts are amongst those who recognise the severity of our predicament. Yet, ‘doomer’ is still used by some in the climate movement to denigrate and ridicule collapse-conscious citizens. In new research, defence strategist Dr Elizabeth G. Boulton, argues ‘that we are moving toward “a shift to a climate inhospitable for mostContinue reading “Military and defense”

Collapse: ‘the fall of a socio-ecological system characterized by the loss of complexity, structure and order’ Justice: ‘fairness and equity within socio-ecological systems and interactions’ The inherently unjust nature of this unprecedented global socio-ecological collapse demands we take action. Collapse is a process not a switch, and we can still mitigate inequity and the unfoldingContinue reading “A #JustCollapse WTF?”