the human ecosystem

excerpts from my personal notebook, thoughts on ecology, ways of living, economic systems, culture, the goods and the bads

[alllstrangeandwonderful]

So I'm reading for an art history class, and Baudrillard is talking about the trends in colour usage from generation to generation (mostly in interior design, but there's definite spillover into fashion, architecture, etc.), and how every new colour movement is a direct rebellion against the previous one, like how the bright colours of the 60s/70s were a direct response to the austerity and seriousness of the WWII/postwar era, and how a shift back to organized, moralistic neutrals were a direct rejection of 60s/70s gaudiness, etc., and that all makes sense, people find their parent's style tacky, sure

But he goes on to observe how we've now been stuck in a lull of pasty tones and naturalistic finishes for some time, and I'm thinking yes, he's so right, but that's weird, because its been hanging around for so long, like what is it rebelling against anymore? What is it answering to? Well all I had to do was be patient because lo and behold, Baudrillard provides the following sentence, which caused me to completely wig out:

"...except of course, for the spheres of advertising and commerce, where colour's power to corrupt enjoys full rein"

And I'm like ooohhhhHHHHHH, so this colourless minimalist wasteland of a design principle:

Is maybe hanging on so stubbornly because this corporate hellscape:

is assaulting all of our eyes, inside and outside of our homes, every waking second, and is tainting the very concept of colour into something we can't relax around in our living spaces.

EDIT: The reading was The System of Objects by Jean Baudrillard, 1996 Ed., Part A, Section II, Subheading "Atmospheric Values: Colour" (p. 30-36 in my copy). Even if this was a passionate spur-of-the-moment post, omitting this was pretty silly; my bad.

EDIT 2: I was trying to be chill and leave this one alone, cuz I know most people in the notes are talking to themselves and their followers and not actually me, but 11,000 notes in it's starting to get to me - yes, I am aware that decreased homeownerhship/increased renting/landlord specials/hyperfocus on resale values, are all very direct causes of this too. I totally agree. For me, those were the obvious answers; I think we all get why the owning class is serving this to us. My epiphany moment was about understanding the flip side, the psychology of the consumers who keep accepting it, and even seem to enjoy it. That's what I couldn't understand before, but now I suddenly do. (And for those of you saying such people don't exist, no one actually wants to live without colour - check the notes, bb, they're everywhere. Not everyone has the same brain as you. We all deal with the horrors of capitalism differently.)

[humanecosystem]

"'War is a judgment,' said Dorothy L. Sayers, 'that overtakes societies when they have been living upon ideas that conflict too violently with the laws governing the universe. Never think that wars are irrational catastrophes: they happen when wrong ways of thinking and living bring about intolerable situations.' Economically, our wrong living consists primarily in systematically cultivating greed and envy and thus building up a vast array of totally unwarrantable wants. It is the sin of greed that has delivered us over into the power of the machine. If greed were not the master of modern man -- ably assisted by envy -- how could it be that the frenzy of economism does not abate as higher 'standards of living' are attained, and that it is precisely the richest societies which pursue their economic advantage with the greatest ruthlessness? How could we explain the almost universal refusal on the part of the rulers of the rich societies -- whether organised along private enterprise or collectivist enterprise lines -- to work towards the humanisation of work? It is only necessary to assert that something would reduce the 'standard of living', and every debate is instantly closed. That soul-destroying, meaningless, mechanical, monotonous, moronic work is an insult to human nature which must necessarily and inevitably produce either escapism or aggression, and that no amount of 'bread and circuses' can compensate for the damage done -- these are facts which are neither denied nor acknowledged but are met with an unbreakable conspiracy of silence -because to deny them would be too obviously absurd and to acknowledge them would condemn the central preoccupation of modern society as a crime against humanity."

E.F. Schumacher

Small is Beautiful: The Study of Economics as If People Mattered

Chapter 2: Peace and Permanence

[headspace-hotel]

I...tried to make a meme and got carried away and made A Thing that is like partially unfinished because i spent like 3 hours on it and then got tired.

I think this is mostly scientifically accurate but truth be told, there seems to be relatively little research on succession in regards to lawns specifically (as opposed to like, pastures). I am not exaggerating how bad they are for biodiversity though—recent research has referred to them as "ecological deserts."

Feel free to repost, no need for credit

[humanecosystem]

Taking a step back and learning to deal with environmental crisis, nihilism

How do you handle the prospect of doom, of environmental catastrophe? As young people, how do we make our way through the world in good conscious and maintain a healthy mindset?

I recently watched a 5-episode series of The Great Simplification podcast with Nate Hagens that features the fascinating Daniel Schmachtenberger, a social philosopher and founder of The Consilience Project. One of these episodes (linked below) gets deep into experiences of youth, of personal struggles in coping with all the bad things that are normalized in society, including the problems that threaten our future. As we grow up and realize how screwed up everything is, the question of what we do next is paralyzing. 

Daniel details his own journey growing up and facing the world with blunt honesty. For Daniel, myself, and other young people, nihilism is a logical resolution for coping with violent, doomful realities. This kind of spiraling nihilistic thought, which is egged on nowadays with social media algorithms, can lead to very dark places. I have spent time in the trenches of depression and practiced means of escape, trying out mindfulness techniques with varying levels of success. One thing Daniel says, though, has helped me understand a new way out of negative spirals: we can work with our deep feelings of nihilism to discover purpose in life. 

When we recognize the devastating implications of climate change, habitat destruction, ocean acidification, our emotions are complicated. We are affected, to some degree, by the endangerment of species, by pollution of our air, land, and sea, and by existential fears of what the future will look like. 

We feel these effects most deeply when we have experienced the power of nature– the serenity and beauty it provides. The more benefits we receive, and the more we are mindful of these benefits, the more it can hurt us to see humanity haphazardly chugging along. 

Here is the revealing thing: If we believe enough in the sacred qualities of nature to be crushed by its calculated destruction, this is enough to prescribe oneself a duty to cherish and protect nature by whatever means possible. Assessing our emotions, practicing mindfulness and critical thinking are the best way to come to recognize what drives us (as well as what triggers us into negative thought spirals.) 

Avoiding social media and resisting the algorithm, reducing our consumption of resources in small ways, planting native species, supporting small farms and agriculture, contributing to wildlife conservation efforts… these are just some ways we can exercise our power to create positive change. Mindfulness of our connections to and relationships with the natural world is the most powerful fulcrum for knowing what to do. 

After listening to this episode, I began an exercise in mindfulness and gratitude. What does nature provide for me? 

I am grateful for the oceans and their waves and tides, and being able to swim in clean water. 

I am grateful for the colors of foliage, lush plants, and grass– the subtle regional differences in shades of green. 

I am grateful for biodiversity, how it yields strong crops, resilient populations, and cultural richness.

I am grateful for delicious vegetables and fruits of all kinds.

I am grateful for the smells of fresh air, of salty ocean air, and of rain.

I am grateful for the earth, geology and the fascinating compositions of natural landscapes.

I am grateful for the serenity that nature provides, and for the privilege to remove oneself from the built environment.

I am grateful for the knowledge of other modes of life, not just of humans across biomes but of other species, patterns and modes of survival.

I recommend making your own list, and use it to practice mindfulness and gratitude. Shifting focus to our benefits can help ground us, and grant us perspective in the midst of our complex environmental crisis.

This video is part 3 of the 5-part series, and if you have the time and mental bandwidth, I cannot recommend it enough.

[humanecosystem]

I am someone who is inclined to doomscroll. In my very-online young adult life, I am susceptible to all kinds of algorithmic traps on social media. Like many others online, I can quickly become hyperfocused on systemic violence, poverty, suffering, and environmental destruction. This trend has horrific impacts on our wellbeing; I myself have been to some very dark places. Pessimism becomes the only worthy default setting. How can any of us go on living in a world driven by billionaires for selfish gains at the expense of the individual, of their community, livelihood, and dignity?

In the past year and a half, I have been developing a new consciousness, a new way of thinking about wicked problems that are reduced to tiktoks posted a million times an hour. I found this possible as a result of my courses in ecological economics. Though it's a niche academic field that requires a systems-thinking approach, I think many of the ideas being discussed by modern scholars can easily be digested. They make deeper sense to me than anything I've studied so far. For these reasons, I think this information has the power to help us zoomers adopt a holistic worldview and a greater purpose as individuals and as a generation. I hope to share more accessible information on this blog and to foster discussion of sustainability that rejects corporate nonsense.

There is a lot more I could say in this post, and I will revisit this notebook page to summarize its content. But for now, this is just my introduction.

[rag-and-bone]

Native Vegetation for Lakeshores, Streamsides, and Wetland Buffers

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation 1994

[rag-and-bone]

[cetaceous]

‘Donald Ducks Digger’, a Bucyrus Erie 1300 Walking Dragline Knob Mine, a former Coal Mine west of Warrior, Alabama, USA image credit: WaffleFlavoredpncake on Reddit

[marscia]

Joan Didion writes, in On Keeping a Notebook, that the purpose of keeping a notebook, or a journal for that matter, isn’t because you simply want keep a personal record of things; but because you want to remember the person you were at that specific moment. we write things down on our notebook/journal/diary (whichever one of those you keep) because we want to remember. we want to remember what specific people meant to us on a particular day or hour. or minute. we want to remember our first impression of something (or of doing that something), possibly of someone, too. sometimes we think we’ll “always remember” important events: “I’ll make a mental note of that” etc etc. but in reality everything is fleeting. so Didion says write it down. keep a journal. that way, people, places, and certain events will always be there in case you ever want to come back to them sometime in the future. but also so that they don’t ever haunt you.