I think the big crisis of our times is that our minds have been manipulated to give power to illusions. — Vandana Shiva

I first heard of Jeff Gibbs’ contentious film Planet of the Humans (POH) sometime last year. Like millions of others, I viewed it just recently. Over the past week, the scathingly negative reviews I discovered disheartened but did not surprise me. While the film may present outdated statistics about so-called renewable energy technologies (which should have been revised to reflect current trends), while it may clumsily cobble together disparate aspects of the ecological effects of our species…

Originally published in October of 2018, I reprint this here because I feel it is as pertinent as ever given our ongoing multiple catastrophes, including our current viral pandemic.

When I entered my interdisciplinary environmental graduate program, I already had years of work experience behind me as well as a lifetime of informal environmental education. I recognized the grim ecological picture. Some of my professors, however, were quick to admonish, “We can’t be gloom and doom.” Their other refrain was, “We can’t go back.” They offered no evidence for those two prescriptions with regard to the climate and ecological crises…

Years ago, when I taught science to junior high school students, I would sometimes make an offhand remark to the effect of “Animals like us….” One or more students would respond, “Miss, we’re not animals!” I doubt my adolescent students were alone in misunderstanding their place in the biological kingdom.

The disconnect between humanity and the natural world, to which every living thing belongs, characterizes all industrialized nations. Our Western prioritization of artificial systems (economy) over natural systems (ecology) laid the groundwork for our perilous conditions. We were in crisis before this novel coronavirus pandemic, and we will continue to…

Note: This piece was written before Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign, before Tara Reade emerged with sexual assault allegations against Biden, and before most of the U.S. was following shelter-in-place protocols due to Covid-19.

Much like cancer, few if any people in the United States will go through life untouched by dementia. Whether it be your grandparent, parent, spouse, partner, or yourself, chances are you will be affected by this malady of the brain, most often manifesting itself in the form of Alzheimer’s disease.

Though there are several other types, sometimes stemming from illness or injury, by far the most…

Preface:

This essay was originally written in 201. In light of the current upheaval throughout the world, in the midst of the acute coronavirus pandemic as well as chronic social and ecological dysfunction, I thought it was as relevant as ever.

By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing: kill yourself.

— -Bill Hicks

I am no aficionado of Superman, but I must admit, I am one of “Seinfeld.” With reference to the latter and by default, the former: Everything around me these days makes me feel like I am living in Bizarro World. Everything is exactly…