Oct 27, 2023·edited Oct 28, 2023Liked by Jason Anthony
Very well said - thank you. Though, as an unapologetic NIMBY, I have to confess that I hope that the "right" thing to do happens somewhere over the horizon. I have a particular concern about densification - I understand it has to happen but all those people stuffed into tiny homes with neighbours within arms' reach and no garden to tend or invite birds and insects and wildflowers into are not going to become the army of environmentalists the world needs. Most of them will become desensitized to the natural world and biodiversity as they stare at their four walls and televisions.
So really we should decide which species we should bother to protect or not, which of the cuter species will be relegated to children’s pajama prints. Maybe some of the kids will ask what happened to that species? Well, sadly kiddo, we need to keep the lights on and the computers and tv running, we all need our personal transport and our out-of-season diets, because humans, we are the most important life on this planet because some story from a couple of thousand years ago told us so and because the other possible stories that might have told us to live as a part of nature and not apart from it were the stories told by savages that decided that they belonged to the land and not the land belonged to them.
Because we believe that keeping that ol’ GDP ticking upwards is a good thing, even though it’s only an experiment that started last century and even though every war is good for GDP and every school shooting is good for GDP but sharing home baked goods across your back fence to your neighbour who you love despite their idealogical differences doesn’t do shit for GDP.
Our response to climate change is to basically pave paradise and put up solar panels and wind farms, all of which are not a solution but a continuation of the fossil fuel industry. If we were serious, where are all battery powered mining vehicles and all the roads built from non-fossil fuels sources, built with battery powered equipment. No, it’s not happening.
Why is the response never to question our energy use, our political systems, our economic system (so detached from reality). Why is Degrowth never an option? Live simpler, more local lives.
I’m in the wrong place here, sorry Jason, I did like your writing but like I said I’m obviously in the wrong place here.
Another very fine and (to me) stirring essay conveying very effectively its complex message. I'm philosophical at times and tend toward Kantean ethics in decision-making so I apply the "What if everybody did this?" maxim: it effectively eliminates nimby-ism. As you know, I am far out on the long tail of pessimism and think that climate catastrophe is already in the cards, so tend to be dispairing and apathetic. Which is useless. Maybe you could write about how people like me are part of the problem! Or maybe you just did...
Great piece, and I'm thrilled to find your stack! I wrote something similar recently, though maybe more on the side of NIMBYism. When it comes to industrial scale energy, there are few YIMBYs, only YIOBYs (Yes In Others' Backyards). https://open.substack.com/pub/larryhogue/p/embracing-my-inner-luddite
Very well said - thank you. Though, as an unapologetic NIMBY, I have to confess that I hope that the "right" thing to do happens somewhere over the horizon. I have a particular concern about densification - I understand it has to happen but all those people stuffed into tiny homes with neighbours within arms' reach and no garden to tend or invite birds and insects and wildflowers into are not going to become the army of environmentalists the world needs. Most of them will become desensitized to the natural world and biodiversity as they stare at their four walls and televisions.
So really we should decide which species we should bother to protect or not, which of the cuter species will be relegated to children’s pajama prints. Maybe some of the kids will ask what happened to that species? Well, sadly kiddo, we need to keep the lights on and the computers and tv running, we all need our personal transport and our out-of-season diets, because humans, we are the most important life on this planet because some story from a couple of thousand years ago told us so and because the other possible stories that might have told us to live as a part of nature and not apart from it were the stories told by savages that decided that they belonged to the land and not the land belonged to them.
Because we believe that keeping that ol’ GDP ticking upwards is a good thing, even though it’s only an experiment that started last century and even though every war is good for GDP and every school shooting is good for GDP but sharing home baked goods across your back fence to your neighbour who you love despite their idealogical differences doesn’t do shit for GDP.
Our response to climate change is to basically pave paradise and put up solar panels and wind farms, all of which are not a solution but a continuation of the fossil fuel industry. If we were serious, where are all battery powered mining vehicles and all the roads built from non-fossil fuels sources, built with battery powered equipment. No, it’s not happening.
Why is the response never to question our energy use, our political systems, our economic system (so detached from reality). Why is Degrowth never an option? Live simpler, more local lives.
I’m in the wrong place here, sorry Jason, I did like your writing but like I said I’m obviously in the wrong place here.
Another very fine and (to me) stirring essay conveying very effectively its complex message. I'm philosophical at times and tend toward Kantean ethics in decision-making so I apply the "What if everybody did this?" maxim: it effectively eliminates nimby-ism. As you know, I am far out on the long tail of pessimism and think that climate catastrophe is already in the cards, so tend to be dispairing and apathetic. Which is useless. Maybe you could write about how people like me are part of the problem! Or maybe you just did...
Great piece, and I'm thrilled to find your stack! I wrote something similar recently, though maybe more on the side of NIMBYism. When it comes to industrial scale energy, there are few YIMBYs, only YIOBYs (Yes In Others' Backyards). https://open.substack.com/pub/larryhogue/p/embracing-my-inner-luddite