Sensemaking

And that's when I had to marvel at the sheer relentless effectiveness of the market economy. It explores, exploits and expands into any underutilized niche it can find, and it simply will not rest until it has consumed all carbon in its path (whether from clear cutting jungles, extracting nutrients from the soil, or tapping fossil fuels). The story of civilization is the story of our hunt for ever-denser energy.

Given the utterly baffling fact that even in the developed world only half of pregnancies are on purpose, (#sprayandpray) you could say we're increasingly obliged to take a look at human reproduction and see if we can reduce harm for current and future humanity.

This is a super thorny one. May take a minute or two to unravel. But as far as "third rail" topics––the ones that no one will touch with a ninety-nine and a half foot pole––Eugenics (AKA population control) ranks right up there with trans rights, slavery reparations and whether or not it's still OK to watch Annie Hall.But touch it we must, as it has everything to do with our future odds of thriving and surviving.

Been pondering this dynamic for the last year ever since I read Richard Powers' Pulitzer winning Overstory and Kim Stanley Robinson's much heralded Ministry for the Future. Both of these books came out within 12 months of each other and were widely regarded as profound commentaries on our current environmental and political crises––while still offering a measured dose of hope for the road ahead. But I couldn't help but notice that both of these books from fingers-on-the-pulse thinkers, included eco-sabotage as core plot points. [Img: KALI by Android Jones]