The Earth Story and the Civilization Story

There are two large stories, not one, underway in our lives. The one we hear most about is the story of human civilization; the unfolding story of world events, life in our community, and how we and our immediate circle of relationships participate in this story. This story so occupies what we call “news” that the second large story seems only for specialists who study it. It is the story of the Earth, our planetary home. This story, studied and told by life scientists, geologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists, is really the much larger, older, and dynamic of the two stories. It is, in fact, the larger context in which the human story happens. But for the majority of us, it is a secondary story—like a specialty shop for the few rather than a supermarket for the many.

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UCC Does Lent, JEM Style

The Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ—deep in old Congregationalist territory—has decided to practice a “carbon fast” for the season of Lent, starting in early March. The links on their page didn’t work for me, but I can imagine what might go into the effort. The obvious component is to drive less and drive more wisely when that is an inevitability. I didn’t see anything about refraining from the use of home heating fuel, but that would indeed be a bold statement if I have any clue about the temperature in Massachusetts in the winter. (You gotta forgive me about the weather thing. I have this Ivory Tower called California from which I pontificate!) And it might just be the kind of bold statement that UCC has traditionally liked to make in a long history of progressive action.

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The End of Growth—and What Comes After

The economic crash of 2008 is commonly perceived as another in a long series of recessions, from which a recovery will inevitably ensue. Recessions always end with recovery; of course this one will as well—or so we are told.

Yet now the situation is different. With oil production peaking, climate changing, and fresh water, soil, fish, and minerals depleting at alarming rates, the computer-based scenarios of the 1972 Limits to Growth study seem thoroughly and frighteningly confirmed. Decades of expansion fueled by consumption and debt are ending; the time has come to pay bills, tighten belts, and prepare for a future of economic downsizing.

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