Series Intro: Revealing Denouements

Generally, the “Apocalypse” is thought of as the final cosmic showdown between good and evil. In the Book of Revelation, written 2,000 years ago, the forces of good are prophesied to finally overcome the forces of evil. Over the centuries, libraries of books predicting the soon-coming Apocalypse, put out by thousands of Biblical interpreters, have come and gone. 

But, as yet there has been no showdown, final or otherwise. 

A ravenous, yet decrepit cyborg – part machine, part zombie – lurches onward as it is programmed to do. Its hunger is so insatiable that it eats its own flesh; it eats its offspring; and it eats the future. The catabolic effects are inescapable and its death rattle reverberates for miles. An entire city lives inside this beast. Yet in this late hour, inhabitants put their heads down and carry-on as usual, for they are all dependent upon this monster for their very own food, water, and shelter. No one dares utter a stray word, until the day one brave soul holds up a mirror that reveals who they have become.

Industrial civilization is strip-mining Life. Human economies are suffocating our remaining natural living systems. As a result, wildlife and insect populations are plummeting, while humans, pets, and livestock numbers are soaring.[1] But some of the newest threats to the natural world are from unexpected sources: wind turbines, solar panels, energy storage, and other “green technologies.”

Part 2: Memorial Day 2020

SITUATION: COVID-19 continues to dominate everything and everyone. In the US, more than 1.75 million infections and more than 100,000 deaths mark this Memorial Day. Tragic irony. Yearning for a return to normalcy is coupled with the dawning realization that normal is evaporating in the summer warmth. The virus curtain hiding Reality means the US public is consumed with fact-free fairytales as opposed to valid and reliable facts.

The Trump Administration’s perpetration of conspiracy theories and factless fairytales are too numerous to even catalogue, much less discuss. Explored here are some fact-free fairytales not promoted or promulgated by the national administration that may well be determinative, and are hidden behind the COVID glare.

Consistent with our Apocalypses series, let’s pull back the curtain and explain…….

Part 1: Mother’s Day 2020

SITUATION: Covid-19 dominates everything and everyone, whether they realize it or not.  US deaths almost 80,000, cases over 1.3 million, with the US opening against all public health warnings. The US wants to go back to normal, but that is too far gone and not returning. Coronavirus could enable all of us to see through the delusions and contradictions that embody our collective and individual lives, and to notice the interconnected crises abounding. Perhaps we can see behind the illusions that still govern us.  Apocalypse means peering behind the curtain for revelations — they are coming, and fast. Meanwhile, Trump has given up trying to corral the virus.         

Peeling back the curtain, viewing the revelations – what do we see?

We Are Really in It Now

Despite lovely spring flowers bursting forth, storm clouds have gathered. An overarching, all-consuming crisis has gripped us…..we are now in a global emergency, with a shared threat to all of humanity. Millions, if not billions of people would be threatened if the crisis were to unfold unimpeded. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are all threatened.

The crisis reminds us that we ultimately live subject to the laws of nature – moreover, it does not care about political parties or national borders.

On May 10, ATL sent this Open Letter to Philanthropy to several key foundations: Hewlett Foundation, Packard Foundation, Grantham Foundation, and the Gates Foundation. Join our Open Letter: see the key points and contact information listed at the bottom.

Précis:  This is an Open Letter to the major entity, i.e., Philanthropy and to the individuals that have both the ways and means to: (1) catalyze world organizations and political systems into comprehensive Emergency Declarations and Disaster Preparedness; and, to (2) support the discovery, funding, and enactment of effective Emergency Responses related to the interconnected emergencies now confronting humanity as a whole.

By now the Green New Deal (GND) has become a lightning rod for both hopes and fears about America’s future, with detractors on both sides saying the resolution either goes too far or doesn’t go far enough – while many have enthusiastically embraced the resolution. This essay considers whether the GND matches the true severity of our situation and whether any transitions it accomplishes conform to what is needed to resolve climate stabilization issues. And just how attainable is it – how can sweeping climate legislation possibly be passed in this Congress or the next?

But, Broken and Cooked

“The easiest thing of all is to deceive oneself, for we believe whatever we want to believe. This is so, even though the reality is often different”

--Demosthenes

Absent the appearance of vast herds of magical “Carbon-Sucking Unicorns” to rescue us, we can be assured that not only is the Earth surface cooked medium-to-unwell done, but also we will harvest a broken climate. We will say goodbye to many parts of civilization these next few decades, perhaps in its entirety. 

The question then is, "Will we work hard to achieve Purgatory?" Or, "Will we slide into Hell itself and end the human experiment?"

Originally published at The Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere.

It’s time to accept that we are not going to dislodge the entrenched interests holding back effective action on looming climate chaos by any means tried so far. Believing that 97% of credible scientists is consensus enough is 103% short for effective response. (Even 200% may not be enough.) Undeniability and incontrovertibility are the only criteria that will work to break through the Hydra-Headed Delusion Dragon clutching all of us.