In the context of global ecological overshoot, we are now in “peak civilization” – the point where our civilization has reached a peak in terms of resource consumption and ecological impact before a significant decline due to exceeding the Earth’s carrying capacity.
Ecological overshoot occurs when our demand on nature exceeds what Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate.
ENJOYING IT
We may as well enjoy it. We can travel. We have food from all over the world. We have energy. We have access to medical care beyond what people in the past could dream about. Through the internet, we have access to humanity’s collective knowledge.
Many of us are living far better lives than even royals in the past.
It won’t last. It cannot last, at least not as it is now. So why not enjoy it while it’s briefly here?
We are among the very few generations that get to experience it, out of thousands of generations, so it would be a missed opportunity to not consciously enjoy it.
MAKING USE OF IT
We can also make use of it.
In my own life, I make intentionally use of living in peak civilization. With family, I have bought a relatively large piece of land in the Andes. We are creating a food forest by planting as many perennial food producing plants as possible along with native trees, bushes, and flowers. We are installing rainwater gathering systems. We are building with local materials and techniques, and with the climate, sun, and wind. We will install solar panels. We are creating a vermicomposting toilet. We are getting to know and forming connection with neighbors and the local community. And so on.
All of this is made possible by peak civilization. We can get food plants from tropical zones all over the world. We get solar panels from China. We are accessing information and knowledge from all over the world.
DOES IT NEED TO BE PEAK CIVILIZATION?
Does it need to be peak civilization?
In one sense, no. We have the opportunity to use the resources available now to create a more sustainable civilization, one that operates within and expands the limits of nature.
One that grows food while also diversifying and enhancing ecosystems. One that produces energy with renewable resources. One that reduces our population size through education and creating good social safety nets. (Better education for women and good social safety nets reduces the number of children people have.)
This is very much possible.
That brings us to the other answer, which is that this is likely peak civilization.
It’s likely that we won’t collectively make the transition outlined above, at least not in a graceful way.
Far too many of us are caugh up in day-to-day survival (because of poverty or business), business as usual (it’s more comfortable), ignoring our ecological crisis (seems too much), and misdiagnosing the situation (thinking it’s because of greed and overlooking the systemic reasons).
DON’T KNOW
The reality is that we don’t know what will happen.
We know we are in ecological overshoot and that it cannot last. We know that our current lifestyle cannot last. We know we are in the middle of a massive global ecological crisis because of it.
We know we are just beginning to see and experience the conseqences of it.
We know it will only get more visible in the coming decades.
But we don’t know exactly how it will look.
We don’t know if it’s “just” the end of this version of civilization and whether a new one will emerge.
We don’t know how far it will go before we collectively wake up to the situation and take it seriously.
We’ll have to live it.
So why not enjoy what we have while it’s here?
Why not work to make use of what we have in the best possible way, at least in our own life since that’s where we have the opportunity to make changes?
SOME THINGS WE CAN DO
What can we do?
If we have a garden or land, we can create a food forest or forest garden. We can support wildlife while growing food.
If we don’t have land, we can join or create some kind of community project, perhaps even in cooperation with and using the garden or land owned by the municipality or friends, family, or neighbors.
We can get to know farmers in our community, especially those using ecological and non-chemical methods. We can buy food directly from them.
We can install solar panels or buy renewable energy.
We can get to know similar-minded people in our community. We can join or create community projects of many different kinds.
We can envision the future we wish to live in and engage in projects to make it happen.
All of this is meaningful no matter what happens.
INITIAL NOTES
- peak civilization
- live like royalty, better than even royalty in the past – shower, transportation, food, medicine, hygiene,
- a rare moment in history, created through global ecological overshoot
- make use of it
- collectively – if we will or not, still to be seen, although already too late to avoid ecological crisis
- individually
- appreciation, prepare,
- do what makes sense anyway, for me now, food forest/regeneration in the Andes
- make use of it to prepare for our ecological collapse
- use the resources available now to prepare for what will very likely come
our example: make use of it for traveling, buying land, growing as many different food plants from all over the world (same climate zone) as possible, installing solar, rainwater collection, all made possible by peak civilization, so want to make full use of it