“A wide range of studies suggests that a predominant focus on competition—the requirement that one person or group must fail so that another can succeed—can be intrinsically counterproductive. In "No Contest: The Case Against Competition" , the education researcher Alfie Kohn elucidates why this is the case. As a hypersocial species, humans evolved to rely primarily on cooperation, rather than Continue Reading
“An important characteristic—one almost entirely missing from today’s educational syllabus—would be an emphasis on ecological literacy ("ecoliteracy") and systems thinking. Understanding core ecological principles can help students recognize human embeddedness within Earth systems and develop mental models embracing complex interrelationships and systems dynamics that apply to virtually all aspects of life and society.” — Lent, Jeremy. EcoCivilization: Making a World Continue Reading
“…the risk that a superhuman AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) might want to achieve some goal that’s out of alignment with the conditions required for human welfare-or for that matter, the survival of life itself on Earth. The AGI might not see humans as an enemy to be eliminated, but we could simply become collateral damage to its own objective function, Continue Reading
“most people—even those concerned about the dire state of the world—accept TINA (aka "There is no alternative" referring to neo liberal capitalism) unquestioningly. The only way to structure society, it is assumed, is in the form of growth-based consumer capitalism—a system in which corporate profits ultimately drive the decisions that affect the lives of everyone on the planet, the health Continue Reading
I would add "Religious Education" as well…..for those that are faithfully endeavoring to replicate The KIngdom of God, which IS an EcoCivilization if anything, the fight to confront and name "Windigo, Inc." is the calling to Prophetic Imagination; to teach a better way, and to name the evil as it attempts to spead its misery over everyone who threatens to Continue Reading
“Since the rise of capitalism, the dominant contract between capital and labor has reified the idea that humans are essentially selfish and lazy, and must be forced to work by a combination of fear and greed, which is achieved by wages and other financial incentives. However, it has been widely demonstrated that humans are nothing of the sort. In fact, Continue Reading
““What is perhaps most terrifying is that these disasters are all happening at a global temperature that is destined to keep rising. Although the world’s nations had agreed in Paris in 2015 to target a maximum of 1.5° global temperature rise this century, we’re already breaking through this ceiling, and it’s widely believed by climate scientists that a minimum two-degree Continue Reading
One of those Facebook Then and Now Pics.
And approximately arranged from left to right in the same order, with the addition of a daughter-in-law (between me and her hubby) and their little one, 5 1/2 years old (and the daughter’s little boy is off screen inside napping). I found this by scrolling back on my phone until I found a pic with all four of us in the shot! Worked out nicely! (Update: come to think of it, I think the older pic that says 2010 was just POSTED in 2010, but was actually taken in 2008, so actually 18 years between the 2)
The book I was reading, by Margaret Swedish (who passed too soon in the fall of 2024) , is titled “Living Beyond The End of the World”. I wasn’t really fathoming how quickly things would have deteriorated, ecologically and politically, in just 11 years.
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So, what about the opposite , then? COULD it help us get off the shit, and move ASAP toward a far more sustainable and liveable earth? It COULD. But this is not too close given our present trajectory and emphases in the AI world.
I know it’s looking grim, but AI "COULD", if we wanted it to…REALLY wanted it to…help us get off our collective arses and transition , lickety split, to renewables ASAP. If we LET it …or "hook it up" to all the information that is screaming to us that this is necessary.
you don't say pic.twitter.com/EZHmu9HUIv
— Ben See (@ClimateBen) August 13, 2026
