Mother Pelican
A Journal of Solidarity and Sustainability

Vol. 20, No. 6, June 2024 Luis T. Gutiérrez, Editor

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Consortium Magnum ~ Humanity & Earth From the Maximum Power Principle (MPP) we can infer that humans, even more so than other animals, tend to use the maximum amount of energy (power) that is accessible and affordable, irrespective of the social and ecological consequences. The MPP is patriarchy in energy units. As long as the patriarchal ethos prevails in human affairs, social and ecological entropy will continue to increase, with eventual consequences that do not bode well for the survival of the human species. What then is the transition that must be forged going forward? After patriarchy, we need a natural consortium between man and woman that paves the way to a grand consortium between humans and their natural habitat. We need to renew the natural unity and mutuality of men and women for integral human development and an integral ecology. It is time to recognize that patriarchal religions are an obstacle for this transition. Consider this updated supplement: Critique of Religious Patriarchy. State of the World Population Report 2024 OVERSHOOT Maximum Power Principle Energy, Power and Transition: State of Power 2024 Carbon Footprint of Artificial Intelligence 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2024 The Blind Spot ~ Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience Life After Doom ~ Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart Collaboration Across Social Boundaries RESILIENCE+ Laudato Si' Action Platform Earth Guardians The REAL Green New Deal Cognitive Obsolescence Global Resources Outlook 2024 Gender & Environment Global Gender and Environment Outlook CONTENTS Significant New Initiatives and Emerging Trends How to Unite Local Initiatives for a More Sustainable Global Future Vasilis Kostakis & Nikiforos Tsiouris We Must Reject Ego-Nomics to Prevent Human Extinction David Korten GDP is Not Enough to Measure a Country's Development. What if We Used the Sustainable Development Goals Instead? Eric Champagne & Cristina D'Alessandro Things Are Deteriorating Fast ~ Invitation to a Journey Richard Heinberg Presidential Immunity and the 'Dark Age Ahead' Kurt Cobb Trump Promises to Deport All Undocumented Immigrants, Resurrecting a 1950s Strategy − But It Didn't Work Then and Is Less Likely to Do So Now Katrina Burgess The Unseen Cost of Progress Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo Breaking Up With Capitalism, Financialization, and Wealth Supremacy Marjorie Kelly Taking Paradigm Shift To A Wider Audience ~ Part 1 Jan Spencer Is Degrowth an Academic Field or a Mass Movement? Taking Degrowth to the People! Phil Wilson How Banks and Investors Are Fueling a Global Biodiversity Crisis Laurel Sutherlin Capitalism Won't Save the Planet Simon Pirani A Shareable Explainer: What is the Solidarity Economy? Emily Kawano Plastic Pollution Is a Crime Against People and the Planet Erica Cirino Yet More Boondoggles: Extracting Carbon Dioxide from the Air, Mining Asteroids Kurt Cobb New Developments and Accepting Our Predicaments Without Blame Erik Michaels No, Artificial Intelligence Won't Outsmart Our Climate Calamity Andrew Nikiforuk The Power of Conciseness in Environmental Communication Giuseppe Forestieri Going Sane in a Crazy World ~ Building Emotional Resilience Richard Heinberg Donald Trump's War on Science and the Environment Melvin Goodman 'Blame Her' ~ The Patriarchal Tendency of Scapegoating Bhabani Shankar Nayak Christianity, History, Nature: Responsible Ways to Address Environmental Concerns Willemien Otten A Political Theology of Election(s) Raj Bharat Patta Significant New Initiatives and Emerging Trends Life After Doom ~ Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart Brian D. McLaren, Macmillan Publishers, 14 May 2024 Book's Website Becoming Earth ~ How Our Planet Came to Life Ferris Jabr, Penguin Random House, 25 June 2024 Book Summary Think Tank on Innovative Communication for Social Change With Andrew Gaines, 21-23 November 2024, Sydney, Australia Information and Point of Contact Global Primary Energy Consumption by Source To view the Aggregate Global Primary Energy Consumption by Source, click here. Click the right arrow to see the energy substitution trends unfolding from 1800 to 2022. Click on "Explore the data" for links to charts of many energy consumption categories. The human appetite for more energy/power seems to be insatiable. "H. sapiens are arguably the archetypal demonstration of maximum power." Why? Human nature as it evolved during millions of years? Is MPP our "original sin"? The fact is that energy consumption keeps growing as the human civilization grows. Actually, energy demand is growing faster than reductions due to "green" techs. Note that the net reduction in the year 2020 can be attributed to the Covid slowdown, and renewable energy sources are adding to available energy, not replacing fossil fuels. The reader can verify that global energy throughput growth is highly correlated with population growth, economic growth, and growth of CO2 emissions and other toxic pollutants. Our global techno-industrial civilization is depleting all natural resources and exceeding the regeneration capacity of the biosphere and the absorption capacity of pollution sinks. Continued growth is leading to overpopulation, overconsumption, and ecological overshoot. What is the root cause? Human nature? Energy surplus? Resource limits? All the above, inter alia, and there is no "business as usual" magic bullet. This is not about capitalism, or socialism, or any other political system; and expecting magic from high energy/resource intensive techno-fixes is silly. Going forward, it is now clear that the only sensible strategy is DEGROWTH. Interactive graphs by Our World In Data, Creative Commons. |Back to Outline| LINK TO THE CURRENT ISSUE          LINK TO THE HOME PAGE

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