How's that working out for you?

[candide]

I just don't see how anything I can do would scale enough or have enough leverage to change the world. And even if something I did could get leverage, I am not confident in the ability to make sure the change is in the direction of the good.

But I don't mind those whose talents exceed mine giving it a go.

[7Wannabe5]

I think jennypenny's comment about how ERE1 equates to "doing no harm" is relevant to seeing how we are changing the world every day; whether or not we are fully conscious of it. The average American consumer burns through resources at the metabolic rate of an elephant. There are currently approximately 2 acres of minimally arable (not mountain or desert) land per human on the planet. My second (failed!) permaculture project on very rural 20 acres included one narrow section running at angle through trees to lake frontage that was exactly 2 acres. I actually had to learn some surveying skills to mark out the boundary (one of the ways I earned my keep as a LentilBaby math-heavy-Explorer-type, saved my partner thousands of dollars by discovering error in deed.) I identified all the major species living and roaming through the property and created a systems model for the energy flow using simulation software. I squatted in the spearmint, bearberry, and huckleberry to examine a 5 striped skink, followed a friendly red fox down a trail, took way too many photos of bear scat, chopped wood, and hauled water. In the process, I developed a very intimate sense of exactly how long an elephant sized mammal might survive on exactly two (or 20) rural acres and the sort of lifestyle a collapsed-back-to-human-size mammal might manage. Once you gain that perspective, you don't lose it even if/when you revert to doing the sort of f*cked up things we do every day in our culture. We are literally, every one of us, giants upon the Earth, and we are absolutely changing the world in very real, objectively measurable, and life-threatening ways.

So, it seems to me, that part of what we (definitely inclusive of me) should be doing towards ERE2 is putting aside the personal (even though or because it is also the political) and focusing on helping each other and loved ones in our "real" life at least get down to that 1 eco-Jacob level give-or-take, regardless of how we feel about individual life choices or preferences. ERE is highly flexible tool-kit and it should be capable of building a wide variety of lifestyle designs within the 1 eco-Jacob boundary. Now that I think about it, it might even be the case that as we all strip away the levels of materialism that united us as Moderns, our inherent differences as humans may shine out more brightly, and this will tend to lead towards more conflict or in-fighting. Dunno, but it's something likely worth pondering upon.

[candide]

@7w5

Well said -- beautiful description of your attunement to the land, in fact -- and if that is trying to change the world, put me down as an aspirant to that quadrant in the 2-by-2 Jacob laid out.

I still have doubts about scalability, as well as the possibility of real success without leverage, but I am still here (ie contributing to the forum), so I do try to pin my hopes on something... and so here's to replication and inspiration!

[Henry]

Right, so whenever a theory arises in attention [or is constructed] to be tested it is predicated on the split between the observer and the observed. existence.

That's the basic epistemic issue which is fraught with its own problems i.e. is cause and effect an imposition of our minds or does it exist in reality.

I was really alluding to systems in terms of metaphysics. Are you operating in a closed system where there is no heteronomous factors or are you working in an open system where there are. A person working in a closed system is working on the presupposition that they can be outside the system. Mother Theresa believed in an open system where there is something outside the system to which she herself could not get outside. In effect, she was following orders on how the system worked from someone outside the system. Hopefully she was right because it is my understanding she never got properly laid.

[daylen]

I don't know about metaphysics, but it would seem that physically the self is an open system and the self + environment = universe is a closed system.

Though, if you wanted open access to my body you could have just asked me on a date.

[thai_tong]

I had my theoretical journey planned out as a single man then fell in love so I reverted from ERE dreams to just living frugally and passing 4% WR