We are at a decisive moment in human history. Unbridled greed and consumption of the earth’s natural resources, fueled by conquest, capitalism and misguided conceptions of “unlimited growth” have contributed to cascading social, economic and environmental crises. Without sustainable and regenerative alternatives to the global order, we are headed for civilizational collapse.
While the data is devastatingly grim–and the lack of collective response on a global scale is terrifying, anguishing and enraging–collapse is not inevitable. Though we have likely passed climate tipping points that will require large-scale reorganization, we may be able to buffer or avert full-scale collapse by building resilience locally, and by reorganizing our communities to sustain ourselves in dynamic equilibrium with each other and nature. This requires more than just sustaining business as usual–it involves building regenerative cultures.