Saving what can be saved is the best use of our time here — Industrial civilization seems to have pushed nature past its limits. Cactuses are dying of heat. Fish are drowning because the water lacks oxygen. The ocean now has almost as much plastic as fish. Severe droughts, heat waves, and floods are causing massive shortages of food and water. …

The system is too corrupt, the people too propagandized, the problems too big. Our leaders and media keep saying the world is locked in a struggle between democracy and autocracy — — sometimes they say ‘authoritarianism’ — and democracy is the good guy. Is there really such a battle? …

Water is life — to pollute and waste it is fatal arrogance — “Thousands have lived without love. Not one without water.” W.H. Auden Water is the most precious substance on Earth, and as far as we know, anywhere in the universe. Without water, there is no life; with water, life is everywhere. For industry and capital, oil and minerals are precious, but…

Real estate corporations need them that way — In Park Merced, the large San Francisco residential complex where I live, 30% of the units are vacant. More would be vacant if not for Section 8 housing subsidies, with which government pays most of the rent for low-income tenants. Squatters live in some vacant units. Cars and homes are…

Choose a side or negotiate a peace. Capital and science are waging war on nature. This is not a metaphorical war. It’s an actual, declared war to dominate and/or destroy. Rich, powerful, educated men have striven to dominate nature for 400 years. …

Glorifying material wealth destroys nature and makes people miserable. “They call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” George Carlin Does the phrase ‘American Dream’ mean anything to you? Having changed many times since first used about 100 years ago, the American Dream now…

Great things happen here. Why are billionaires trying to drag us down? Every day online I read stories about how San Francisco is caught in a doom spiral. Relatives reading national media ask how I can live here. …

Corporate machines rule. Humans are just their operating system. I used to believe there was a ruling class, a group of super-rich bankers and industrialists who ran everything. They were selfish and greedy, but at least they were motivated by rational self-interest. …

And how it can serve life again. Science started with a great idea. Observe Nature with an open mind and see how things really work. Before science, truth was found by following authorities like Aristotle or the Pope. People assumed that ancient texts such as the Bible were infallible. People…