I have been reading and studying Bucky Fuller’s work since 1968. The breadth and depth of his genius and the integrity of his character have been a beacon to my mind and heart. I will be referring to his thought many times in both specific and general ways over the life of this project. Given the scope of his interests and his productivity, it is hard to say which particular publication or study best constitutes his legacy, but, as the title “Everything I Know” implies, these 42 hours of video from 1975 present a comprehensive survey of his ideas and experiences from his assertion that the tetrahedron is the fundamental building block of the universe to his meetings with many remarkable men and women to his accounts of personal accounts and analytical insights that lead him to conclude that the metaphysical is more important than the physical, that mind is a precursor to matter. It took me several years to complete my immersion in this “course,” although I’m sure that someone with better powers of concentration could get the job done more quickly. I found it useful to take notes as I went along. Of course, I had to read a couple books like Utopia or Oblivion along the way. Bucky wasn’t right about everything. For example, he was sure the the world’s population would top out at ~5 billion quite a while ago and we seem to be on our way to something much larger than that. But he was right about how to be a life long learner, and for this I am eternally grateful. I should also issue a shout out to The Internet Archive, the institution that preserved Bucky’s work in this format and has done so much to make a vast trove of knowledge across a compendium of fields available to all of us and to organize the information in a manageable fashion. Buckminster Fuller Archive DESCRIPTION During the last two weeks of January 1975 Buckminster Fuller gave an extraordinary series of lectures concerning his entire life's work. These thinking out loud lectures span 42 hours and examine in depth all of Fuller's major inventions and discoveries from the 1927 Dymaxion house, car and bathroom, through the Wichita House, geodesic domes, and tensegrity structures, as well as the contents of Synergetics. Autobiographical in parts, Fuller recounts his own personal history in the context of the history of science and industrialization. The stories behind his Dymaxion car, geodesic domes, World Game and integration of science and humanism are lucidly communicated with continuous reference to his synergetic geometry. Permeating the entire series is his unique comprehensive design approach to solving the problems of the world. Some of the topics Fuller covered in this wide ranging discourse include: architecture, design, philosophy, education, mathematics, geometry, cartography, economics, history, structure, industry, housing and engineering. Access the Collection here...

White supremacy is the Confederacy's blazingly debilitating hangover. Let's find a cure! Racial and ethnic discrimination and hatred are, unfortunately, worldwide phenomena. A particularly virulent strain of white supremacy exists in the United States where a horrific civil war took the lives of approximately 23% of the white male population aged 20-24 living in the Confederate states in the years 1860-1865. The ethos that fought to keep Blacks enslaved in the US has been greatly reinvigorated by the backlash to the election of an African-American president in 2008 and the explicit racism of Trump and his followers. American white supremacy is a deeply destructive ideology that impacts the readiness to accept and be guided by science, paranoia and gun ownership, the position of women and minorities in society, and many other maladies. This anti-racism monograph constitutes my own reflections on the role that white supremacy has played in my life, why it has been allowed to persist, and some pathways by which this scourge can be treated and, possibly, eradicated. Read my short story The Zombie Dixie here.

A multiplicity of alternative futures is wrapped up in every moment of the present. Strong trends create a sense of inevitability regarding the now. For example: Water occupies 70% of the Earth’s surface. The Earth revolves around the Sun. The Moon revolves around the Earth. The combined gravitational forces exerted by the Sun and Moon as the Earth rotates generate tides. These are all “givens.” These realities haven’t changed in a very, very long time. The expectation that there will be a high tide and a low tide is based on undeniably strong trends. The trends are so solid that it’s not even thought of as something that could or might change. But massive meteors striking the Earth (or the Moon) could alter this fundamental regularity and create a dramatically different present, instantaneously. Strong trend lines are sort of like an autobahn, a limited-access highway, where traffic is automatic and moving at a predictable speed. Various disruptions of the basic pattern occur, but matters return to the mean quickly when considered through the lens of a geological time frame. A distinctive feature of the Anthropocene is that many of the strong trends of the era are not yet well-defined. A distinctive feature of the Anthropocene is that many of the strong trends of the era are not yet well-defined. The on-ramps to the autobahn are designing and inventing what our limited-access highways are in going to be. While it may be true that there are many characteristics of the Anthropocene that are not yet truly known, many of the trendlines that are taking shape are deeply disconcerting. Temperatures and, therefore, climate boundaries were fairly stable during the Holocene, the 11,000-year geological era that ended around 1850. Up till then, temperatures on the Earth kept within about a 1°C range. One could depend upon hot and cold in particular regions to stay within that limit. The temperature was a predictable wave function. But, since 1850, temperatures have been going up. An inflection point occurred in 1900 and rising temperatures are rapidly accelerating. The climate influences every element of life. The extreme weather variations that are becoming commonplace are the Numero Uno Context Setter of the Anthropocene so far. Graphic: European Environmental Agency This is not a happy chart. If things keep on like this, everything is going to be in very deep doo-doo. If we Earthlings continue damaging the atmosphere, the ramp we’re creating will go nowhere. We are at an inflection point and most people are not paying attention, e.g., the activist US Supreme Court which just neutered the US Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to curb carbon emissions. It empowered many reactionary states governed by Republicans who deny the reality of climate change to continue their obstinate hostility toward science. Coincident with the climate crisis, several other inflection points are also being reached in technology, the Earth’s population carrying capacity, the interconnectedness and immediacy of contact across the globe, the stability of sexual norms, and gender relations …the list goes on. The relationship between democracies and autocracies is a trend line that is very unstable at present. It could unfold in a variety of ways. Its future will have a great impact on the prospects of the Anthropocene’s continued existence. I believe that the outcome of two present-moment dramas will exert significant influence on what the autocracy versus democracy superhighway will look like over the course of the next 20-50 years: The consequences of the January 6th insurrection investigation in the United States Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainian resistance to it Donald Trump, his allies, and his supporters sought to overthrow the government of the United States through a violent coup on January 6th, 2021. If he and his close associates are not held accountable, the rule of law and of majority rule will become increasingly meaningless on the world stage. Raw power will become synonymous with government, as it is and has been with every dictatorship. The ascendency of minority rule is being enforced by an out-of-step Supreme Court and imposed upon America by an outmoded electoral college system that tips the scales toward the interests and values of voters from rural states, many of whom are significantly less educated than their fellow citizens from urban areas. Two of the winners in the last five presidential elections did not receive the majority of the popular votes but ascended to office through the electoral college. A third (2020) continues to be contested by the loser, despite clear evidence that he lost both the popular and the electoral college votes. Dominated by three Trump appointees, all of whom lied about their views on settled law during their confirmation hearings, and Clarence Thomas, who also lied during his confirmation hearing, the Supreme Court has increasingly become an instrument of the Republican Party. The electoral college and the Supreme Court are both pillars of American democracy. However, both trends, i.e., the meaninglessness of votes from urban states and the willingness of the Supreme Court to enforce laws and norms regarding abortion, gun regulation, and climate change (to name only three that are prominent) that only small minorities of the population agree with, are undermining the legitimacy of these institutions and creating unpredictable consequences. Will these trends continue to go uncontested by an apathetic public for whom electoral politics does not matter or will they be contested by the reinvigoration of constituencies that have neither paid attention to politics nor been reliable voters in the past? Alternatively, will mobs and organized militias, such as those that stormed the Capitol on 1/6/21, become the norms in the United States as electoral politics become completely outmoded and abandoned? Innumerable predictions are being made on these questions, but I think that the wheel of Fate is still very much in spin. Much will depend on the results of the House of Representatives investigation of the 1/6 insurrection and whether Merrick Garland’s Justice Department charges, tries, convicts, and imprisons Trump and his close associates. Doing so would surely result in riots and violence by devoted Trumpians, including those who make a lot of money off his brand and look forward to doing so again in the future. Being willing to confront and put down this rage would go a long way toward re-establishing accountability and the rule of law not only in the United States but also in every society where the democratic governance structure either holds sway or is seen as desirable. It would also indicate that the world’s most prominent democracy has come to its senses and would, therefore, start to take a much more consistently sane approach to the massive problems created by the climate crisis, the changing conditions of employment created by the burgeoning role of technology, the resetting of norms between men and women and other dynamics in rapid motion during this inflection point period. Not doing so essentially guarantees that the political autobahn presently under construction will be one of authoritarianism and alienation. Police state and surveillance tactics and manipulations such as those envisioned by Orwell in 1984 (and presently being enforced in Xi’s China) will become normative. In this instance, the Anthropocene will be a very short period, geologically. This dystopian period will culminate in environmental collapse and God only knows what will follow. They’d better be happy Or at least conforming! Source: China Daily; credit: Reuters Conditions in Ukraine present a similar picture of the struggle between democracy and autocracy, law and might. Volodymyr Zelensky and his people are waging an incredibly courageous struggle against the brutal villainy of Vladimir Putin and his Russian supporters. As with the effort to bring Trumpism to justice, it is not at all clear at this moment how the battle will turn out. Again, many pundits and everyday people are sure of the outcome, but no one really knows. World War III may have already begun, although the acceleration of the conflict is moving slowly, as it did in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. Or, the Russian advance may run out of steam, resulting in victory for Ukraine at some point and the removal of Russian troops from Ukrainian lands. If Trump and Trumpism avoid justice and if Putin’s campaign to destroy Ukraine’s independence are both successful, the deep cynicism that many – and perhaps, especially, the young – feel will harden into dangerous nihilism with frightening and dispiriting results accompanied by a great deal of violence. If, on the other hand, they both lose, there will be a significant upsurge in hope and political activism in support of democracy and the rule of law worldwide. Not enough to overcome the eco-anxiety caused by climate change and other factors, but important. If Trump loses and Putin wins, the prospects for WWIII and Russia’s collapse increase, especially if the Republican Party is deeply discredited in the United States and a young and charismatic Center-Left wins the Presidency in 2024. If Putin loses and Trump wins, the United States will slide further into isolationism and a Fortress America mentality, Europe will have to face a wounded and adrift Russia with greatly diminished American support, China’s dictatorship will become more cemented, isolationism and nationalism will advance, and the United States will likely withdraw from the United Nations. Alliances will be based more on transactionalism than on shared values and trust. Uncertainty, complexity, and the prospect of interminable chaos are characteristic of the Anthropocene at this point in its evolution, and that may always be so. It is important to do everything we can to create positive possibilities and avoid political regression. The climate crisis worsens every day and needs to be addressed with maturity and resolve. What kind of superhighway do we want to have?

This report also publishes soon in the Security and Sustainability Guide. I believe that the Guide is one of the indispensable tools that every Anthropocene should carry in her or his backpack. The objective of the report is to provide an overview of developments in the burgeoning and incredibly important field of renewable and alternative energy. If our species has any prospects for maintaining anything like the presence of robust life on planet earth, it must absolutely make a transition away from carbon-based energy. This report gives us hope because it identifies scores of organizations and many thousands of people are doing everything they can to get us off of greenhouse gas emitting fuels. I will be revising this report every six months. While fossil fuels continue to dominate energy production and consumption, the press of climate change has made it abundantly clear that the ecological costs of greenhouse gas-emitting power sources make them unsustainable. In response to this ever-more serious climate crisis, there has been an explosion of interest in non-polluting clean energy. This Quick Look surveys a broad range of activities in the fields of renewable and alternative energy. Renewable and alternative energy endeavors constitute a very large landscape. The sheer volume of these activities is encouraging because it demonstrates that when public concerns finally generate the political will to act on the massive, planetary scale that is necessary, the technologies and conceptual frameworks are in place to achieve the extraordinary economic and political effort that will be needed achieve the transition to a non-polluting form of energy. This is not to say that the change from fossil fuels to clean energy sources will be an easy or seamless one nor that there will not be intensive competition between organizations and technologies seeking to capitalize on market opportunities and the multitude of emergencies that are already accompanying climate change. There will most assuredly be intense conflicts and hostility. The path forward to a new energy economy is rich in opportunity, but it is also going to be confusing and contentious. There are several important limitations to this overview of organizational actors. First, there are so many thousands of players on the field that important elements of the story will inevitably be left out and many details of the organizations described will not be included. Further, neither nuclear power nor ethanol– both controversial clean energy sources – are not foci here. Nor are the multitude of financial organizations whose primary activity is the funding of the clear energy activity or the thousands of private sector actors who are engaged in on-the-ground innovation pushing the field forward. Finally, as the sociologist, Erving Goffman, made clear in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (New York: Doubleday, 1959), every organization has a front stage and a backstage. The players in a performance demonstrate the drama that they want them to see and so do most if not all organizations. But organizational outcomes are ultimately dominated and determined by what happens backstage. Thus, the descriptions provided here should all be considered with a degree of skepticism. For example, the bureaucratic machinations characterizing life inside all of these organizations are not going to be immediately accessible through this QuickLook. However, limitations aside, we believe that this QuickLook will give the reader a sufficient guide to alternative energy territory to understand the lay of the land and to make decisions on where to begin and/or where to go next within it. If we can identify the organizations that are leading the shaping the general contours of this burgeoning field, we shall have done our job. The structure of this review is to move from government and quasi-government agencies focused primarily on the science and technology of renewable and alternative energy to independent NGOs that assess and evaluate the overall developments in the field to those trade associations focused on the field’s professional and commercial activities. Government Departments and Quasi-Government Agencies The governments of many nation-states support basic scientific research into renewable and alternative energy and the invention of technologies related to them. 1. The United States Department of Energy’s Office of Science (1942, Washington) With origins in the Manhattan Project, the Office of Science is the lead Federal agency supporting scientific research for energy. Office of Science-supported researchers have made key scientific advances related to solar energy, bioenergy, solid-state lighting, and batteries, among many other areas of energy. In 2021, the Office of Science received $7B in funding. It has requested $7.4B in funding for fiscal 2022. The proposed Office of Clean Energy Demonstration is seeking $400M in funding for 2022. It is seeking $500M for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Energy) in 2022 and $200M for Advanced Research Projects Agency (Climate). Fusion Energy Sciences is one of a multitude of research activities supported by the US Department of Energy. The mission of the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program is to expand the fundamental understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to build the scientific foundation needed to develop a fusion energy source. This is accomplished through the study of plasma, the fourth state of matter, and how it interacts with its surroundings. It is hoped that at some juncture, fusion research will harness the power of the sun for a variety of purposes, including clean energy. The 2022 fiscal year request for this program is $675M. The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research Batteries and Energy Storage Hub (JCESR) is another example of the work of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The JCESR seeks to deliver transformative materials for batteries – including cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and interfaces. JCESR is divided into five thrusts dealing with the most important materials and phenomena of energy storage: Liquid Solvation Science, Solid Solvation Science, Flowable Redoxmer Science, Charge Transfer at Dynamic Interfaces, and Science of Material Complexity. The JCESR is seeking $25M in funding for fiscal 2022. 2. The International Energy Agency (1974, Paris) Created in the aftermath of the 1974 energy crisis, the governing board of the IEA is composed of energy ministers or their senior representatives from 30 member countries. With a budget of $31M and a staff of approximately 500, the IEA recommends policies that enhance the reliability, affordability, and sustainability of energy. It examines and tracks the full spectrum of policy and technology issues including renewables, oil, gas, and coal supply and demand, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, electricity systems and markets, access to energy, and demand-side management. Elements of its renewable portfolio include bioenergy; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; electric vehicles; energy storage; fuel economy; heating; hydrogen; hydropower; lighting; methane abatement; smart grids; solar; trucks and buses; fusion; geothermal and wind. It issues annual or bi-annual reports on each of these topics. The IEA’s Technology Collaboration Program supports the work of independent, international groups of over 6,000 experts from 55 countries representing nearly 300 public and private organizations that “enable governments and industries to work on a variety of energy technologies in support of the global transition to a cleaner energy future.” 3. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (1991, Golden CO) NREL is a laboratory of the United States Department of Energy that is focused on fundamental science, clean energy technologies, and integrated energy systems. It had a budget of $545M in 2020 and a staff of approximately 2,700. All of its programmatic activities (Renewable Power, Sustainable Transportation, Energy Efficiency, Energy Systems Integration, Chemistry and Nano-Science, Computational Science, Energy Analysis, Energy Storage, and Materials Science) advance clean energy. Its National Bioenergy Center (NBC) works to advance and develop innovative and cost-effective solutions that move the production of biofuels, bioproducts, biochemicals, and bioenergy to market. Its Photovoltaic Research Center focuses on boosting solar cell conversion efficiencies; lowering the cost of solar cells, modules, and systems; and improving the reliability of PV components and systems. Its National Wind Technology Center maintains an open-source information portal primarily for the benefit of the U.S. government and organizations that collaborate with the Department of Energy's Wind and Water Power Technologies Office. NREL maintains 16 research programs. It published more than 2,150 scientific and technical studies in 2021 alone. 4. Clean Energy Ministerial (No Location, 2009) The CEM was initiated by Obama’s Secretary of Energy, Stephen Chu. It brings together ministers with responsibility for clean energy technologies from the world’s major economies as well as ministers from a select number of smaller countries. The 28 countries and the European Commission that are members of the CEM account for about 81 percent of global clean energy investments and 83 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, CEM’s activities addressed 22 specific foci across six domains: Power; Transport; Industry; Buildings; Cross-Sectoral; and Enabling Environment. CEM’s "distributed leadership" model results in any government interested in furthering a substantive idea on clean energy technology identifying partners and moving ahead with an effort. The CEM believes that it is currently the only regular meeting of energy ministers at which they exclusively discuss clean energy. The Ministerial sponsors 17 specific renewable energy initiatives, such as The Long-term Scenarios for the Clean Transition (LTES) Initiative, which aims to promote the improved use of long-term model-based energy scenarios to support and accelerate the energy transition among CEM countries. It published or endorsed 37 reports and analyses in 2021, e.g., Hydrogen in North-Western Europe: A vision toward 2030 (85p). 5. Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (1983, DC) The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is a global knowledge and technical assistance program established in 1983 and administered by the World Bank to help low and middle-income countries reduce poverty and boost growth through sustainable energy solutions. ESMAP’s work covers 6 major areas - Energy Access, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy Subsidy Reform, Knowledge Hub, as well as Governance, Markets & Planning. During the period of July 2013 to June 2020, ESMAP completed 661 Activities with a total grant amount of more than $320 million. The mission of ESMAP is to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal #7, i.e., “to insure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” 6. International Renewable Energy Agency (2009; Masdar City, United Arab Emirates) IRENA is the only UN agency dedicated to the promotion of 100% renewable energy worldwide, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar, and wind energy. More than 180 countries are engaged in and with the Agency. Its efforts encompass Annual reviews of renewable energy employment; Renewable energy capacity statistics; Renewable energy cost studies; county-by-country Renewables Readiness Assessments; The Global Atlas, which maps resource potential by source and by location; Renewable energy benefits studies; a roadmap to double renewable energy use worldwide by 2030; Renewable energy technology briefs; regional energy planning; and project development tools like the Project Navigator, the Sustainable Energy Marketplace and the IRENA/ADFD Project Facility. 7. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership [REEEP] (2004; Paris) With a network of more than 1,500 experts, REEEP collects, consolidates, and synthesizes renewable energy data to provide clear and reliable information on what is happening in real-time. In addition to collecting and organizing knowledge, REEEP creates contexts in which debates bring together government, the private sector, civil society, research, and academia intended to spur the renewable energy transition. Reports are published annually and periodically on: the global status of renewables, renewables in cities, renewable status by world regions, the prospects for various elements of the renewable landscape in the future, and assorted themes, e.g., “Civil Power for Grids”. 8. Fusion Energy Sciences (ND, Washington) The FES is a division within the US Department of Energy. Its mission is to expand the fundamental understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to build the scientific foundation needed to develop a fusion energy source. This is accomplished through the study of plasma, the fourth state of matter, and how it interacts with its surroundings. Funding for the totality of the program in 2021 was $672M. 9. EurObserv'ER (1999, Paris) The Observatory of Renewable Energies in France is the coordinator of Observ'ER. It works with five other partners: ECN (The Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands), IEO (EC BREC Institute of Renewable Energetic Ltd) in Warsaw, the RENAC (Renewables Academy AG) in Berlin, FS (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) and IJS (Institut Jozef Stefan) in Slovenia. It monitors and reports on: Photovoltaics; Wind; Solid Biofuels; Ocean Energy; Solar Thermal and Concentrated Solar Power; Biogas; Biofuels; Heat Pumps; and Renewable Municipal Waste. 10. European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (1991, Brussels) 5 research centers from 16 European countries give EUREC a wide-angle lens with which to understand renewable research and development on the Continent. Full members have seats in Member states of the European Union. Renewable energy technologies represented include wind, biomass, small hydro, marine, geothermal, photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity, and solar thermal heating and cooling. Technologies supporting the advancement of renewable energy, such as energy efficiency, storage, distribution, and integration, and studies of the social and economic impact of new forms of energy are also foci. Independent Research Centers 11. Energy Watch Group (2006, Berlin) Founded by its current president, Hans-Josef Fell, who was a member of the German Parliament in 2006, EWG provides scientific analyses and studies, political advice. 15 distinguished scientists and an international group of 19 parliamentarians under the direction of. Energy Watch describes itself as an independent think-and-do-tank comprised of a network of researchers and parliamentarians and maintaining partnerships with leading universities and research institutes. EWG is thinks of itself as a a watchdog on mainstream international agencies: “Zero-emission technologies and especially the field of renewable energy need much more political advocacy in order to withstand the political influence of the conventional energy sector. Until today, policies are often shaped by international organizations and governments heavily influenced by the conventional energy industry that profits from the status quo. The powerful fossil and nuclear industries often use science as a tool to serve their own interests, leading to an intentional underestimation of the growth potential of renewable energy and its manifold opportunities for our economy, society, and environment.” Its free “Divestment Ticker” stays up-to-date with the latest developments in the global fossil fuel divestment movement. 12. Rocky Mountain Institute (1982, Boulder CO) With a budget of over $61M and a staff of 300+ working on four continents, RMI focuses on decarbonizing energy systems through, market-based change in vulnerable geographies to align with a 1.5°C future and address the climate crisis. RMI adheres to a “natural capitalism” framework. “Natural capital” refers to the earth’s natural resources and the ecological systems that provide vital life-support services to society and all living things. RMNI asserts that nature’s services are of immense economic value; some are literally priceless since they have no known substitutes. However, Many current business practices do not value these assets—which is rising with their scarcity. The resulting degradation of natural capital by the wasteful use of resources such as energy, materials, water, fiber, and topsoil must cease. RMI’s global programs focus on: breakthrough technologies (e.g., “green” steel); carbon-free buildings; carbon-free electricity; carbon-free mobility; decarbonizing China; decarbonizing 7 specific industries (e.g. flaring); climate intelligence; the Global South; decarbonizing India; industrial decarbonization strategy; urban energy systems; and supporting decarbonization in the US. 13. Interstate Renewable Energy Council (1982; Latham, New York) Although it is a relatively small organization, IREC has an impressive track record of supporting advances in renewable energy, electric grid modernization, and energy efficiency via workforce development strategies, local clean energy solutions, and regulatory engagement. In 2021, IREC merged with The Solar Foundation, a national nonprofit that has led the advancement of solar energy and solar-compatible technologies since 1977. Here is an example of its Technical Assistance Program that supports local-level engagement with regulatory authorities: IREC partners with the U.S. Department of Energy, through initiatives like Building a Technically Reliable Interconnection Evolution for Storage (BATRIES), to provide technical support and guidance that informs efforts to advance solar, storage, and other clean energy technologies. IREC leads the SolSmart program, which has offered no-cost technical assistance to help more than 400 communities encourage solar energy growth. 14. World Council for Renewable Energy (2001; Germany) This World Council is an independent global network of NGOs, companies, and scientific institutes in the fields of renewable energy, environmental protection, and development aid. Asserting that the existing World Energy Council is too biased toward the interest of the nuclear and fossil energy industry, the WCRE’s objective is to give an independent voice to Renewable Energy in the global energy discussion. WCRE states that it was the main driving force behind the establishment of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), described elsewhere in this QuickLook. In addition to IRENA, the Council’s partners include European Association for Renewable Energy (EUROSOLAR), REN21, Global 100%RE, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), and GBEP - Global Bioenergy Partnership. Several of these organizations are also described in this QuickLook. Its committee of chairpersons includes distinguished figures in the renewable energy field, such as its general chairperson, Prof. Peter Droege, who is the president of Eurosolar and the Director of Liechtenstein Institute for Strategic Development. 15. Eurosolar (1988, Bonn) Eurosolar operates “Independent of political parties, institutions, companies and interest groups.” EUROSOLAR has supported the introduction of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), which requires electric utilities to obtain a minimum of 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass by 2025. The consistent implementation and further development of this act are being actively pursued with the demand for a New Energy Market Order for a decentralized energy transition. The association has sections in 13 countries Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Georgia, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Russia, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, and Hungary. Eurosolar has approximately 2,500 members. Its Scientific Committee organizes an annual International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES). It publishes Eurosolar Times and operates EurosolarTV. 16. Environmental and Energy Study Institute [EESI] (1984, Washington; https://www.eesi.org) EESI grew out of a bipartisan and bicameral Congressional caucus formed in 1975 by then-Congressmen Dick Ottinger (D-NY), John Heinz (R-PA), and John Seiberling (D-Ohio), and Gilbert Gude (R-MD). EESI is an educational resource, a catalyst for policymakers, and an information conduit between federal, state, and local stakeholders. A broad range of topics, including renewable energy, are addressed. Renewable energy foci include bioenergy, geothermal, hydrogen fuel cells, solar, hydropower, and wind. An annual EESI Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum is an example of EESI’s work. Total assets amount to approximately $5M. University Research Centers Innumerable universities are engaged in renewable and alternative research activities and offer programs of study in these fields. Many of them receive funding from various federal and national authorities, e.g. the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in the United States. With over 280 gigawatts of wind power – the most in the world -- Chinese schools are obviously deeply engaged in alternative energy inquiry; however, it is difficult to garner a great deal of information about their efforts without a command of Mandarin. We’ve sampled a few of these institutions to highlight the scope of alternative energy research at universities globally, but we’re confident that we have not covered this rich arena fully. 17. European Energy Research Alliance (2008, Brussels) EERA is the largest energy research community in Europe. It is a membership-based, non-profit association that, at present, has 250 universities and public research centers in 30 countries as members. Joint program areas include Advanced Materials and Processes for Energy Applications (AMPEA); Bioenergy; Carbon Capture and Storage; Concentrated Solar Power; Digitalization for Energy; Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of the Energy Transition (e3s); Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes; Energy Storage; Energy System Integration; Fuel Cells and Hydrogen; Geothermal; Hydropower; Nuclear Materials; Ocean Energy; Photovoltaics; Smart Cities; Smart Grids; Wind. In the absence of an annual report, EERA’s exact budget is difficult to establish. It’s probably in the range of $100M. 18. Tokyo University’s Integrated Research Center for Sustainable Energy and Materials Institute of Industrial Science (2016, Tokyo) The center has ten principal investigators and addresses four research activities: Materials Recycling/Design of Resources/ Substances/ Materials Flow and Process Control; Base Engineering for a Low Energy Consumption Society; Materials Engineering for Maximized Utilization of Resources/Substances; Cooperation with Industry 19. Tsinghua-BP Clean Energy Research and Education Center (2003, Tsiinghua) The Center was opened by Academician Gu Binglin, the president of Tsinghua University, and Tony Blair, who was the Prime Minister of UK at that time. It received a one-time donation of 400,000 US$ from BP for the foundation. Designed to achieve an integrated energy strategy for China by focusing on energy technology, energy system, energy strategy, and energy policy. 20. University of Victoria Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (1989, Victoria, British Columbia) The Institute is engaged in research concerning: strategic clean technologies, electrification and system integration, built environment, energy-economy-policy modeling, and integrated planning for water-energy-land systems. It analyzes these issues through the lenses of their criticality, the human dimensions of energy, and the education and training needed to achieve high-impact outcomes. It works closely with industry, not-for-profits, and government. In 2021, there were nine journal publications were based on research at the Institute. 21. University of Sheffield Energy Institute (ND, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England) With 84 faculty working in 7 individual facilities associated with the Institute (e.g., the Center for Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation) and another 215 faculty in its network, Sheffield makes a legitimate claim to having one of the largest energy research teams in Europe. Renewable energy research foci include electricity storage; nuclear; circular economy; wind; hydrogen and solar. 22. Oxford Energy (ND, Oxford England) This organization is part of the Oxford Networks for the Environment. Approximately 200 senior researchers are wholly or partly related to the university’s Energy Institute, which has many large industrial and academic partners, Research arenas include Bioenergy; Demand and Efficiency; Developing Countries; Economics, Policies and Politics; Electricity Networks; Marine; Solar; Storage, and Transport. Oxford is consistently ranked in the Top 10 of the world’s universities; so, this its Network for the Environment is a superlative program. Top Ranked US University Alternative Research Centers Climate change is an intensely charged and divisive topic in the United States. The leader of one of the country’s two major political parties vocally denies the existence of a crisis that virtually all climate scientists agree is pressing down on our planet. According to a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center’s Only 45% of Americans who identify as conservatives would be willing to make “a lot of/some” changes in lifestyle to adjust to climate change while 95% who define themselves as liberals would be willing to do so. Although clean energy consumption is increasing in America, it still lags far behind the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transportation, the built environment, etc. Ironically, renewable energy research activity at American universities is both a long-standing and currently burgeoning field. The United States National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) funds many of these efforts. It is beyond the scope of this report to do justice to the myriad research efforts at American universities pushing renewable and alternative energy forward. In what is assuredly an inadequate effort, what we will do here is provide a brief description of this work at America’s premier technology institution where climate change alternatives to fossil are a prominent and consuming focus. 23. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1861, Cambridge MA) MIT Energy Initiative, begun in 2006, supports hundreds of research projects across the Institute. Its Future Energy Systems is “an industry research consortium providing insights on how best to navigate the energy transition based on multisectoral analyses of emerging technologies, changing policies, and evolving economics.” Current renewable energy project areas include: New England Renewables and Canadian Hydropower; the globally focused Sustainable Energy System Analysis Modelling Environment; Remarkable Materials; Carbon Pricing; Removing CO2 from Power Plant Exhaust; Quantum Dot Materials; The Future of Solar Energy; and Solar Photovoltaic Technologies. MITE's founding members are all fossil fuel multinationals (ENI, Exxon, and Shell). This may explain why there are many alternative energy initiatives at the Institute that aren’t under MITei’s umbrella. For example, the Chemistry Department is exploring a light-harvesting protein that could be useful for synthesizing pharmaceuticals or converting waste products into biofuels. The Engineering Department (ranked #3 worldwide) also conducts extensive research related to clean energy technologies. Trade Associations A wide array of trade organizations populate the renewable and alternative energy space. In general, trade associations are an admixture of high-quality professional development activities, networking, and places where friends and colleagues gather to have fun, gossip and argue. A representative set of these associations across the spectrum of renewable and alternative energy efforts is presented here. 24. AlgaeBiomass Organization (2008, Preston MN) Promotes the development of viable commercial markets for renewable and sustainable commodities derived from algae to impact food consumption, livestock feed, and power. Focuses on: microalgae, seaweed, supporting biomass policy initiatives, Approximately 100 members, including 5 national laboratories and the Seaweed Hub. Annual budget: approximately $600K 25. American Council on Renewable Energy [ACORE] (2001, DC) ACORE describes itself as the “focal point for collaborative advocacy across the renewable energy sector, supported by members spanning renewable energy technologies and constituencies, including developers, manufacturers, top financial institutions, major corporate renewable energy buyers, grid technology providers, utilities, professional service firms, academic institutions, and allied nonprofit groups.” ACORE believes that its members account for over two-thirds of annual U.S. renewable energy capacity growth. ACORE has many large corporate members and banks, e.g., Exxon and Goldman Sachs. Through its Macro Grid Initiative, the Association publishes many reports and analyses, e.g., “How Transmission Planning & Cost Allocation Processes Are Inhibiting Wind & Solar Development In SPP, MISO, & PJM” (March 2021, 41p and appendices). Total yearly expenditures are in excess of $3.25M. 26. American Clean Power Association (2021; Washington) More than 800 companies across the “clean power” sector belong to this Association, which has an annual budget of approximately $25M. ACP succeeded the American Wind Energy Association, and wind appears to be its primary, if not singular focus. The association represents wind power project developers, equipment suppliers, services providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers, and others involved in the wind industry. Its membership includes developers, engineers, the workers. It issues many reports and studies, e.g., the Clean Energy Labor Supply Report. The ACP Portal is available to members. 27. Global Wind Energy Council (2005, Brussels) The Global Wind Energy Council is the international trade association for the wind power industry. It claims to represent 98% of global installed wind power capacity, including many of the most prominent names in the field, e.g., Vestas and Iberdrola. Its members are the leading turbine manufacturers, developers, suppliers, and service providers from around the world. It publishes many reports, e.g., “An Ocean of Potential: Recommendations for Offshore Wind Development in India (6p)” 28. International Hydropower Association (1995, London) Its members operate in more than 120 countries. They include “the world's leading hydropower developers, operators and manufacturers, as well as organizations involved in research, policy, planning and financing hydropower.” Issued 25 publications in 2021, e.g., “How-to Guide on Hydropower and,Indigenous Peoples (91p).” Its expenditures in 2020 amounted to $1.75M. 29. International Solar Energy Society (1954 Freiburg, Germany) ISES has members in more than 110 countries, global contacts and partners in over 50 countries with thousands of associate members, and almost 100 company and institutional members throughout the world. Young ISES, a network of students and young professional ISES members, is now connecting young solar professionals worldwide. The Society’s board is broadly international. Launched Solar Energy Advances journal in 2021. 30. World Bioenergy Association (2009, Stockholm) The mission of the association is to “promote the increasing utilization of bioenergy globally in an efficient and sustainable way and to support the business environment for the bioenergy companies.” The association's members include bioenergy organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals. Membership is primarily European, although New Zealand and Indonesia are both represented. Publishes reports, positions papers, and, irregularly, Bioenergy Magazine. Financial data is available only on request. 31. Geothermal Rising (1972, Mount Laurel NJ) While geothermal rising is a small organization, it asserts that it is the oldest geothermal association. It hosts 75 videos in the geothermal field, e.g., Retrofit of Mature Marginal Oilfields in the Peruvian Jungle into Geothermal. The Geothermal Rising Industry Directory is a comprehensive listing of geothermal services or equipment providers - not limited to the organization’s membership alone. 32. Clean Energy States Alliance [CESA] (2002, Montpelier VT, USA) CESA sees itself as a leading bipartisan US coalition of state energy organizations committed to the advancement and the rapid expansion of clean energy technologies. Programs include Building Decarbonization; Clean Energy Finance; Energy Storage; Renewable Energy Grid Integration; Solar; and Wind. Issued 17 reports in 2021, e.g., Community Outreach and Solar Equity: A Guide for States on Collaborating with Community-Based Organizations (39p). Its 2020 budget was $1,5M. 33. Center for Sustainable Energy (1996, San Diego) The Center for Sustainable Energy [CSE] is a nonprofit energy program administration and advisory services organization. Works on decarbonization with federal, state, and local governments; utilities and electricity providers; policymakers and regulators; educational institutions; businesses; and community-based organizations. Utilizes software-enabled services to engage in program design and administration, engagement and outreach, demonstration and validation, reporting and analysis. Project example: The Big-Box Efficiency Project (Walmart) to achieve at least a 20% reduction in electricity consumption. Budget: approximately $300M/year. 34. Solar Cookers International (1987, Sacramento) Solar Cookers International improves human and environmental health by supporting the expansion of effective carbon-free solar cooking in world regions of greatest need. “Over 7.7 billion solar-cooked meals and counting!” SCI engages in Advocacy, Capacity Building, and Research. Research tools include 400 designs and 90 historic cooker plans. Budget: Approximately $600K/year. 35. Solar Energy Industries Association [SEIA] (1974, Washington) SEIA is attempting to create the framework for solar to achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners for policies that create solar jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Publishes a variety of information relative to the solar industry, e.g., the Major Solar Projects List is a database of all ground-mounted solar projects, 1 MW and above, that are either operating, under construction or under development. Annual budget: approximately $14M. 36. Civil Society Institute (ND, Newtonville MA) Focused on microgrids to expand and integrate distributed renewable energy sources. Research and education efforts prioritize the support of democratic institutions and citizen involvement in solving problems. Does bi-partisan opinion polling on views related to clean energy in the United States. Annual budget: approximately $1M 37. WindEurope (1982, Brussels) With 400+ companies headquartered in over 35 countries, WindEurope seeks to coordinate and participate in EU-funded projects relevant to wind industry priorities. Projects and topics include grid infrastructure, offshore supply chain cost reduction, permitting, social acceptance, design of 10 – 20 MW offshore wind turbine,s and other market uptake topics. Produces the European wind supply chain map; informs European wind policy through the Technology & Innovation Platform on Wind Energy. Holds an annual conference. Issued 9 thematic reports in 2021, e.g., Wind energy digitalization towards 2030. Leading corporate members pay approximately $575M to join. 38. World Wind Energy Association (2001, Bonn) WWEA is an international non-profit with more than 600 members in around 100 countries. Promote deployment of wind energy technology; supports communication of wind energy actors; influence national governments and international organizations; encourages international technology transfer. Examples of WWEA’s reach: 27 categories of membership; 11 members in Africa; 8 in Latin America; 79 in Asia. Holds an annual World Wind Energy Conference. 39. Fusion Energy Association (2018, Washington) The Fusion Industry Association is composed of private companies working to commercialize fusion power. While its website is unimpressive, the Association apparently advocates effectively for policies that would accelerate the race to fusion energy and closely tracks fusion industry news in the US. 60 members and affiliates contribute approximately $5M annually to the Association. 40. Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Assn (1989, Washington) The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) represents over seventy-five companies and organizations that are advancing innovative, clean, safe, and reliable energy technologies. It has issued 26 reports since 2011, with the Roadmap to a U.S. Hydrogen Economy being the most recent (89p). Six staff members. Budget (2019): $1.6M 41. International Geothermal Association, (1988, Den Haag, Netherlands) IGA is “the world’s largest and unique International Geothermal Association that promotes and contributes to the geothermal development worldwide.” Its 2023 World Geothermal Congress will be held in Beijing. Current projects include The Oil and Gas to Geothermal Connection; Collaboration with the German Corporation for International Cooperation regarding geothermal in Central America; and the GeoFutures Facility with an initial focus on Kenya and Ethiopia. Conclusion It is something of a contradiction to assert that this relatively detailed compilation of a wide range of organizations in the renewable and alternative energy fields is only an introduction to the level of international activity characterizing this space, but we believe that this is an accurate assessment. The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Investment 2021 estimates that $750,000,000,000 was invested in clean energy technologies and efficiency worldwide. That is approximately the GDP of Turkey. The IEA went on to state that this investment: "remains far below what is required in climate-driven scenarios. Clean energy investment would need to double in the 2020s to maintain temperatures well below a 2°C rise and more than triple in order to keep the door open for a 1.5°C stabilization. Moving to a climate-aligned energy pathway hinges on a broad range of government actions, including attention to the financial architecture that can accelerate direct investments in market-ready solutions and promote innovation in early-stage technologies. As emphasized in the new IEA Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050, policies need to drive a historic surge in clean energy investment this decade." In other words, an investment the size of Italy’s yearly GDP needs to be made annually to address the climate crisis. That is one mighty large economic sector, and there is no question that this attempt to map the outline of the important actors in this domain has inevitably fallen short. But it was and is informative. It is also the case that this is somewhat of a “let a thousand flowers bloom” stage in the development of the political economy of the renewable and alternative energy arena. Intensive competition between the various kinds of new energy sources is nascent and will most assuredly be part of the future. Elon Musk’s dismissal of hydrogen as a fuel that can compete with his battery-based vehicles is an example of the sort of rivalry between energy sources we can expect to emerge in full force by 2030. We have not picked any favorites here, although there are clearly technologies that are currently in the lead, e.g., solar and wind. That may all change depending on a variety of factors, e.g., technological innovation, political coalitions, resource availability, etc. So, we are left looking at an extremely dynamic playing field with many highly committed and intelligent players in the game. It’s exciting. It’s evolving. It’s a positive step evolutionarily for humanity and for Earth. Note: Below is a set of European trade organizations and associations whose activities overlap with other organizations referenced above. AEBIOM (European Biomass Association) Bioenergy Europe is the voice of European bioenergy. It aims to develop a sustainable bioenergy market based on fair business conditions. Founded in 1990, Bioenergy Europe is a non-profit, Brussels-based international organization bringing together 42 associations and 135 companies, as well as academia and research institutes from across Europe. EGEC (European Geothermal Energy Council) Based in Brussels, we work with our members on policy, market intelligence, and communication, providing a link between the industry and European institutions. More than 120 members from 28 countries, EPIA (European Photovoltaic Industry Association) 40 national associations are members of SolarPower Europe. We work together to understand the development of each individual solar market, share best practices, and coordinate national and European advocacy activities. EREF (European Renewable Energies Federation). EREF is the European federation of national renewable energy associations from across EU Member States, representing all renewable energy sectors. Solar Heat Europe Solar Heat Europe is the voice of the solar heat industry, actively promoting the use of solar thermal technology for renewable heating and cooling in Europe. With around 50 members in Europe, the organization represents directly or indirectly over 90% of the industry across the value chain. EUBIA (European Biomass Industry Association) European Biomass Research Network (EUBREN) consists of a selection of universities and research centres across Europe. Its efforts consist of promoting and supporting new industry-oriented initiatives in cooperation with investors, and small and large private enterprises. Further Reading https://science.osti.gov/-/media/budget/pdf/sc-budget-request-to-congress/fy-2022/FY_2022_SC_FES_Cong_Budget.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/Consolidated%20FY%202022%20President%27s%20Request%206_16_21.pdf https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/5e6b3821-bb8f-4df4-a88b-e891cd8251e3/WorldEnergyInvestment2021.pdf

Recently, I posted this message for "Elders for Sound Democracy". This is the message of the moment, the urgent news that all of us should be alarmed by: America's Democracy is Under Attack. Fight With Your VOTE!

The Security and Sustainability Guide, at present, describes the activities of over 3,000 organizations that are dedicated in one way or another to the development of a saner approach the management of Spaceship Earth.[1] The Guide details many threats and opportunities facing the world system and identifies hundreds of organizations that seek to address each of them. Many of the conditions of the Anthropocene are grave. Much/most of humanity is not paying adequate attention to these trends. A variety of forces detailed in The Guide – inadequate education and dysfunction of the educational system, war, pressing financial concerns, an information glut worth of distractions, etc. -- keep billions of people focused on the short term. Many/most of the organizations identified and studied in The Guide seek to bring about change in social conditions and public attention to address these planetary pressures. Social change is often described as a slow, iterative process. Full civil rights for people of color in the United States have yet to be achieved, for example, even after the passage of 400 years’ worth of servitude and struggle, Constitutional amendments and widespread statements of support for equality. But I did live through a moment in history that belies the frame of social change as a plodding process. One particular two-year period gives me hope when I think about the possibilities of achieving the rapid changes so desperately needed in this tumultuous era. I was nine years old and living in the segregated South in 1954. The color lines were strictly enforced in Louisville KY as they were anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. Here’s a representative Florida Jim Crow law dating to 1865, which was on the books for quite a while: Negroes or mulattoes who intruded into any railroad car reserved for white persons to be found guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, sentenced to stand in the pillory for one hour, or to be whipped, not exceeding 39 stripes, or both, at the discretion of the jury. Whites faced the same penalty for entering a car reserved for persons of color. Given that African Americans constituted approximately 40% of the Southern population in 1870 and as much as 20% in 1960, strict separation of the races was difficult to achieve. The integration of technological advances and the expansion of the entertainment industry made the wall between white and black in the music industry ever thinner and thinner as the 20th century progressed. Many black musicians, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis (“Satchmo”) Armstrong, Nat King Cole, the Mills Brothers, Lionel Hampton, etc., etc., were widely popular with white audiences, especially outside of the South. In the South itself, “race music, including the Urban Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Swing, Gospel and Dixieland” had a broad following among Blacks and attracted white fans as well. Many factors, e.g., Truman’s executive order integrating the military in 1948 and the overturning of legal segregation in the public schools in 1954, set the scene for widescale cultural change. A great deal of tinder was being strewn across this stage of history. Elvis was the spark. In 1953, an 18-year-old truck driver from Tupelo MS made a birthday acetate for his mother, Grace, in Memphis’ Sun Records. Sun recorded Black artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Parker, and Rufus Thomas. Famously, the white owner of Sun, Sam Phillips, was looking for “a white man who had the Negro sound.” His secretary, Marion Keisker, was the first to record Elvis. She heard something in his voice and delivery that convinced her that Presley had the chops that Phillips was looking for. And the rest is history. By 1956, Elvis had become the first rock ‘n’ roll superstar. As the game changer, the innovator, he was and remains unique, singular. I saw him the day before my 12th birthday in 1956, at the Armory in Louisville, along with about 8,000 other people. That show was a formative experience that changed my life. It showed me what freedom looked like and how it affected people, me included. Seeing him move his body so sensually ignited sexual yearnings in millions of people, especially white people. Elvis’ pelvis took a wrecking ball to Victorian prohibitions. If Elvis was only a white entertainer who manifested the energy of Black R&B and gospel singers and musicians, he wouldn’t have become anywhere near as massively popular as he was. He could also deliver! He was a helluva singer and performer. That the ugly, money-grubbing, capitalist pig, “Colonel” Tom Parker did all he could to squeeze every ounce of originality and integrity out of Presley as an artist was and is very sad. But he could not take away the star’s enduring power and joie de vivre. Of course, Presley didn’t sponsor or author particular pieces of social legislation. In fact, his musical material wasn’t particularly controversial, even saccharine. But his uninhibited and authentic white working-class persona was sensational. It was a radical, non-conforming way to be that encountered sterile and hypocritical sexual norms in particular. Presley became the most famous man on the planet, and he is likely to remain an eternal cultural icon as long as there is recorded history. Looking back on his life as a teenager, the renowned actor, Martin Sheen, describes Presley’s impact: “We worshipped him! He was the first artist who boys and girls loved just the same, just as much. He rose so high, so far, so fast. He changed everything! He changed the entire culture!” Elvis was a cultural orgasm. All this pent-up and forbidden societal desire to Shake, Rattle, and Roll got released into the mainstream of American life by this excitable boy. Millions of teenagers worldwide decided it was time "to move it and to groove it.” I could argue that the cultural world we’re living in is largely the afterglow of Elvis stirring and emancipating a passion that had been too long denied and denigrated. And it all happened in two years. That toothpaste called Elvis has never been put back in the tube. So, what does the first Rock Star have to do with the rate of social change demanded by the Anthropocene? A lot! The Anthropocene needs cultural “educators” of Elvis’ power today. I use the word "educators" deliberately because he taught an entire generation something important about how and what to feel. He informed the inner life and the lived expression of billions of people. Elvis was a citizen of the Anthropocene. But I am aware of no person, group, or movement comparable to him on the 'Cene at present. There are many strong players on the political scene that influence hundreds of thousands of people, e.g., Greta Thunberg and Al Gore. There are and have been charismatic citizens of the 'Cene with great economic power that influence taste and markets, e.g., Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. And, of course, there are some exciting artists and musicians, e.g., Billie Eilish, who capture the imagination of many, and so on. But there is no central galvanizing figure who embodies the zeitgeist in a way that can take us to the next level. Spaceship Earth desperately yearns to achieve the lift-off velocity necessary to escape the nihilistic inevitability created by an increasingly dystopian present. To address the condition of the Anthropocene, our "now" needs to get past our past and take the consciousness of the planet to a deeper and more comprehensive kind of knowing. Once again, the stage of history is set for an even bigger kind of astonishing transformation than the one Elvis ignited. An infinity of futures resides in every second. Good rockin’ is available every night. The moment when great change is possible is always now. [1] This term was originally coined by Henry George in 1879 in Progress and Poverty. Bucky Fuller widely popularized the term in 1968 in his important and readable Operating Manual to Spaceship Earth.

Leslie Gore’s megahit, “You Don’t Own Me,” has been viewed more than 60,000,000 times on YouTube. Here’s some of her advice many parents ought to take to heart: You don’t own me I’m not just one of your many toys Don’t tell me what to do Don’t tell me what to say Don’t put me on display I’m young, and I love to be young I’m free and I love to be free Nurturing children to follow their true calling is our job. We’ve got to live our values in a way that helps them have their own. Demanding that they think and feel the way we do backfires. Ours is an ever-increasingly complicated era. There are many rights and many wrongs and lots of gray in between. To navigate the 21st-century children need to think critically. They need to learn, articulate, and express what they really feel, rather than simply parroting their parents’ list of do’s and don’ts. Rigid, fused families that cling obsessively to whatever religion, politics, and/or tradition won’t cut it today or tomorrow. A strong family is both a wonderful and a limiting context for learning. The role of education is both to make it clear why some family values make sense and to expose children to information, ideas, and horizons that are beyond those present in any family. Compassionate, informed, and skilled teachers are a great family’s best friends. We don’t own our kids. We’re their stewards, not their bosses.

In addition to being a GOP boogie man and an anti-semitic dog whistle, George Soros, 92, is one of the world’s most successful investors. He is also the founder of the Open Society Foundation to which he has contributed $34B. The Foundation is committed to supporting “inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.” This purpose has gotten the foundation kicked out of many places, notably Putin’s Russia, which described it as an “undesirable organization” in 2015. Soros’ Theory of Reflexivity has been central to his financial success and worldview. I believe it is relevant to understanding the dynamics of the Anthropocene. The Theory of Reflexivity’s core is that humanity is incapable of comprehending reality. Humanity’s biases and aspirations distort its ability to know reality. We want things to turn out one way or the other, and we worry about things when they aren’t going our way. Our emotional strata and behavioral activities don’t detract from the existence of reality, but they do, increasingly, affect the nature and character of the reality we’re perceiving. Soros says the “manipulative function” of feelings and emotions impacts the “cognitive function” of seeing what is. The cognitive function is objective and for it there are facts, but the manipulative function wants reality to be what it wishes for or not to be what it dreads. Soros calls the vibratory relationship between the real and the never-completely-able-to-see the real “Reflexivity”. The contradiction between interior perception and external facts creates an interference pattern, a kind of moiré effect. What you see is what you get, sorta. What you see is what you get, sorta. Certain leaders exert a powerful ability to create the reality they want. Steve Jobs, for example, seems to have had enough of a mesmerizing effect on people to “distort” their “reality field,” i.e., the ability to “bend reality to persuade others to accept his ideas.” Charismatic leaders from time immemorial have exercised such powers. Sometimes it works out great for them and their followers, which is pretty much the case with Jobs so far, and sometimes it works out with the followers, in particular, getting the short end of the stick, which is how things are going for Trump and his believers. Soros claims that reflexivity eliminates the existence of equilibrium as a fact. Equilibrium may be the result of the interaction of subjective factors, e.g., hope overcoming fear, more than it is the workings of some abstract mathematical force such as a “returning to the mean.” [An aside that was originally a footnote: “Returning to the mean” seems to have taken on the truthiness of gravity. Gravity can be disproven. Any time an object starts levitating in the surround of a gravity field which should overpower it, we need to rethink the nature of this physical force. (I’m pretty sure this happens rarely, if ever. I haven’t seen it.) Things do seem to “return to the mean,” but certainly not always, e.g., the Roman Empire is kaput, even though it lasted for 500 years. Ditto with the Egyptian pharaohs, who were around for about 3,000 years. These guys are still waiting for the return of their equilibrium.] The chaotic nature of the Anthropocene is increasing the volatility of reflexivity spikes. We are swirling between what is, what we want or fear, and how what we want or fear affects what is. We’re being whipsawed from hither to yon, from pillar to post, from Heaven to Hell, from Now to Tomorrow. We are swirling between what is, what we want or fear, and how what we want or fear affects what is. Knowing that all of us are creating reality may give us a little bit of an edge as this multi-vector merry-go-round spins. It may give us the ability to step back from our immediate reactions to events and trends to gain perspective. Our emotions cause us to react without thinking and feeling things through. Take fear. Knowing that fear is one of the ways that causes us to manipulate reality may give us a little distance from our chronic selves. The chronic self is the one we enact without any realization of doing so. For most of us, most of the time, the reactive self is the only one that exists because we are unaware of reflexivity. So much is changing as the Anthropocene unfolds. So much has already changed. We may be completely sunk. But how would we know?! There is so very, very much that is completely unknown. We have truly become part of the Universe since the beginning of the Anthropocene. We have reached the stars, and the stars are definitely reaching us. We have achieved massive computing power and it’s growing all the time. Who knows what golem, genie or spiritual love will emerge?! Let us take our hearts and minds out of reactivity and develop enough stillness to resonate with that which is unfolding instead of being knocked over by it. Let this be true for me. George Soros, The New Paradigm of Financial Markets, New York: Public Affairs, 2008 The Open Society Foundation Seth Cohen The Troubling Truth about George Soros , Forbes, 2020 Walter Issacson, Steve Jobs, Simon & Schuster, 2011 Adventures in the Anthropocene is my report as a citizen of the Anthropocene. It constains a variety of ideas and information. Politics, Culture, Science, Social Evolution…lots of words like that. Since, I get obsessed about some things, e.g., the 1/6 coup attempt, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These matters seem to me to be significant to the next direction of the Anthropocene. At least that’s the way I rationalize various fixations to myself. My objective is to be adequate to the job of participating in while observing this era to discover what I’m discovering by writing and otherwise symbolizing about it. If my stuff engages some people I get along with, so much the better.

The continued assault on Women's Rights leaves many questions... Sexual behavior, in general, and the sexual behavior of women, in particular, is and will be a factor in all aspects of the Anthropocene. Will we see a overt suppression of the rights of women to have sex outside of agreed upon contexts, for example? Will some version of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale be a future imposed on women by religious conservatives? Or will the expansion of sexual expression that has characterized life in the Western democracies since the wide spread adoption of birth control over the course of the last 80 years maintain the trend line it established, especially since the Roe v. Wade decision gave women the right to abort unwanted children for whatever reason? What impact will the evolution of women’s reproductive rights have on the sexual behavior of many other demographics, e.g., those who aren’t heterosexual? Will gender bending become increasingly commonplace as the Anthropocene unfolds? Will virtual reality alter sexual activity and, if so, how? The intersection of belief structures, legal decisions, legislation, education, technology and other factors is shaping the future of sex.

The unlikely hero... Volodymyre Zelenskyy is a modern day David facing an brutal and amoral Goliath. He's established a new standard for leadership in the Anthropocene: a charismatic man with immense media skills and technological know how who is modeling what it looks like to be a man who seeks to have greater freedom in the future by struggling against an imperialist who embodies oppressive colonialism. I believe that the character of the future will depend significantly on the outcome of this epic battle. Will the Anthropocene look more like the rationality of Denmark or the nightmare of 1984?

This video - a recording of a presentation and discussion of the Anthropocene for Security and Sustainability Guide - provides a good primer on what we're all about here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj_lW9s0Zu0 “Stress on Planetary boundaries drives polarization and conflict.” - Michael Sales, Seeing and Improving the Anthropocene

Columbine, Orlando, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Buffalo, Uvalde...where does it end? Will America’s “frontiersman” myth spread to other societies, especially those where democracy is in trouble? Currently, there is a gun for every resident of the United States, and that is unusable. However, the tensions between Rightists and Leftists are not limited to the United States. The weakening of democratic states and the de facto failure of many societies is leading people to arm themselves worldwide, as evidenced by such horrors as the recent murders of scores of people worshiping in a church in Nigeria on June 5th. Armed militias operating with a high level of autonomy and gangs with guns are prevalent in many societies. America gaining some control over the proliferation of guns everywhere would have some impact on the spread of this phenomenon elsewhere. Conversely, the growing acceptance of mass killings and gunplay in the United States as “the price of liberty” will further green light “solving” problems via violence everywhere. Will the future be even more brutal or will the better angels of our nature start to become more prevalent? Here are a few statistics: Private owners in the United possess about 420,000,000 guns. That’s about 120 guns for every 100 residents. Gun owners tend to be white men without higher educational degrees. “Three-in-ten adults with a high school diploma or less (31%) and 34% of those with some college education say they own a gun; a quarter of those with a bachelor’s degree or more say the same. Among whites, about four in ten of those with a high school diploma or less (40%) or with some college (42%) are gun owners, compared with roughly a quarter of white college graduates (26%). There is no significant difference in the rate of gun ownership across educational attainment among nonwhites. Regionally, Northeasterners stand out as the least likely to own guns: 16% of adults who live in the Northeast say they own a gun, about half the share who say this in the South (36%), Midwest (32%), and West (31%). 44 percent of Americans say that they know someone who has been shot, and another 23 percent report that a gun has been used to threaten or intimidate them or a family member. 6 in 10 Americans fear that a mass shooting will occur in their community… 53 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 17 identified gun violence as a “major worry”—outranking all other concerns listed in the poll. 3% of American adults own a collective 133,000,000 firearms – half of America’s total gun stock. These owners have collections that range from eight to 140 guns, the 2015 study found. Their average collection: is 17 guns each. In the two-day period between 6/3-6/5/22, at least 15 people were shot dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states. So, here’s a hypothesis: There are a lot of people — with relatively uneducated white men, particularly in the South in the lead — that are scared about something and maybe angry about something as well. Given the chaotic nature of the Anthropocene, being afraid and irritable is understandable. Many things are changing very rapidly. I remember when I was in a strange bedroom and a bat went whizzing over my head. Scared the hell out of me! There are a lot of “bats” flying around in the Anthropocene, particularly when one’s interior space is dark and bleak. Let’s look at the dynamics of interracial marriage as an instance of rapid change that could be threatening to people with an affinity for guns. Jack Johnson, the world boxing champion about 100 years ago. He married two white women and had affairs with others. This drove the racists nuts! One prominent Georgian Congressman compared interracial love to “the enslavement of white women.” In a frenzy of fear, 19 states quickly adopted miscegenation laws. Most were in the South. I haven’t researched the topic in any depth, but I’m confident the punishments were severe. In 1967, when miscegenation laws were overturned in the United States, only 3% of all newlyweds were married to someone of a different race or ethnicity. Since then, intermarriage rates have steadily climbed. By 1980, the share of intermarried newlyweds had about doubled to 7%. By 2015 the number had risen to 17%. One imagines that many white men with a high school education or less living in Alabama would find this pretty upsetting. I say this because Alabama didn’t stop banning interracial marriage until 2020. According to polls taken at that time, about 65% of the nation as a totality disapproved of interracial marriage, and one suspects that would be a lot higher in places like Alabama, where the last stand against that kind of love was made. Everyone has issues with the Anthropocene. I bet even Elon is taking antacids. The more issues you have, the more concerning the era is, the more you feel vulnerable, and the more you need protection. But, asking for protection and being vulnerable are macho no-no’s. Nope, you need a gun. Don't Shoot. References: The Pew Center’s The Demographics of Gun Ownership “The gun numbers: just 3% of American adults own a collective 133m firearms”, The Guardian, Nov.15, 2017 American Progress’ “Gun Violence in America: A State-by-State Analysis,” Nov. 2019 NPR’s Mass shootings across the U.S. leave dozens killed or wounded this weekend The Pew Center’s Trends and Patterns in Interracial Marriage, 2017 Wikipedia on Anti-Miscegenation laws Gallup poll: “Do you approve or disapprove of racial intermarriage?” [ND] Masculinity and Gun Violence in the Huff Post (2022) The Great White Hope (1970) [Magnifique!] The Zombie Named Dixie (2021)