I suppose it is important to remind myself of the consequences of writing about such a large and complex system as the global ecology. There is a certain direction that things are moving, and attempting to abstract away the nature of that direction and articulate it in writing is one thing, but you can never quite get a grip on all of it.
The previous piece on the global ecology was somewhat pessimistic, and considering all available indicators, and historical examples, I think there is reason to remain pessimistic about the general direction that our civilization is going to take, at least if one cares about the existing state of human society.
However there are plenty of things that have been happening for some time now that are somewhat encouraging. All of the biomimicry and systems-thinking that has been advancing in the sciences for the past couple of decades, the re-ascendant spiritual concern for the earth, the cultivation of communities of mutual aid or even self-sufficiency, the efforts to produce technologies that harmonize and even heal natural ecologies, and etc.
There are still some rough things that are going to happen, but it isn't all bad, of course.
