this informal essay was inspired by Jeff Gibbs’ statement posted February 6, 2024;

I publish this, as per — to be publicly accountable and on record.

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Development is development is development. All development damages the remaining already profoundly fragmented wilderness-ish habitat no matter what kind of development it is — no matter the seemingly innocuous or good intent: a paved bike path through forest, a solar array in the desert, an ayahuasca retreat center on a river in northern Illinois, a new organic farm.

“If you build it, they will come.” And then never stop coming and building.

We must stop destroying land to build more of anything — we must begin to reclaim and return land to nature and welcome, encourage, champion and personally embody the practices of degrowth.

An example of behavior:

“You should build a little rental cottage on your land over there for supplemental income and to sustain yourself through your golden years.”

– no, i will not build anything there ever — that’s where i set out the salt licks for the deer – by the three apple trees; no, that area is too near to where the blue racer lays her eggs every summer; no! as tempting as that false security is, i will live modestly and reject improvements for improvement’s sake — and embrace flaws and maintenance, and do with what i have — or without. this land is not mine; i merely temporarily co-occupy and humbly and gratefully tend and share this land.

also, there are no more golden years — to quote Beatrix Kiddo, “Bitch, you don’t have a future” — do you understand the science, the projections? let me help you to, i want to.

An opposite example of behavior:

There are very few undeveloped wooded or dunes spots left along the bluff of Lake Michigan in the county where I live; but they won’t stop building homes in those precious patches of nature — diminishing access for deer to get to the lake and increasing deer, opossum and owl carnage on the paralleling road. Whirlpool, a local and global corporate scourge, first forced the development of a PGA golf course on forest and wetlands for their executive, upper managerial class and international site visitors; then last year, it encouraged a bike path through precious, remnant parceled woodland and dune to connect their campus to the golf course community.

There is unrelenting construction of new townhouses and houses moving eastward from the harbor near where i live all along the river — many are or will be second homes for seasonal boaters and golfers — or, income properties for short-term rental platforms — while many non human-beings have lost their sole territorial habitat or their migratory habitat — and while many human beings living in the forlorn agricultural areas and in the industry town that once supplied manufacturing labor to Whirlpool, don’t have one, decent, affordable place to call home.

It’s unceasing and simultaneously heartbreaking and enraging.

So few are listening. Hello?

Not enough people in the Western World are willing to abandon their lifestyles — their entitlement to new things, more things, a second home — a third home, to frequent flying, to tourism, to 39 flavors of every animal or mineral in the ocean or on land — on their plates, on their bodies, in their homes.

They can only continue to steal and sell, if we continue to buy and buy-in.

Opt out, instead.

We humans are also Earthlings — we human beings require non-human Earthlings to provide us with “eco-system services” that sustain our very lives. Those non-human Earthlings require habitat to do so or exist as the habitat itself.

Do you get that?

Because degrowth is the only option left.

These words and others’ unread, unheard.

climate chaos

habitat destruction

the sixth mass extinction

We are all so utterly fucked.

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* inspired by Jeff Gibbs