How can reorienting towards collective communication and cooperation help create guardrails against these ‘darker angels’ of humanity?

How do current economic and political incentives affect the nature of energy science, and what we consider to be ‘truth’ itself?

How might policies protecting against deforestation evolve if societies recognized the irreplaceable role forests play in how water moves on land? And beyond policy, how might reconnecting with our deep interdependence on forests help us rediscover a richer connection to ourselves as individuals?

How might our definitions of wealth change if we were – as individuals and as a culture – to fully appreciate the miracle that is human life and connection with one another and the natural world?

Many of us are unaware of how intertwined our lives are with the water cycle or the ways we deplete and degrade the water resources that we and other living creatures rely upon for our very existence. What might change if we had a deeper understanding of global and regional hydrological cycles?

From island nations underwater to inland areas too hot and extreme to sustain life, the individuals and communities in these areas will need somewhere new to live. Where will these people go, and how will this mass migration add further pressure to the stability of nations and the world?

How do we ground ourselves in biophysical truths while envisioning a system that better serves the planet and its people?

How are identities formed, and how might we take a more deliberate role in cultivating a healthy sense of self – and therefore a healthier way of relating to the world?

Cultural activist and author on the topic of grief, loss, and dying, Stephen Jenkinson, describes how our attempts to outrun death only prolong the experience of grief.

What things in our lives do we treat as disposable when they are cheap, but treat as treasure when they are pricey?

In Western culture, topics surrounding death and dying are often considered taboo and are generally avoided in everyday conversations. What if a more skillful engagement with death and grief could actually offer us a more mindful approach to living?

What concepts could be important for the future, if only we had the right word for them? Here are a few I came up with: natehagens.substack.com/p/missing-wo...

We’re beginning to see that, despite our cultural misconceptions, insects are actually at the foundation of our biosphere, food supply, and nearly every life process on Earth.

What is the “ghost of dopamine past,” and how does it shape not only our individual lives, but our collective economic and ecological behavior?

For the average person, headlines about mounting government debt and surging interest rates often feel like a confusing and concerning trend. What can we learn from historical cycles, global energy dynamics, and the differing fiscal strategies of nations about the trajectory of the world economy?

From the intellectual & ecological to the spiritual & psychological, these ideas might be considered waypoints for navigating the human predicament, and – in aggregate – help build ‘scout teams’ of humans working on the upcoming cultural transition away from infinite material expansion.

Packaging is so embedded in our products and systems that even the most environmentally-minded consumers struggle to avoid it entirely. Yet packaging accounts for nearly half of all plastic waste, contributing to widespread ecological harm and growing threats to human health.

Our culture is marked by information overload, which has been expanded intensely by technology. This makes it difficult to absorb the data, narratives, and headlines we are presented—let alone sort through them and examine what is relevant for the Great Simplification scenario. I hope this helps.

Modern economic structures have led to accelerating ecological collapse, widening inequality, declining public health, and increasing social disconnection. What if the foundational principles of mainstream economics are actually built on false assumptions that obscure the realities of our world?

When stripped away from cultural inertia and sunk cost, what are the things we really want out of a life well lived?

When facing the realities of our world, the urge to drown in grief or shut down into apathy is becoming more and more common. But what if facing our grief is actually the pathway to increasing our capacity to stay connected to and work on the things that matter most to us?

By describing the biophysical reality of our current predicament, my aim is to explore what brought us to this point, but also what we can do as individuals, communities, and as a society to move towards a sustainable future that centers around the wellbeing of the planet and all of its inhabitants.

There’s been surprisingly little attention paid to a basic question: do we even have the technical capability to guide where any of this is headed? And if not, should we slow the pace of innovation until we better understand how these complex systems actually work?

Economics departments around the world teach a narrow boundary narrative of infinite growth driven by consumption and money, which has dominated our culture and unknowingly shaped the way we live. But does this story really reflect our biophysical reality – or the scope of humanity’s role within it?

Today, our biggest national security threats are “actorless threats” – from the instability of our planetary systems to our intricately complex and fragile global supply chains. In this unprecedented landscape, what is required of us in order to keep our citizens safe?

Three years ago, my team and I created a 30-minute movie that provides a comprehensive systems analysis of the human predicament. This beautifully animated film aims to help viewers understand the interconnected crises defining our era. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xr9...

Humanity has globalized everything making countries, businesses, and individuals more connected and reliant on each other than ever before. What have we lost through the globalization process, and how might we fortify our communities by investing in local economies?

The behaviors that the current economic superstructure rewards cannot form the basis of what emerges from its ashes…we require new ways of thinking and living that put us in closer relationship to one another and the planet around us.

Back in November, I was invited to give a 90-minute overview of The Great Simplification at Summit Baja. This talk is one of the best long-form deep dives into the interconnections between energy, the economy, planetary boundaries, and human behavior. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT5d...

With the use of AI becoming more ubiquitous by the day, we must ask ourselves: can our education systems adequately protect children from the potential harms of AI?

In a world grappling with converging crises, we often look outward – for new tech, new markets, new distractions. But the deeper issue lies within: our relationship with energy, nature, and each other.

For the past few decades, fisheries and scientists alike have observed massive migrations in marine ecosystems unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed. What is driving these unprecedented movements, and how are they rippling out to affect every aspect of life?

In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, what kind of human will you choose to be?

How might permaculture initiatives go beyond agriculture to transform some of our largest-scale problems, such as social cohesion, climate stabilization, and even human migration?

Beneath the surface of achievement, autonomy, and external validation, many carry unseen psychological imprints from childhood and culture alike. What happens when we begin to examine these layers and imagine healthier ones?

If we were able to grasp the transformative potential of biodiversity – specifically how it relates to biocomplexity – how might we change our behavior?

With more people on the planet than ever before – with most having constant digital access to one another – there is an abundance of potential relationships available to us. Despite this, there is also an increasing loneliness crisis across global society.

In the aftermath of Europe's worst blackout in living memory, many important questions have arisen, including: what caused such a widespread grid failure, and how can Europe and other nations prepare for the next time an event like this happens?

How can we remain motivated to pursue meaningful work in times when we feel overwhelmed with the fragile state of the world?

As economic, political, and environmental pressures continue to reshape our daily choices, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the era of hyper-consumption that defined the past century is no longer sustainable.

In an age overflowing with information, could rethinking our relationships and incentive structures offer a clearer path forward? How could a shift in social and cultural values play the most critical part in transforming our human system to be aligned with the rest of the biosphere?

Hello Wisconsin Friends! I'll be giving my annual Earth Day talk tonight at 6pm at @uwmadison.bsky.social for Earth Fest. Hope to see some TGS followers there tonight - and Happy Earth Week! earthfest.wisc.edu/events/westo...

The incentives and structures of modern media outlets seem more and more geared towards capturing our attention at any cost. Is there a way to get back to a form of media and journalism that helps us feel empowered, and if so, how do we do it?

As current events continue to accelerate around us, there is no better time to pause and view the rapid changes unfolding around us through a broader, systemic perspective. It’s only by slowing down and adopting this holistic lens that we can begin to meaningfully prepare for what lies ahead.

When we are able to see the full scope of a problem, rather than a fragment, it changes how we respond. What transformations might occur if we could observe the full consequences of our consumption patterns as they ripple across forests, oceans, and the atmosphere in real time?

Many thanks to all those who submitted a video, and the reminder of how many actions are available to us right now to improve the initial conditions of the future.

As we deepen our understanding of the challenges facing humanity, the path from our industrialized lifestyles to ones that respect planetary boundaries can often feel unclear and overwhelming. However, there are already people who have transformed their way of life to do just that.

Language is one of humanity’s most unique and powerful tools. We are amazing at imagining pictures created through words - almost to the point that even the most fantastical things can seem real. But how might this extraordinary ability backfire as we try to chart the course for the 21st century?

What can we learn from those rare individuals who have dedicated their lives to conserving and rewilding the Earth, choosing to invest in nature rather than the next market breakthrough?

What if we could use technology as a tool that helps preserve the values of democracy and increases civic engagement, rather than eroding them? Furthermore, what sorts of people, projects, and policies are already paving the way?