Reddit reviews The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated Third Edition: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late

Sometimes I wonder about the collapse--will it be the opportunity for the world to return to localized living? Will everyone finally understand that our mother can't keep giving and giving without a point of exhaustion? I feel your pain, I know that settlers with the awareness are also hindered by what they see around them and it's very disheartening when it's your own people doing it. But do remember that indigeneity (or "realness") can be a mindset, not necessarily a point of descent--much like how the imperial mindset (or "the sickness") has effected some of our own as well.
So here's some suggested readings that might inspire you, if you haven't read them already:

Original Instructions

The Secret Teachings of Plants

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

A People's Ecology

We know you're out there. We're doin' our thang. Keep on doin yours! :)

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. First book to ever truly brake down the world paradigm for me. Wouldn't be in this sub without it. Fair warning though, it's got a lot of earthy, ecology stuff in there. Might be too much for people further to the right. If that is your thing though I'd also recomend Last hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann. Good thread, BWT. Refreshing to see this.

Thanks for the thoughtful response! I think this requires an integrated approach. We need to look at what's needed in city life currently and does it take up resources? Same for rural living in an eco village. The idea is to have net netural consumption of natural resources. How can we achieve this? I think as long as we're having this conversation, we're on the right track -- the concern is there.


Studies show that being in contact with nature helps improve health significantly: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp1663/ (check out the health benefits with nature contact list)

By living in the city, this contact will be limited. If somehow, we can maintain contact with nature, net neutral consumption of natural resources, then I'm all for city life, but currently, it doesn't look like that's the solution.


Also, if a person in rural area is living irresponsibly, then they're not helping out the problem any either. So this really requires a mindful approach on everyone's part. Again, I'm just glad we're having this conversation.


By the way, if I may recommend a book, "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," it really looks into our environmental impacts. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1400051576/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1505341040&sr=8-1

I would buy land and books.

With the land, I would set up ecovillages, and I would (also) set aside vast areas where the plants and animals would be able to rejuvenate uninhibited.

I would find like-minded people, and I would ultimately try to integrate them into the enviornment with the wolves and the buffalo and the other animals. Humans can, and have been, ecologically sustainable organisms in natural environments. Not all agriculture is bad. Many Native American groups practiced agriculture in harmony with the rest of the environment.

I am also not against technology. A bow and arrow is technology, any tool that people use is technology. I am, however, against plastics and other harmful chemicals.

I would also build an army with the people who come to live on my land. There is no shortage of people - homeless people, high-school and college dropouts, homeless children, the unemployed, environmentalists, and lots of people I talk to IRL would be down for this idea.

I would learn assorted martial arts, I would teach them to others, and I would have the others teach them to more people, and we would spend a lot of time on it. This would be both for the health benefits and the self-defense benefits. It would be an army of ninjas, who also grow their own food and are self-sustaining. This will be great in case of societal failure or economic collapse. I would also teach/learn as many natural survival skills as I can. The goal of the army would be to establish peace and not wars, and to help people achieve independence (from money, oil, and industry) while also keeping a healthy relationship with the environment and the other animals.

We would also care for our children. We would raise them to be physically healthy and open-minded. We would not overshelter them, or put taboos on their sexuality, and we would make it the job of the entire community (especially the elders) to educate and take care of them. We will not over-shelter them or raise them to be weak. We will teach them how to socialize with each other in healthy ways, in an open, nurturing, loving environment. We'll also make it official policy that everything we do is done with the well-being of the next seven generations in mind.

There are also some books that I would want to buy and distribute. They include Circle of Life Traditional Teachings of Native American Elders, by James David Audlin, The Other Side of Eden, by Hugh Brody, The Conversations with God trilogy, by Neale Donald Walsch, The Art of Shen Ku, by Zeek, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, by Thom Hartmann, A Practical Guide to Setting Up Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, by Diana Leafe Christian, and I'm sure there's lots of other good ones. You should really conduct your own search, but I feel all the ones I've listed have valuable information and the power to change the ideas of large groups of people. Anything on Native American culture, history, and philosophy, or on organic gardening, or self-sustainability in general. I might even set up my own bookstore or library, now that I think about it, and make more money. I'm definitley not against making money, because everyone in our world believes in money and money is power in our society.