A weird part about minimalism is you get excited about getting rid of stuff that the average consumerism-minded person gets excited about acquiring.
A friend exclaims about getting a new mechanical keyboard, while I express the lightness I feel after selling mine and just using the perfectly fine laptop keyboard.
Do I really need a more visceral keyboard experience or is it just a weak compensation for some other lack or dissatisfaction from another unseen source?
Post-Modernity By Tom Murphy, originally published by Do the Math April 10, 2024
"...We are ripping through key deposits...of non-renewable resources (fossil fuels, aquifers, minerals, metals, fertile soils) on a [rapid] timescale. It’s all anyone alive today has ever known, although the scale is substantially higher today than our elders experienced as kids. Nothing like this can persist into even the intermediate future. Certainly on civilizational timescales (10,000 years since we began agriculture, then cities), the gig is up. Technically, some of these things may be said to be renewable (eventually & slowly replaced), but at nothing near the rate at which modernity consumes (requires) them...
Our capabilities exceeded what evolution prepared the ecosphere to tolerate, so that it’s a matter of deliberately tucking back into ecologically viable profiles, or else let the ruthless process play out, come what may..."
If you want to understand why people choose products that are bad for them, die the environment and are expensive as well, maybe just look at the dish washer tablets.
They take control away from you. They force you to use the same, manufacturer-selected amount of detergent every time, even if your dish washer is half empty and the dishes are almost clean. They also contain a prescribed amount of descaling agent, no matter the composition of the local drinking water.
They are also individually packed into little plastic sachets which tend to be a pain to open, or - if labelled “water-soluble” - they clog up your dishwasher because in effect, they’re not water soluble.
And they are significantly more expensive both per gram or per machine load than normal powder plus descaling agent powder.
From a consumer’s standpoint, there is not a single reason for dish washer tablets.
Yet, everyone buys them and it’s become increasingly hard to get the objectively better and cheaper alternative: powder.
And, of course you know why everyone buys them: They’re advertised as superior and producers make it very hard to get other types of products because they optimise their portfolio not based on what it best for consumers or the environment, but based on what’s best for their baseline.
Take this simple example and apply it to everyday life: computers, social media, cars, ffs even bicycles.
Unfortunately I think I have to replace my Android phone soon, something I'm not excited about. I don't want to have a smartphone at all, but it's hard to not have one with the way things work in society. Extremely annoying and wasteful.
The Story is in our Bones: Excerpt By Osprey Orielle Lake, originally published by Resilience.org March 22, 2024
"...Our extractivist, colonial economic model demands that humans endlessly take more and more from the Earth without long-term considerations. By design, it requires that we exploit Mother Earth and turn her gifts into a commodity. This exploitive economy also takes activities that people used to share and exchange with each other without money, and runs them through this same predatory economic system.
...“Collectively, the indigenous canon of principles and practices that govern the exchange of life for life is known as the Honorable Harvest. They are rules of sorts that govern our taking, shape our relationships with the natural world, and rein in our tendency to consume—that the world might be as rich for the seventh generation as it is for our own..."
"Admittedly, Crazy Town can be a dark place to inhabit – just look at some of the topics from our previous seasons (e.g., Terror Management Theory, ecomodernist fantasies, and accidental self-defenestration, for crying out loud!).
That’s why we’re bringing you “Escape Routes” as the theme of our sixth season, which is dropping Wednesday, March 13.
Each episode this season will highlight how we can escape some sort of destructive -ism, including industrialism, consumerism, urbanism, capitalism, and globalism."
I keep seeing gamers, movie lovers, and anime fans being constantly led down by corporations because the products are progressively downgrading, and they're screwing over their customers with micro-transactions or price gouging.
I always want to just tell everybody that maybe we don't necessary need these things. There are other ways to entertain ourselves and each other that are either cheaper or just free of charge.
Track all 3 back and we get to consumerism; the creation and delivery of dreams and stuff.
Kill the false icon of #consumerism and the rest will follow.
This is why unimaginative comfortable consumerists recoil at the notion of ‘#degrowth’. They can’t think beyond stuff to a more equitable rebalancing of carbon spend.
"A new study uncovers how the interplay between Sargassum spp., plastic marine debris and Vibrio bacteria creates the perfect 'pathogen' storm that has implications for both marine life and public health. Vibrio bacteria are found in waters around the world and are the dominant cause of death in humans from the marine environment. For example, Vibrio vulnificus, one of more than 100 species of Vibrio, sometimes referred to as flesh-eating bacteria, can cause life-threatening foodborne illnesses from #seafood consumption as well as disease and death from open #wound infections.
"Since 2011, Sargassum, free-living populations of brown macroalga, have been rapidly expanding in the #SargassoSea and other parts of the open ocean such as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, including frequent and unprecedented seaweed accumulation events on beaches. Plastic marine debris, first found in surface waters of the Sargasso Sea, has become a worldwide concern, and is known to persist decades longer than natural substrates in the marine environment.
"Currently, little is known about the ecological relationship of vibrios with Sargassum. Moreover, genomic and metagenomic evidence has been lacking as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks into high gear and efforts are underway to find innovative solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health?
"Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and collaborators fully sequenced the genomes of 16 Vibrio cultivars isolated from eel larvae, plastic marine debris, Sargassum, and seawater samples collected from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. What they discovered is Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics and that these microbes might just be adapting to plastic.
“'Plastic is a new element that’s been introduced into marine environments and has only been around for about 50 years,' said Tracy Mincer, Ph.D., corresponding lead author and an assistant professor of biology at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. 'Our lab work showed that these Vibrio are extremely aggressive and can seek out and stick to plastic within minutes. We also found that there are attachment factors that microbes use to stick to plastics, and it is the same kind of mechanism that pathogens use.'
"The study, published in the journal Water Research , illustrates that open ocean vibrios represent an up to now undescribed group of microbes, some representing potential new species, possessing a blend of pathogenic and low nutrient acquisition genes, reflecting their pelagic habitat and the substrates and hosts they colonize. Utilizing metagenome-assembled genome (MAG), this study represents the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic debris.
"The study highlighted vertebrate pathogen genes closely related to cholera and non-cholera bacterial strains. Phenotype testing of cultivars confirmed rapid biofilm formation, hemolytic and lipophospholytic activities, consistent with pathogenic potential.
"Researchers also discovered that zonula occludens toxin or 'zot' genes, first described in Vibrio cholerae, which is a secreted toxin that increases intestinal permeability, were some of the most highly retained and selected genes in the vibrios they found. These vibrios appear to be getting in through the gut, getting stuck in the intestines and infecting that way.
"'Another interesting thing we discovered is a set of genes called ‘zot’ genes, which causes leaky gut syndrome,' said Mincer. 'For instance, if a fish eats a piece of plastic and gets infected by this Vibrio, which then results in a #LeakyGut and diarrhea, it’s going to release waste nutrients such #nitrogen and #phosphate that could stimulate Sargassum growth and other surrounding organisms.'
"Findings show some Vibrio spp. in this environment have an ‘omnivorous’ lifestyle targeting both plant and animal hosts in combination with an ability to persist in oligotrophic conditions. With increased human-Sargassum-plastic marine debris interactions, associated microbial flora of these substrates could harbor potent opportunistic pathogens. Importantly, some cultivation-based data show beached Sargassum appear to harbor high amounts of Vibrio bacteria.
"'I don’t think at this point, anyone has really considered these microbes and their capability to cause infections,' said Mincer. 'We really want to make the public aware of these associated risks. In particular, caution should be exercised regarding the harvest and processing of Sargassum biomass until the risks are explored more thoroughly.'"
Researchers sound alarm after making concerning connection between #plastic and the spread of #pathogens: ‘Urgent need for intensified monitoring’
Story by Juliana Marino
January 28, 2024
"New studies have revealed the dangers of microplastics. These tiny plastic particles are not only a major #environmental threat but also a serious health risk.
"A recent study in the 2023 Volume 2 issue of Eco-Environment & Health has identified the hidden dangers of microplastics spreading in bodies of water.
What’s happening?
"Microplastics are tiny plastic particles — no bigger than 5 millimeters — that come from industrial materials and the breakdown of plastic products. They have become a growing environmental concern due to their widespread presence throughout marine and freshwater ecosystems worldwide.
"The new study reveals the alarming health risks associated with the spread of microplastics. According to the research findings, pathogens can adhere to microplastics, using plastic waste particles as a medium for transmission.
"Researchers who worked on the study underscored the 'urgent need for intensified monitoring of microplastic contamination.' The study also calls for additional research investigations examining the 'role of microplastics in pathogen transmission, along with the health risks that ensure.''
Why are microplastics concerning?
"Microplastics pose severe health risks to living organisms. Scientists have found microplastics in the stomachs of a variety of organisms, from small invertebrates to large mammals like bears, whales, and deer. When organisms ingest microplastics, the plastic waste particles build up and can cause #inflammation, #neurotoxicity, and #GutImbalances.
"From an environmental standpoint, microplastics leach toxic substances into the #soil, #air, and #water. Since microplastics are made of synthetic materials, they do not break down, remaining in the environment and our bodies indefinitely.
"Plastic pollution threatens the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems especially, as scientists have already identified 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics in the ocean. However, the total number of microplastics floating through the ocean is estimated to be much higher.
What’s being done about microplastic pollution?
"Countries across the globe are taking action by developing policies to prevent further plastic leakage into soil and water sources.
"Scientists are also developing methods for effectively removing existing microplastics from contaminated bodies of water. One promising technique uses a magnetic nano-pillared absorbent to extract tiny plastic particles. This approach removes microplastics at a much faster rate than previous methods.
"Individually, we can stop adding to plastic pollution by changing small habits that make a big difference."
Good, groggy morning, fediverse. Today a focused horde of antiques buffs, vendors, treasure hunters and demanding hipsters will descend upon the big warehouse where I toil to purchase refurbished and gussied up miscellany (ultimately creating funding the Oakland Museum of California). This is Preview Day, where people pay $40 for tickets. Give me strength. The Baccarat / JBL / Pyrex / Selectrics are gonns fly! #WhiteElephantSale#consumerism#sparkly#stuff#allTheThings#glass
I'm very excited to announce the first column of my "Decay Theory" series for Atlas Obscura. This one's about the death of the suburban American shopping mall. It's easy to write off the closure of malls as the result of online shopping - but their fate was likely sealed years before Amazon became the brick and mortar shredding juggernaut it is today. Here's the link! https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-life-and-death-of-the-suburban-american-mall
@AbandonedAmerica This is a very original article and topic. Thank you and congratulations.
These abandoned temples of consumption should remind us about how the decadent economic system we live in makes everything disposable, even multimillion dollar shopping infrastructure.
Are you confused about the Stanley cup (no, not that one) craze? Vox's Alex Abad-Santos attempts to break down this bizarre obsession with a fancy water bottle. "Stanley isn’t really into selling people what they need though," he says. "If it were, one reusable indestructible water bottle with a lifetime warranty should be enough."
1/ How to quit capitalism.
by @Daojoan "Let’s start with something controversial: Capitalism is not an economic system. It is a philosophical & ideological force that shapes our lives, environment, & perception of humanity.
It’s a behemoth that thrives on relentless growth, often at a devastating cost. Under its reign, we witness the widening chasm of inequality, where the affluent soar on the wings of wealth while the less fortunate are left to the whims of an unforgiving market.
Our planet, the cradle of life itself, is treated as a commodity, its resources extracted with reckless abandon, its delicate #ecosystems pushed to the brink for profit.
In its unbridled form, #capitalism has ushered in an era where consumerism is king, & possessions are the yardstick of success. In this relentless pursuit of more, we have lost sight of what truly matters — our connection to each other, our harmony with nature, & our sense of #purpose beyond material gains." https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/how-to-quit-capitalism #permaculture#economics
4/ Building Post-Capitalist Alternatives
Democratise Work: Embracing shared ownership & self-management in businesses fosters a culture of workplace democracy & dignity. This model empowers workers, giving them a voice in decisions & a stake in outcomes, thereby actualising cooperative values at the heart of economic activity.
#Localize Production: Shifting to distributed, independent — even solo — small-scale production models strengthen community bonds & promotes shared prosperity. This approach not only enhances local economies but also reduces the #environmental impact of long-distance supply chains, fostering resilience & sustainability.
Scale Down Consumption: Challenging the pillars of #consumerism, such as planned obsolescence, pervasive advertising, and the pursuit of luxury status symbols, is vital. By reducing wasteful resource use, this strategy aligns economic activity with ecological sustainability & nurtures a culture of mindful consumption."... #permaculture#economics
Now is the time for me to obtain a #NAS for some basic backups and archiving (1 like = 1 backup). But first things first.
#Homelab & #selfhosting enjoyers, how deep are your racks? Is 600mm enough? I don't expect to take advantage of cheap fullsize servers since these are usually loud as fuck and this thing will be in my kitchen.