I finished "Collapse". It was much better reading than pretty much anything by Paul Ehrlich. It read a bit like a SWOT analysis: evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. I like that framework; it peels away so much judgment and just gets to a baseline. Here we are. We face these threats. We've got these tools. Having been through business school, I appreciate reading case studies. Most of them kept my attention, although Australia got pretty repetitive at the end. (What, the editors didn't make it that far?)
I like it when a book lays out huge, insurmountable problems. They inspire me to tackle them. I look at these things from a perspective of a cog in a great wheel. I'm a cog. What do I do? Make some jam, dig up a bit of sod to make a garden, ride my bicycle or carpool or take the bus, use a CFL bulb. Each thing is so tiny (and there's always more to be done) that I have to remind myself that perfect is the enemy of good. Good is good enough if it's on the trajectory towards perfect. I also liked Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" concept: a few weirdos can become an unstoppable social trend seemingly overnight.
But every now and then it's good to find a Chwal Batay, a "Battle Horse", that can carry a great deal of momentum to get a bunch of people working on a single problem. The term comes from Paul Farmer's quest to end AIDS in Haiti. By getting well-meaning people to fund that, he was able to get an infrastructure in place that provides clean water, sustainable agriculture, public health systems and advocates for environmental issues. All because people want to fight AIDS. The money and attention and effort can do such a lot of collateral good.
One of Paul Farmer's messages, and the one I take from "Collapse", is that it really doesn't matter what chwal batay you take. Work to sustain watersheds. Work to preserve healthy soil. Work to keep forests under sane stewardship. Check out where your copper comes from... and your diamonds. Think about mine tailings and the age of dams and how over-population in Pakistan affects you. It doesn't matter what piece of the puzzle you grab, just grab one and work on it for a bit. Come back and grab another later when you so choose. It's that easy.
But every now and then it's good to find a Chwal Batay, a "Battle Horse", that can carry a great deal of momentum to get a bunch of people working on a single problem. The term comes from Paul Farmer's quest to end AIDS in Haiti. By getting well-meaning people to fund that, he was able to get an infrastructure in place that provides clean water, sustainable agriculture, public health systems and advocates for environmental issues. All because people want to fight AIDS. The money and attention and effort can do such a lot of collateral good.
One of Paul Farmer's messages, and the one I take from "Collapse", is that it really doesn't matter what chwal batay you take. Work to sustain watersheds. Work to preserve healthy soil. Work to keep forests under sane stewardship. Check out where your copper comes from... and your diamonds. Think about mine tailings and the age of dams and how over-population in Pakistan affects you. It doesn't matter what piece of the puzzle you grab, just grab one and work on it for a bit. Come back and grab another later when you so choose. It's that easy.
