Monday, July 16, 2012

Evolution, Revolution, and the Coming Solar + Vegetarian Revolution

Humans diverged from the apes when we began to walk upright on 2 legs. We then evolved into hunter/gatherers, providing enough energy to grow larger brains and develop tools, weapons, fire, hunting, and food storage. This means we evolved to be able include meat in our diets to better survive scarcity. It does not mean meat is optimal or even necessary today. To focus on the meat-eating part of our evolution is to ignore our walking, food gathering and storage, tools, fire, and shelter-building - adaptations from the same time period. Not to mention our most important asset: empathy, which enables our most important survival skill: cooperation.

Since then we evolved into a technological society with a huge population, all supported by fossil fuels and fertilizer-based agriculture. Drilling & Livestock concentrate this wealth & power for a few of the richest people on earth.

What's coming is a 2-fold revolution (or re-evolution) in human progress. The Solar Age and the Vegetarian Revolution. As fossil fuels become scarce, energy is solar - a distributed and democratic energy source! Farming becomes a photosynthetic process again. Wealth will spread to everyone evenly. Meat-eating will be a sign of gluttony, greed and disease!

Big hugs go out progressive vegetarian Thom Hartmann. I've been meaning to read his book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight which sheds light on our current energy situation, global crises, and how our politics affect our future. Truly a man of vision, compassion, and action!