Resources
Living in the Time of Dying
Facing the truth about climate change
From the film’s website: “Why is acceptance of overshoot, abrupt climate change, and the inevitability of collapse vital for living meaningfully and vibrantly? How did we get here and what attitudes and actions make sense now? Michael Shaw explores these questions through interviews featuring: Author of ‘Deep Adaptation’, Professor Jem Bendell; Dharma teacher and author of ‘Facing Extinction’, Catherine Ingram; Journalist and author of ‘The End of Ice’, Dhar Jamail; and Elder, teacher, author, and Citizen of the Chiricahua Apache Nation, Stan Rushworth.”
Serenity Prayer for the 21st Century: Pro-Future Love-in-Action
This 25-minute video is now the main introduction to my “post-doom” website and resources related to abrupt climate change, ecological overshoot, true vs. faux sustainability, and how to discern what to accept and what to passionately engage in. This short video will also be the main follow-up program to my Zoom and in-person presentations delivered in secular and religious settings throughout 2021.
Facing Adversity: Choosing Earth, Choosing Life
Explores the speed, depth and magnitude of our growing planetary crisis, and the opportunity to meet this crisis consciously. The film begins with a visual exploration of key adversity trends facing humanity (climate change, economic growth, inequity, and more) and offers a wider whole systems perspective and a deeper inquiry into what is being called forth from humanity. Learning to work with this paradox — an unfolding global crisis and the opportunity to awaken to and care for the well being of all of life — is the work ahead. Stories of impact and resilience are woven throughout. The film includes in order of appearance: Duane Elgin, Victoria Santos, Jack Kornfield, Joanna Macy, Nate Hagens, Beena Sharma, Lynne Twist and more. You can watch it here.
Pro-Future (Wise) Living: Beyond Hope and Fear
These two visually rich multi-media videos, created and narrated by Michael Dowd, are a “crash course” in understanding the Big Picture of our global predicament — how we got in this mess, what seems most likely now, and how to live fully and love the life you live in contracting times.
The first video, The Big Picture: Clarity, Compassion, and Love-in-Action, is an 80-minute program focusing on (A) key differences between sustainable cultures and unsustainable civilizations, (B) why progress can never be everlasting, (C) the nature of abrupt climate change, (D) what is inevitable (98-99% certain) and what is still possible and deeply soul-nourishing, (E) who, what, and where we really are, and (F) practical tools and exercises for living meaningfully and courageously in contracting and challenging times.
The second video, Sustainability 101: Indigenuity Is Not Optional, is a 70-minute exploration of the fundamental differences between genuine sustainability (indigenous ingenuity) and faux, or delusional, “sustainability”. The three main sections deal with: (A) the nature of symbolic language and why true sustainability requires being “faithful” to both future generations and to our biophysical creator, sustainer, and end (the biosphere); (B) the evolutionary and ecological purpose of myth and the religious necessity of science; and (C) using Christianity as a case study, Dowd shows how any religious or philosophical tradition can become more pro-future by interpreting its core concepts in an ecocentric (life-centered) way.
RECOMMENDATION: Given the visually rich and multi-disciplinary nature of the information packed into these three programs, watching at normal speed and without multi-tasking (rather than merely listening or skimming) is advised.
The Big Picture: Clarity, Compassion, Love-in-Action
• Where we are • What lies ahead • Practical tools for Thriving in Hard Times
Sustainability 101: Indigenuity Is Not Optional
• Why naming reality matters • Fidelity to time & nature? • Ecocentric reframing
Audio Playlists
Post-doom readings – Hundreds of hours of freely available audiobooks and essays. To learn about these authors and subjects, see HERE. To listen, the audio playlists are on Soundcloud HERE. Those wanting the convenience of having their audio files on a thumb-drive can see here.
SOUNDCLOUD PLAYLISTS: (A) All “Grace Limits / Deep Sustainability / Deep Adaptation” playlists, (B) Post-Doom Soul Nourishment, (C) Jem Bendell & Deep Adaptation, (D) Bodhi Paul Chefurka, (E) Barbara Cecil & Dahr Jamail, (F) William R. Catton, Jr, (G) RIP Homo colossus, (H) William Ophuls, (I) John Michael Greer, (J) Richard Heinberg, (K) Tim Watkins, (L) Edward (Teddy) Goldsmith, (M) Robert Hunziker and Britt Wray and Vicki Robin, (N) John Halstead, (O) Richard Adrian Reese, (P) Paul Kingsnorth, Dougald Hine, and Dark Mountain Project, (Q) Damaris Zehner, (R) Erik Lindberg, (S) William E. Rees, (T) Adam Sacks, (U) Ugo Bardi, (V) Meteorologist Nick Humphrey, (W) Max Wilbert and Adam Sacks, (Y) Walter Youngquist, and Why technology won’t save us or the environment, and, (Z) Dowd & Barlow’s two 2009-2016 podcasts: “America’s Evolutionary Evangelists” and “Inspiring Naturalism“, and Dowd’s two 2011-2015 podcasts: “Evolving Faith” and “The Future Is Calling Us to Greatness“.
Latest tracks can be found below.
Let’s Talk Collapse
Courses
Documentaries
There’s No Tomorrow: Energy and Limits to Growth: (2012: 35 min)
What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire (2011 – 2:05)
The Age of Stupid (2009: 1:29)
Pumped Dry: The Global Crisis of Vanishing Groundwater (2018: 1:04)
Surviving Progress (2011: 1:22) A mind expanding documentary narrated by Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress
Four Horsemen (2012 – 1:39)
Growing Pains: The Ecological Cost of an Insatiable Economy (2019: 48 min)
The Crisis of Civilization – Full Length Documentary (2012: 1:17)
Where Are We Going – Nate Hagens (2018: 1:18)
Blind Spot – Peak Oil and the Coming Global Crisis (2008 – 1:26)
Disobedience (2016 Full Movie: 41 min)
Final Warning Limits to Growth (2015: 42 min)
Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction (2010: 1:20)
The Cross of the Moment – by Jacob Freydont-Attie (2015: 1:24)
Climate Change Film: If You Love Your Children (2014: 22 min)
Facing Adversity: Choosing Earth, Choosing Life (2021: 70 min)
Lectures
The Human Predicament by Nate Hagens (2019)
2020-2030 — Navigating a Path Between Fantasy and Doom by Nate Hagens (2020: 35 min presentation, 35 min Q&A)
Impermanence & Death Resources
A Scientific Understanding of Impermanence and Death as Sacred – Inspiring, evidence-based video, audio, and text resources and rituals related to impermanence, mortality, and death, created by Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow.