michael james ◉●○•°
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ontopunk.bsky.social
michael james ◉●○•°
@ontopunk.bsky.social
Anthropologist and agroforester with over two decades of experience in public health and community organizing ☆ entangledecologies.net ☆
Pinned
To borrow a phrase from science-fiction author William Gibson, “there are no maps for these territories”. Put more bluntly, we’re fucked — but weirdly so. Fortunately, we are not without options.
Global Weirding and Deep Adaptation
The following is a much revised and expanded version of a presentation I gave at the Wyrd/Patchwork #2 event by Punctum, in Prague, Czech Republic on October 26, 2018. The conference was organized …
entangledecologies.net
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
“To be in favor of more sustainable farming is not to be against farmers; it is to be against unsustainable farming practices. To allow these two to be conflated is to lose the fight…”
November 25, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Workers and conventional farmers are integral members of our social fabric.

They (along with the machinations of hyper-wealthy) may ALSO be THE MAIN obstacle to enacting the kinds of change in production and consumption that is required.

A massive rupture of conventional economy is required.
November 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
November 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I just finished the novel The Dark Forest (2008), the second book in the the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy (book one is famous The Three Body Problem).

This story has effected me greatly. I’m feeling very contemplative now.

Maybe I’ll write a review after reading the last book.
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
“From a purely practical point of view, we need to ask ourselves which framing of humanity actually makes a positive difference.” — Maren Morgan
Misanthropy is Bad and Unproductive
by Maren Morgan | Death In The Garden
backloop.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 PM
It’s increasingly alarming just how anti-ecological @markcarneyforpm.bsky.social has proven to be as Prime Minister.

The Liberals will not get the support of those of us who care about a livable future in the next election.

What that means is we’ll have to endure 5 years of Conservatives idiocy.
Liberal MPs express surprise and opposition to reports of pipeline deal
Even if the Carney government and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith come to an agreement, opposition from First Nations and the BC government — as well as existing legislation — create substantial legal ...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:39 PM
“Land is about the relations between the material aspects some people might think of as landscapes—water, soil, air, plants, stars—and histories, spirits, events, kinships, accountabilities, and other people that aren’t human.” — Max Liboiron
The Enduring Fantasy of “Feeding the World” – Spectre Journal
Members of the Agroecology Research-Action Collective argue against the productivist logic underlying the "feed-the-world" approaches to feed security.
spectrejournal.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:23 AM
“This time of chaos can also be an opportunity, a chance to emulate the older cultures that replaced them: those who planted trees in the ruins of empire, who remade the Commons on abandoned plantations, and quietly continued to tend their small forest garden as their ancestors had before them.”
The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe
The indigenous Mesolithic societies of Europe never disappeared: they adapted, and survived in new ways. Their cultures, values, spiritual beliefs, and relationships with the land are encoded in the f...
www.shelterwoodforestfarm.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 AM
"What if, rather than experiencing an overview effect at a remove from the Earth, we were the Earth extending its sensing systems? The Earth watching itself through human culture as a sensing organ..."
(via @beiner.skystack.xyz‬)
The Lifeworlding Effect: A Radical Shift in Consciousness
A guest piece by Alexa Firmenich
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:53 AM
One of the ideas I’m toying with currently is ‘micro-interviews.’

When reading academic papers I always have more questions at the end. Usually, the questions are about practical applications or wider implications.

Would be nice to do 3 question follow-ups with authors, then share them publicly.
November 24, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Just read a dude threatening to “rehydrate a whole Trisolarian in your ass” in the socials in response to another dude… LOL

Brings joy to my nerd heart when people argue via sci-fi lit references.

#ThreeBodyProblem #Trisolaris
November 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
“It will require cooperation and it will require the construction of new ‘markets’ where food is valued for its ability to provide sustenance and nutrition – and as a centerpoint of human culture.”

IMO transitional forms might include diverse mosaics of different regionalized farming system.
New post where I push a little bit further on my previous writing on agroecology being a project of class suicide and why this means small privately-owned farms are not the vehicle of change for agroecology as too often supposed

thestruggleforland.substack.com/p/towards-an...
Towards an agroecological theory of change
Small, privately-owned farms and localised markets can never achieve agroecology, therefore the movement needs a new strategy.
thestruggleforland.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
You ever just sit down and realize that the rise of 21st century fascism is capital's answer to climate change?
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 AM
“Part of the great parentheses of our lives, dawn summons us to a world alive and death-defying, when the deepest arcades of life and matter beckon.”
World at Dawn - Orion Magazine
The pleasure of life rekindled
orionmagazine.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, new research has designed, described and modeled four societal futures that aim to achieve 2050 net zero targets.
New Research sees Policymakers and Academics Unite to Map 2050 Net Zero Scenarios
In a first of its kind collaboration, new research published in Nature Energy has embedded policymakers into the...
ukerc.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"But let us be clear. The conference was a failure. Its outcome, the decision text known as the Global Mutirão or Global Collective Effort, is, in essence, a form of climate denial."
My latest: #COP30, global climate politics, and what happens next — for @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
Full article: Soil organic matter: The heart of soil health www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Soil organic matter: The heart of soil health
Published in Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (Vol. 80, No. 4, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
“Tools to manipulate the central nervous system – to sedate, confuse or..coerce – are becoming more precise..
The same knowledge that helps us treat neurological disorders could be used to disrupt cognition, induce compliance,..turn people into unwitting agents”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Mind-altering ‘brain weapons’ no longer only science fiction, say researchers
UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Farms act as crucial anchors of local culture by preserving traditions, fostering community identity and social bonds, and shaping the physical landscape and local economy.

Farms connect people to the land, the history, and each other, especially in an increasingly urbanized and globalized world.
Community Resilience: Farms as Anchors of Local Culture and Community
open.spotify.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
“Regimes of Futurity: Progress, Catastrophe, and Historicity in the Anthropocene” (2025),
by @martinsavransky.bsky.social

How does the current age of crises call for a rethinking of possible futures?

Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
“The world we are a part of now is difficult to accept, unimaginably difficult. I don’t know if I accept everything even now. I don’t know how I can. But acceptance moves past denial, and maybe there’s defiance in that, too.”
@jeffvandermeer.bsky.social

The whole planet is now AREA X.
November 21, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
Capitalism has created a world of bullshit abundance and artificial scarcity.

Listen to the latest Radicals in Conversation with the authors of Radical Abundance, @kaiheron.bsky.social, @kmilb.bsky.social and @bertrussell.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLrh...
Why Liberal Abundance is Bullsh*t
Capitalism has created a world of bullsh*t abundance and artificial scarcity, where we have too much of what we don’t need and too little of what we do. The system’s pursuit of profits has put us on…
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
“Without permission, we build in the ashes, along the flood plains, and across the fault lines. Disasters keep coming, and we return again and again, not as saviors but as neighbors, kin, and fellow travelers…”
No One Left Behind: A mid-year report from the frontlines of hope
We do not wait for help; we become it. Without permission, we build in the ashes, along the flood plains, and across the fault lines. Disasters keep coming, and we return again and again…
mutualaiddisasterrelief.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:25 PM
“New economic principles are not a luxury that we can ignore at times of fiscal constraint. They are a necessity because orthodox economic thinking has been a key reason for the polycrisis.” — Jasper Kenner
@aberuni.bsky.social
Why the UK should look beyond growth to a ‘new economics’ that works for all
Orthodox economic thinking has been a key reason for the polycrisis
backloop.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by michael james ◉●○•°
In 2016, Standing Rock, North Dakota and the Native-led resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline became ground zero for struggle against fossil fuel infrastructure and ongoing settler-colonial destruction.

The documentary below poetically captures some of the many stories of those involved.
AWAKE - A Dream From Standing Rock
In 2016, Standing Rock, North Dakota became one of the most watched places on earth. Josh Fox James Spione Myron Dewey Digital Smoke Signals are honored to present…
vimeo.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:09 AM