Degrowth or Extinction @ecosurrealism@jorts.horse

I returned from #StudyAbroad in #Ecuador and #Galápagos today.

I have a ton to share. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and I'm still processing everything. I'll always remember this trip. I'll likely be telling my grandchildren about it someday. But for this post, I'll talk a little about the #PoliticalEcology of the place.

#Quito is in a difficult location for a city: the second-highest national capital in the world after Kathmandu, Nepal, and surrounded on both sides by volcanoes in the Avenida de los Volcanes. Compounded with extreme poverty and political instability, quiteños are constantly at risk. But I still saw almost no homelessness, and I even saw people dancing, playing, and making music and art in the streets. Usually together, almost always for others. Don't ever tell me that people are inherently selfish again. And, unlike American cities which flatten and mow down the existing geological and ecological space for new development, Quito was the most vegetated city I've ever seen (even deep in the core of the city), and is built around and amongst natural features of the Andean cloud forest landscape.

The Galápagos is a remote volcanic archipelago, a special region of Ecuador but 1000 km away from the nearest land, with almost no fresh water, and had no permanent human population until a few centuries ago. In order to preserve the unique ecosystems of the Galápagos, highly restrictive measures must be taken. Not many people get to go, so I made a conscious effort to keep in mind the people who don't have the same incredible #privilege that I had. Fishing and agriculture are highly regulated, hunting is forbidden, you can't move there unless you marry someone who lives there, cats and dogs must be sterilized (and if there's one thing that stuck out to me right away, it's how much Ecuadorians love their pets). But by and large, galapagueños take those measures. The small cities of the Galápagos rely on non-destructive relationships with the local ecology in order to continue their existence, and do so proudly while providing very safe, relatively comfortable (though far from easy or wealthy) lives for the people. Because the wild animals of the Galápagos is not used to humans being dangerous, they tend to let you approach very closely (although 6 feet is the minimum legal distance for most animals). I don't ever want to hear that humans are inherently destructive to nature again. Nor do I ever want to hear that the much smaller changes we must make to our own economy and society to have reciprocity with the #UpstateNY ecosystem are too hard.

If I'd been born in Quito or the Galápagos, my life would have been very different. But it would have still been a valuable life, rich with experiences. There are countless possible lives I might have had, although I'm grateful for this one. Thousands of real people are currently living such lives. They seemed to me like mostly regular--but authentic and interesting--people with very different #perspectives and #experiences from my own. I wish them all the best.

Now, I'd like to share a one of my favorite photos from the Galápagos. It's a land iguana from the small, uninhabited island of Seymour Norte, off the northern coast of Santa Cruz. For an unknown reason, these iguanas would sell their souls for a yellow flower, or really anything yellow. Sometimes they'll follow you around if you wear a yellow shirt (although I tried it and they seemed too tired). I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the land iguanas themselves are bright yellow.

Earth at night seen from space.

Capitalism & Imperialism

"No War but Class War"
Seen in Naples, Italy

🤘Stitchwork by Portland, Oregon embroidery artist Shana Lee Hampton.
🔗: https://www.instagram.com/shanaleehampton/?hl=en

Photo via Dorkvania Photography
🔗: https://dorkvania.com/portland-street-art-unusual-materials/

The world’s largest lakes are shrinking dramatically. Scientists say they have figured out why. https://cnn.it/3MqvTPI #news #worldnews

write to forest defenders who are *still* sitting in jail!

#StopCopCity

I don't know what the squirrels in my back yard are up to *exactly* but I feel like I'm the one who's going to wind up in jail for it.

this is my favorite art tutorial

Some movements / books mentioned during the event:
- https://www.commonnotions.org/red-media
- https://www.climateemergencyinstitute.com/uploads/Peoples_climate_agreement.pdf
- https://viacampesina.org/en/

#BeyondGrowth

Panel 3 - Lebohang Liepollo Pheko: 'We can stop calling people Vasco de Gama and Christopher Colombus as 'travelers''

#BeyondGrowth #ClimateDiary #degrowth