Earth and Humanity: Myth and Reality | Earth Day 2021 

Here is time stamp of the various sections, fyi: 0:04 - Introduction 2:20 - Myth #33: The Experts Have ALL the Answers 4:16 - Myth #32: Humans Are Separate From Nature 6:45 - Myth #31: Humans Are Mostly Selfish 12:17 - Myth #30: More Is Better 18:12 - Myth #29: “Someday I’ll Have enough” 21:18 - Myth #28: We Care About the Future 23:38 - Myth #27: Everyone Has Their Own Truth 26:37 - Myth #26: Truth Matters 29:31 - Myth #25: Energy Is Merely a Commodity 34:28 - Myth #24: The American Dream is Based on Hard Work and Cleverness 36:05 - Myth #23: Oil: The USA Will Be the Next Saudi Arabia 41:46 - Myth #22: We Can Always Get More Resources if We Have More Money 44:42 - Myth #21: Renewables Can Power THIS Civilization 50:55 - Myth #20: In the future we wont need oil due to Peak Demand!! 55:01 - Myth #19: We Can Achieve Net Zero!! (by 2050 or any date) 59:54 - Myth #18: As Earth runs out of resources, We’ll Colonize Outer Space!! 1:02:26 - Myth #17: Growth Is Forever 1:05:04 - Myth #16: GDP Is the Right Goal for Society 1:10:56 - Myth #15: Overpopulation Is the Main Driver 1:15:21 - Myth #14: Technology Will Solve It 1:21:16 - Myth #13: The Environment Is Part of the Economy 1:24:04 - Myth #12: The Natural World Is Ours 1:27:03 - Myth #11: Climate Change Is the Core Problem 1:32:44 - Myth #10: Billionaires and Politicians Are in Charge 1:38:56 - Myth #9: Financial Markets Give Us the Right Signals for the Future 1:43:22 - Myth #8: Stimulus Is Permanent 1:48:37 - Myth #7: We Need to Crash the System to Get a Fresh Start 1:52:43 - Myth #6: The Use of Nuclear Weapons Is Unthinkable 1:57:03 - Myth #5: Fossil Fuel Companies Are at Fault 2:03:01 - Myth #4: Capitalism Is to Blame 2:07:54 - Myth #3: Humans Are Bad 2:11:37 - Myth #2: We Face a Shortage of Energy 2:14:17 - Myth #1: We Are Doomed 2:19:56 - Interventions (and Wild Ideas)

A brilliant presentation which should be viewed by millions. Thank you Nate!

A truly fantastic presentation. Deeply profound. I have had a feeling in the last 2 years that we as a species are at a crossroads. I think a spiritual awakening is happening, I think we will all figure out that the simple things in life are most important and thus let go of our material urges. I have 2 young daughters and I love nothing more than seeing them see the wonder in the natural world. My biggest job is to ensure that they respect and love their environment at a far younger age than I ever did. Thank again.

Just to let you know, I used to collect and raise Wisconsin’s silk moths when I was young. They were plentiful. Then most became hard to find. I have been raising and releasing them into the wild for years now, to help keep a population going near the kettle moraine area. Longest RU-vid video I’ve ever watched. And well worth it. Thanks Nate.

I m working in the field of environmental resources management. This is something all human must lesson. I went through it 3 times. Will follow-up adding national figures into the order you are emphasising. Great stuff. Thanks for taking such a dedicated effort.

This makes Jordan Peterson and what he believes to be the main issues of our time sound like cosmetic priorities. Yet reductionist folks like him reach millions instantly and this video has 14k views after 2 months.

Utterly fascinating... I could watch this 100 times and still not take it all in. Thanks for this mammoth effort.

Thank you, Mr Hagens; this was life-changing. After many hours in the "business as usual" sector, I am trying to transition and do something aligned with my values and the actual needs of this world. In the very last years, I was (and still am) lost in this beautifully crazy world. This presentation gave me an intense glimpse of where I want to go; it gave me words to my thoughts and explained what I have so long in my mind. Many thanks and respect for the time that you and your team have spent on this work.

Best dissertation on today's reality that I have ever witnessed. Thank you.

I have just discovered this wonderful presentation (from my perspective as a retired chemical-process-petroleum engineer who has spent his career developing natural gas fields in Australia). I would like to find out more about the background of the author and presenter. I was in the peak oil movement in the early 2000's before it seemed to die out, possibly due to the shale oil techno-fix, and it was supplanted by climate change fear and fear of terrorism (I still believe the war against Iraq had something to do with the overturning of their petroleum fiscal and legal regime to facilitate the entry into that country of the oil majors) This presentation I am convinced is based on all the thinking about energy and limitations to perpetual growth that came out of the peak oil movement. I attended the ASPO (Association for the Study of Peak Oil) conference in Cork, Ireland, in 2007. There, the former US Energy Secretary (James Schlesinger, appointed by Carter) announced "The debate is now over. The Peakists have won". But that was before the revolution in hydraulic fracturing to recover tight oil. Anyway, the author of this presentation is to be commended. It is the best presentation I have ever seen to summarise the human energy predicament.

Well done Nate. For a long time I was active in our local climate change group which is populated by some of Australia's climate change luminaries. For years I continually pointed out to them the myth of infinite growth on a finite planet and that the Earth just doesn't have the resources to meet their bright green desires. Ignored; even though I've worked as an engineer in upstream & downstream oil and gas, chemical industry, hard rock mining and recycling. When I proposed that we advocate for a power grid reliability of 99% instead of 99.999% this was rejected in favour of advocating for "100% renewables" "fossil free". Why? I conclude they are fearful of loss of comfort (many are 60+), fearful for their children/grandchildren and/or simply just a lack of intellect (though they are all 'highly' educated). I fear that nature might not even get into bat with the bright greens, academia, economists and corporations hastening us on to sustainability. As much as I desire to see the economic system implode (break), I would personally prefer to see it bend. However, to preserve some of the planets evolved wildness for 3 generations hence, us oil babies may have to take it on the chin. Here's a wild idea - when we fill our metal beasts up with those fossils, how about we dab the liquid and bless the bowser with a prayer something like "Diesel, you giveth and taketh life" or "Descendants, forgive us returning Nemesis to the planets surface"

My mind is opened and reeling. Your concluding question was what brought me here. This really moved me, Nate. Thank you.

A brilliant presentation which should be viewed byEveryone on the planet. Bravo! This has been a life changing event to me in many ways. I will share it with my family, friends and colleagues.... THANK YOU for doing this.

Great message Nate! The presentation does a good job of synthesizing our current situations, possible scenarios for what the future may hold and what would be preferable, and finally some ideas to help forge the future we desire. Thanks!

Yo Nate, thanks for this well organized and honest outline which addresses our systemic situation. I was particularly impressed by your undemonization of the oil industry and capitalism. Focusing on the 8 billion headed superorganism and it’s consumption patterns is paramount to avert catastrophic earth overshoot. I look forward to more dialogues on The Great Simplification podcast.

Just want to my appreciation for all the work you have had to do, over time and recent... to put this together......

What scares me most is all the comments below indicating people didn't know this stuff. Scary, and explains a lot.

Thank you Nate for this wonderful contribution to better understanding of our predicament.

Awesome presentation! That was a marathon with so many takeaways thank you! As cliche as it may be love will lead the way. We need to feel that beam of energy going through us again. We have so much wasted potential energy.

Nate Hagens once again pours his heartfelt luminescence into this latest presentation. Ours is a complex story which must be considered in its entirety with objective insight, brilliantly presented here. The current human predicament confronts us with the biggest challenges our civilization has ever had to face. But with Nate's unique understanding and explanations of how everything fits together, we emerge much better informed as to our actual opportunities and constraints in order to make better decisions going forward with an eye toward all life on Earth flourishing into deep time. And, as always, he reminds us that the World is not yet fully broken and encourages us to steer the conversation for better outcomes with the acquisition and application of wisdom.

Beautiful. I sent a link to this presentation to my brother, and will send one to a nature-loving friend as well. I think the Biden Administration would love the idea of a Civilian Land Corp. I know I do! Thank you for this labor of love, Nate.

Quite possibly one of the most important programs I’ve ever watched. I will be watching this many more times and sharing this widely with friends, family and students. Thank you for so eloquently tackling this enormously important existential issue.

Brilliant…timely…prescient …compelling…empathetic…Loving…

This is remarkable. So rich in information about the state of our planet. I have been listening to and reading the French scientists for the last couple of years, since I first became conscious of global warming - after retiring. All the while, I could not help wonder what message was being conveyed to our American friends. This answers my question, in part, because we know that very few people are open to these kinds of truths. I know from experience, with my own friends and my own family. I tread carefully and only share on rare occasions. Personally, I find it refreshing and stimulating to get to the bottom of humanity's predicament. What can be done about it, and How, is another matter. But first, I appreciate the story being told with such clarity and lucidity. I continue to follow your podcast, Nate, which is enriching my life and enhancing my understanding of humanity's predicament. Thank you, and keep on telling the truth.

I'll probably have to listen to this twice more to digest it all. Great effort, thank you. To anyone interested in making a positive first step, there's an international organisation called Transition Towns doing the grassroots work since 2006. They have accumulated tons of data on how to transition your own town/neighbourhood to a sustainable and resilient local community. Some are even experimenting with local currencies. These initiatives, IMHO, are far superior to the lone prepper mentality, where every stranger is perceived as a potential threat (after the big collapse). In a Transition Town, most if not all the locals are already on board, or at least aware, that your neighbours have already agreed to help one another through the "emergency period."

You're a gem, Nate. Fantastic mind and the ability to communicate. Thanks for sharing your gifts.

Thank you for this. I get a similar feeling watching this video as I got back when I first learned about peak oil in 2013 or so, from people like John Michael Greer, Richard Heinberg, David Holmgren, Gail Tverberg and more. Podcasts like the C-Realm and Peak Prosperity's "featured voices" were rich in this type of material. For sure we need to prepare for a lower-energy future now, with the resources we have available during this carbon pulse.

I stumbled upon the great simplification podcast a few months ago and was immediately hooked. After binging through all the episodes, I'm so glad I saved this for last. Everything he's saying here I've had hundreds of hours to process and dwell on - making this video truly hit home and galvanise my feelings of understanding humanities great predicament.

Thank you! A fantastic dissertation; lucid and trenchant, including some great challenges for the mind set of us all.

At 16:55 - the value of that personal insight takes many a human a large part of their lifetime to arrive at.....and here one can hear it, even backed up with empirical evidence! Wow!

Absolutely fantastic! I learned a ton. I'm trying to stretch my mind to different perspectives. You did an excellent job of touching on some of the most serious subjects of our time. The big bonus was seeing varied perspectives the major media do not offer. The icing on the cake was that I'm am less of a dooms-dayer than I was (it's a deep hole). I'm going to make an attempt to get my daughter to watch but 3 hours is asking a lot. Have you considered a condensed version? About 3/4 of the way through I thought of The Consilience Project and you teaming up and then I saw the tag on the bottom and.... well, I guess you don't need me to you. LOL Again, a truly amazing job.

That's a lot to take in at one time, Nate, and I've pondered all of this for a long time as well. One thing's for sure, nature always wins in the long run, despite the Planet of the Humans. As Pogo once said, "we have met the enemy, and he is us".

A great presentation. Thanks for your work. I take exception to one point. The idea of bending but not breaking. I’d argue it is naive to think it’ll do anything but break given the data you have presented and current trajectory. Where are those that are interested in enacting these plans? Seems most are blindly chasing the materialism carrot right into the brick wall.

This really was an incredible presentation. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together! This was a real eye opening synthesis of a myriad of topics, some of which have been concerning me a lot - but that I hadn't put togeather or realised how they fit into the "big picture" and others that I wasn't even aware of but make a lot of sense now. I really appreciate the work, knowledge and perspective that you've put into this and am really greatful that there are humans like you out there in a time when it feels a lot like everyone has gone mad. Thanks again!

Thanks Nate! I always come away from your presentations inspired. When I first learned about collapse your presentation about how to enjoy the end of the world was very helpful in getting things straight in my head. I now live by Joanna Macy's quote that 'hope is something you do, not something you have'. Even if we have a rough trajectory ahead of us, and the chance of any one of these wild ideas being implemented successfully is small, I can still put my energy into spreading these great ideas. Not because I desperately hope that it will work, but because it is the right thing to do. Thanks for all you do!

So happy I discovered your site Nate. I will be following you. Thank you for your wonderful presentation

I need the book of this talk. Thank you. I get it. How about a PBS series where each myth is an episode.

Hmm, I was absolutely sure we are doomed, now I'm just really confident we are doomed.

This is an incredibly valuable synthesis. Nate, can you enable closed captions? I'm not too familiar with the uploading, but I think it's a setting that can be enabled for them to be auto-generated, or possibly even to also allow user-generated captions to fix errors in the automatic process.

This is really fantastic! So happy and thankful to have discovered this Thank you Nate You are an inspiration to me 🙏💜🌟

I don’t know how anyone could absorb this in one sitting at the rate Nate speaks but will spend my time to increase my understanding of global complexity and the reality of challenges facing us without reaching despair

If you don't think that someone will sit through this whole video (they 100% should), have them watch just the section between 2 : 34 : 00 - 2 : 36 : 00 .. that 2 minute breakdown is the best summary of our current situation and potential fix I have heard

Thank you so much for this amazing video Nate! I'm sharing it with all close friends and family

BRAVO!

Didn't agree w every detail, but I don't always agree with myself on every detail. EXCELLENT,EXCELLENT food for thought!

Deep respect to you sir for an insightful, inspiring and deeply humane presentation. I will watch it again. Keep up the good work.

Extraordinary work on all facets! Lucidly explained that even an idiot can understand these deep concepts. Keep it up!

Great work combing all the facts together into one clear narrative. Watched it to the end but unfortunately, I did not come out with hope. We are going against more than 100 billion people (past, present, and future) from which only very few are even willing to listen to such ideas, not mentioning doing the hard things like letting go of most of your possession and diet (as you said, the pain of losing is greater than gaining something). Nothing in history or psychology shows us we can change human nature. Whatever coming for us looks to me like a natural conclusion to the great human experiment. And after witnessing what we have done to this plant and all species in it (including ourselves), I'm not sure if it's the bad or the good ending.

“Council of Contrarians”, how perfect a governance idea. A truly wild, along with universal taxation regime, grand first big step. Bravo Nate

This isn't just the best presentation I've ever seen from you; this is the best such presentation on this I've ever seen on this subject period ..... out of several hundred.

Brilliant presentation, had me listening intently from beginning to end. Thank you Nate.

Remembering being asked during an interview "do you see yourself as competitive or as cooperative?" I said cooperative...

Amazing video, so much information density and well organized

Thanks Nate!! Much appreciated

Thanks Nate!

Thank you, Nate. I have shared this lecture with others as it is very informative and necessary to know for our time. Excellent and well done.

This nost be the most underrated video I've watched. I've never learned so much in such a short time. The explanations are clear, simple and backed by facts. Ghe logic is simple too. It makes the brilliance of AI seem cosmetic. These LLM are expensive on energy.

Thanks for sharing Nate!

inspiring as heck, thanks so much Nate

Thank you ! It was worth the wait! Awesome display of insight from Mr. Hagens! Some Trivia: 10:20 reverberates jokes by Bill Burr on Apple/Jobs. I will share widely...

Fabulous job, thank you, your work is important to us all.

It would be so wonderful if you could come to New Zealand to hold some seminars on your incredible insight into our challenging future Our younger generation would so benefit from your in-depth talks of how to solve life’s struggles kind regards from an avid subscriber I also watch Paul Beckwiths RU-vid video too God Bless you and your Family Nate and keep up your wonderful insights into our human behaviours Aotearoa New Zealand 🙏🏼🕊🌏💖

Some fantastic ideas in here. I hope I can help amplify some of this, somewhere, somehow... 🌏💙👍

Nate, I am speechless... that is all I can say trying to express my gratitude to you and all that you do. Thank you for this video. Spreding it as far as I can!

Thanks Nate very much for your great efforts on this podcast. People should not be scared of their governments, governments should be scared of their people. Bill Rees a recent guest on your podcast number 53 thought it would take 10s of thousands of people on the streets (to kickstart change in governments). I would add, and staying there. It's Earth day every day. The living earth needs action now. That's the intervention that's needed to start the serious change needed. Without action there will be no change.

There is no way to love, love is the way!! Thank you Nate, Nomi 💖🙏

Eye-opening and inspirational. Thank you!

Well done - as usual! Thanks Nate - how about adding a link to your follow-up - I can't find it.

I watch this every week since it's release.

Also thanks for bringing in the sacred near the end. Is there a text version of your life ethic that we could copy and paste?

Nice to see the truth being told. Thank you.

Thanks for your efforts.

Nate you're a gem. Thank you for doing this . Love you bro.

>>My God Nate you can go on! But please don’t stop -

My god this is on point

Amazing, truly amazing! A simple summary that deserves to be heard by everyone.

Brilliantly done

Amazing video, still super relevant. Thank you so much Nate!

Hi Nate, may I ask you to load this on the podcast app? I love your work, thanks.

It's also interesting to me how to work with the argument map. You have a list of myths. And it takes 3 hours to go through. OK, good for educating, but not for working with the map. I have (playfully) used gpt to generate a corresponding list of truths (there are some errors). May be we can map those out and collectively go through all that map and generate decisions and solutions. What do you think? Truths (AI generated, by gpt): Sure, I'd be happy to help you with that. Here is a list of corresponding truths for each myth: 1. Truth #1: We have the ability to create a sustainable future if we take action and work together. 2. Truth #2: Humans are interconnected with nature and our actions have a significant impact on the environment. 3. Truth #3: Humans have the capacity for both selfish and altruistic behavior, and our actions are shaped by both individual and societal factors. 4. Truth #4: More does not necessarily lead to greater happiness, and excessive consumption can have negative consequences for individuals and society. 5. Truth #5: Contentment and happiness come from within and are not dependent on material possessions or external circumstances. 6. Truth #6: Our actions today have a significant impact on the future, and we have a responsibility to care for the planet and future generations. 7. Truth #7: There are objective truths that exist, and we can use evidence and reason to uncover them. 8. Truth #8: Energy is a fundamental resource that is essential for human well-being and economic development. 9. Truth #9: Hard work and cleverness are important, but the American Dream also depends on luck, privilege, and systemic factors. 10. Truth #10: The United States is not likely to become the next Saudi Arabia, and oil is a finite resource that will eventually run out. 11. Truth #11: Resource availability is limited, and increasing consumption will eventually lead to depletion and environmental degradation. 12. Truth #12: Renewable energy sources have the potential to power our civilization, but significant changes in society and infrastructure are needed to make this a reality. 13. Truth #13: Peak demand is not the same as peak oil, and energy consumption will continue to increase as the global population grows and living standards improve. 14. Truth #14: Achieving net-zero emissions is a challenging but achievable goal, and it will require significant changes in technology, infrastructure, and behavior. 15. Truth #15: Colonizing other planets is not a viable solution to our environmental problems, and we must focus on creating a sustainable future on Earth. 16. Truth #16: Growth is not always desirable, and we need to find sustainable ways to meet our needs and improve our quality of life. 17. Truth #17: GDP is a flawed measure of societal progress, and we need to consider other factors such as well-being, equality, and sustainability. 18. Truth #18: Overpopulation is not the main driver of environmental problems, and addressing consumption and resource use is equally important. 19. Truth #19: Technology can play a role in addressing environmental problems, but it is not a panacea and must be used in conjunction with other solutions. 20. Truth #20: The environment is not separate from the economy, and we need to consider the environmental impact of economic activity. 21. Truth #21: The natural world is not ours to exploit, and we have a responsibility to protect and preserve it for future generations. 22. Truth #22: Climate change is a significant problem, but it is not the only environmental issue that we face. 23. Truth #23: Billionaires and politicians have significant power, but they are not the only ones who can effect change and create a better future. 24. Truth #24: Financial markets are not always reliable indicators of the future, and we need to consider other factors such as social and environmental impacts. 25. Truth #25: Stimulus can be a useful tool for addressing economic problems, but it is not a permanent solution and can have negative consequences if used improperly. and the final 7 (numbering is off as you can see) Myth #7: We Need to Crash the System to Get a Fresh Start Truth: Don't intentionally crash the system. Work towards systemic change peacefully. Myth #6: The Use of Nuclear Weapons Is Unthinkable Truth: Nuclear weapons would be catastrophic. Work towards disarmament. Myth #5: Fossil Fuel Companies Are at Fault Truth: Fossil fuel companies share responsibility, but we all need to reduce our carbon footprint. Myth #4: Capitalism Is to Blame Truth: Capitalism has flaws, but also drives innovation. Address negatives while harnessing positives. Myth #3: Humans Are Bad Truth: Humans are capable of both good and bad actions. Myth #2: We Face a Shortage of Energy Truth: Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly viable. Myth #1: We Are Doomed Truth: It's not accurate to say we are completely doomed. Positive change is possible with hard work and collaboration.

Hi Nate, brilliant as ever, how is the follow-on video going?

I watched it all, with some breaks. Would recommend it to my friends if I had any. The concept of global organism intriguing. Can it become self aware ? Disagree with the assertion that life is better than no life.

Thank you, I feel so inspired

Excellent presentation!

I committed too soon, anyway the idea that taxiing fossil fuel high but relieving human labor from taxation was possibly the greatest idea I’ve ever heard. My friends and I deliberate on this often but never come up with such a clever concept. I’m in the process of building a business that teaches ways to entertain the mind without technology, wish me luck!!!

I am sooooo glad I found your Podcast!

Thank you, Nate. You are such a provider of qualified insights! 👍🏽💪🏼👍🏽

What an incredible overview of our predicament.

I wish videos would include a bibliography. There are experts in each of these fields mentioned that are worth following in depth, such Robert Sopolsky expertly teaching neurobiology -- how dopamine triggers desire but never satisfaction. Seeing humans as biological beings is so important. I live for the benefit of all beings -- not particularly humans, but I include them, too, although they as a group attempt to control life and in so doing destroy it. If I can help any creature by maintaining a space for wildlife and nature, that is what I do. The show is amazing.

Thank you so much!

One statement that deserves more elaboration is was the one about integrated knowledge in individuals versus collectives. How much does one person really need to understand, if they can successfully build a working team of diverse knowledge experts? Is it truly impossible? Don't the many successful organizations-public and private-and things like armies and other collective enterprises, provide contradictory evidence? Is there more to the story? Deserves more nuance. Many challenges we face exceed comprehensive understanding by an individual, but could possibly be understood by a well-organized team, with a leader who understood a simplified model. Is that what was meant?

Hi Nate. Thanks for your hard work at partially explaining our human predicament. We are in the great unravel of complexity. AKA monkey see monkey do pyramid building. Our collective immortality project is quite a few stories too tall. As Daniel Quinn said we have been using bricks from the lower floors to build it taller. Civilization is a real life human jenga game. Love Rick

Thank you very much. This has been the most loving way to deliver very sobering news. Given the fact that this was published two years ago, looking back, one can see how unimportant these most important issues are treated. Logic demands that this very video should be streamed in all schools all over the world. In reality, the choice of our priorities, fuelling the very process of self-destruction. All change starts at home. Maybe we should use the greatest invention of the universe, our mind, to set new priorities in our personal life. Leading through example must be respected as a true confirmation. Humanity has to have a common goal, for the empowering needed to change from within.

I got a kick out of the movie 'Idiocracy'. Now I realize we are already there.

Awesome work nate 👏 thx from New Zealand 🇳🇿

Comprehensive, Nate. Thank you.

Thank you for your exhausting efforts Nate!

WOW!

Very misleading at 45:28 because the 19 square miles spread of the turbines is to avoid interference (they slow the wind of course) so hardly any of that 19 square miles is used by the turbines and you see photos of them in fields being used as fields all over the place. Granted there'll be access roads but still the %age area used is very tiny. There would be a height restriction such as 100 feet maximum height for tower buildings & trees etc. for 3 square miles of the 19 square miles but the other 16 square miles would be totally unaffected in its normal use so the 19 square miles is totally misleading. Also, I used the biggest turbine blades around for the 3 square miles so it's more likely ~2 square miles. Still, 50% of human energy would need the 12 MW wind turbines along 40,000 km of coastline stretching out 20 km from shore (ranks of 40 turbines at 500 m spacing) which is an humongous presence on the global coastline.

The Money supply issued as interest bearing Debts, drives Growth, probably more than any other factor. A home that costs 300,000 costs two or three times that over the course of the loan. This requires immense amounts of energy to sustain all so financiers can make huge profits. This is to me the systemic common denominator.