All true, of course. But simply talking about “systemic change” won’t make it happen. And proposals for changing it by some version of “storming the castle on the hill” are delusional as well. Mass protest has its uses, but only if (1) the corporate mass media pay any attention to it, and (2) it is not auto-sabatoged by either hotheads or provocateurs attracting media attention through acts of pointless and futile violence — thus stereotyping all other protestors as “terrorists” and rationalizing large scale fascist violence to shut it down. This happens again and again…the “Occupy” movement being only the most recent example.

Real systemic change happens from the bottom up, not the top down. Not, as you note, by simply recycling bottles or making other cosmetic changes in our consumer lifestyle, but by profoundly transformational practices that model a new way of living on Earth that is symbiotic with, rather than parasitic upon, our biological support system. The world-wide Permaculture movement fits the bill — encouraging people to grow gardens, grow community, and grow awareness simultaneously — to learn, teach, heal, and create, and to make the core ethics of Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share the basis of all of our decisions. It may not be enough to stop or even slow the oncoming catastrophe, but as things get worse and worse, more and more rapidly, the last to survive may well be those permaculturists and permaculture communities that have mastered the skills of adapting to, and channeling, ecological succession; those who have devoted their lives to repairing our broken planet, one backyard at a time. Even if this is a futile hope, at least permaculturists will die in peace, knowing we did our best to save our unique and sacred living planet for future generations…