"Collapse” refers to four separate and interrelated phenomena: (1) a human population crash, and a collapse of, (2) various societies, (3) our global Civilization and (4) the biosphere that serves as our life-support system – these four possible events being successively less probable this century. The 'Matter' in the title – the science, or evidence for our collapse - comes from the various trends (of land, water, oil, global warming, etc.) that together reflect an undoing of the fine weave of diverse life in the material fabric of our being. In the coming decades, these trends will overwhelm our ability to feed ourselves.

This discussion is intended less to frighten than, as Thomas Berry put it, 'to fix our minds on the magnitude of the task before us.' The 'Mind' in the title refers to the level of our awareness, consciousness, maturity - individually and collectively - that has brought us to this threshold moment and will likely determine our future path."

PRODUCER: Carleton Schade

Carleton Schade trained as a geologist and has worked for years as an educator. The four pillars of his life are (1) family and friends, (2) meditation and yoga, (3) right livelihood, and (4) research and writing. Some years ago, his eclectic interests were serendipitously fused – in a calling, of sorts – to a project entitled Dieback: The Science and Soul of the Coming Collapse. This production at Poetry Science Talks will be an overview of the Dieback project - focusing on:

The evolution of humanity’s predicament,
The evidence for the likelihood of a population crash in the coming decades,
The arguments against the (material) solutions proposed by analysts, and
A discussion of the transformations necessary for humanity to live sustainably with the rest of life."