The Symbiocene: A Vision for the Future

GloucesterSustainableFuturesConvention2019

GlennA.AlbrechtPhD

The Anthropocene

•   It has been proposed that humans are now living within a period of the Earth's history appropriately named 'The Anthropocene' (Crutzen and Stoermer 2000).

•  The name is derived from the observed human influence, indeed dominance, of all climatic, biophysical and evolutionary processes occurring at a planetary scale.

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Earth Distress = Human Distress

•  Earth distress, as manifest in global warming, changing climates, erratic weather, acidifying oceans, disease pandemics, species endangerment and extinction, bioaccumulation of toxins and the overwhelming physical impact of exponentially-expanding human development … will have its correlates in human physical and mental distress.

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Elyne Mitchell: 'Soil and Civilisation' (1946). “…notimeornationwillproducegeniusifthereisasteadydeclineaway

fromtheintegralunityofmanandtheearth.Thebreakinthisunityisswiftlyapparentinthelackof"wholeness"intheindividualperson.Divorcedfrom

hisroots,manloseshispsychicstability.”

and

“Thecourageousdecisiontobuildcivilizationintoasymbiosiswitharevitalisedworld,possessingstable,healthysoil,clearstreams,unburntforestsanddust-freeair,withpeopleworkingontheland,closetoreality,

wouldbringnewbalanceandnewlife.”

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A Psychoterratic Typology Algias (-) Origin and Year Philias (+) Origin and Year

Nostalgia Hofer 1688 Endemophilia Albrecht 2010

Necrophilia Fromm 1964 Biophilia Fromm 1964

Biophobia Kellert & Wilson 1995 Biophilia Wilson 1984

Ecophobia Sobel 1995 Ecophilia Sobel 1995

Solastalgia Albrecht 2003 Topophilia Tuan 1974

Global Dread Albrecht 2003 Soliphilia Albrecht 2009

Nature Deficit Disorder Louv 2005 Ecophilia and Eutierria Albrecht 2010

Ecoparalysis Rees 2007 Soliphilia Albrecht 2009

Ecoanxiety Various, late 2000s Eutierria Albrecht 2010

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Negative Earth Emotions: Solastalgia

•   SolastalgiaisonenegativeEarthemotionIamwellknownforcreating,

Solastalgiaisanemplacedorexistentialmelancholiadirectlyexperiencedwiththenegativetransformation(desolation)ofaloved

homeenvironment.

Solastalgiais,

…thehomesicknessyouhavewhenyouarestillathome.

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Solastalgia

ButIlostalotofweight.I’dwakeupin the middle of the night with mystomach like that (note: clenchedfist), and think, what am I going todo?We’re losingmoney, they won’tlisten tome, what do I do? Do I gobroke?Ican’tselltoanybody,nobodywantstobuyitbecauseit’srightnexttothemine.WhatdoIdo?AndIwasarealmess.(Dora)

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BengallaOpenCut;ImagebyAllanChawner2008

The Age of Solastalgia: The Elements

•   Earth:mining,landclearing,fracking,urbanisation,toxics•  Wind:megastorms,polarvortexshifts

•   Fire:Megawildfires,harmfulsmoke•  Water:drought,megafloods,flashfloods,acidification•  Climate:alloftheabove,andmore!

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How to Get Out? The Symbiocene

•  Theterm,'Symbiocene',isfrom'symbiosis'whichisderivedfromtheGreeksumbiosis(companionship),sumbion(tolivetogether)sumbios(livingtogether),bios(life)andcene(period)

•  Symbiosisoperatesatmicro–meso–macrolevels.•  IwantedtousetheprofoundlyimportantconceptofsymbiosisasthebasisforwhatIthinkwillhavetobethenextperiodofEarthhistory.

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The Symbiocene

•  TheSymbiocene,asaperiodinthehistoryofhumanityonthisEarth,willchampion‘biomimicry’and‘symbiomimicry’…seamlesslylinkinghumantechnologytostructureandprocessesfoundinlivingsystems.

•  Thisperiodofhumanexistencewillbeapositiveaffirmationoflifeanditofferstheprospectofthecompletere-integrationofthehumanbody,psycheandculturewithnature.

• With10billionpeopleonPlanetEarthby2050,therecanbenocompromise.

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Some Symbiocene Organising Principles 1.  Fullandbenignrecyclabilityandbiodegradabilityofallinputsandoutputs;

2.  Safeandsociallyjustformsofclean,renewableenergy;

3.  Fullandharmoniousintegrationofhumansystemswithbiogeochemicalsystemsatallscales;

4.  Usingtherenewableresourcesofplaceandbioregion;

5.  Theeliminationoftoxicwasteinallaspectsofproduction,consumptionandenterprise;

6.  Allspecies,greatandsmall,havingtheirlife-interestsandbiocomunalpropertiesunderstoodandrespected;

7.  Evidenceofhomeostasisorheterostasiswherestabilityismaintainedandwhereconflictisrecognizedasasub-setofgrand-scalecooperation;

8.  Protectionofsymbioticbondsbetweenandwithinspeciesatallscales;and

9.  Re-establishmentofsymbioticbondswheretheyhavebeenseveredintheAnthropocene.

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The Beauty of Decay

•  InthegoodnessofSymbiocenetime,anew,thinfilmofbenignorganicmicrobiomesubstances(symbiofilm)willcovertheEarth

• AllthatwillbelefttocategoriseandfossiliseinthenaturalandhumanrealmwillbethenaturallyoccurringelementswithinaspectrometerscanandthebonesandteethofpeoplewholivedwithinTheSymbiocene.

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Positive Earth Emotions

WeoncehadpositiveEarthemotionsforfree.

Nowweneedtoactivelycreatethecircumstanceswheretheycanbefreelyhadandenjoyedonceagain.

TheentryintotheSymbiocenewillbethekeyforsuchexperiences.

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Positive Earth Emotions

•  Biophilia•   Ecophilia•   Sumbiophilia

•   Topophilia•   Endemophilia•   Soliphilia•   Eutierria

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Earth Emotions and The Symbiocene

•   TheSymbioceneisamemethatinvitesallhumanstocreateafuturewherepositiveEarthemotionswillprevailoverthenegative.

•   TocreatetheSymbiocene,wemustdismantlethegigantismoftheAnthropoceneanditsparasiticandcancerousformsofgrowth.

•  Wesimplycannotallowasmallminorityinonespeciestocometodominateallelse.

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Some examples: Wheat Bran Tableware https://inhabitat.com/biodegradable-tableware-made-from-wheat-bran-debuts-at-torontos-green-living-show/?variation=d

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Examples: Bricks from Fungi https://www.certifiedenergy.com.au/emerging-materials/emerging-materials-mycelium-brick

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