After four years of silence—of soul-searching, survival, and stepping back from the brink—I return to deep ecology writing with a sense of urgency and burden. My essays once poured out like wildfire across a dry forest floor. But the last several years have been too strange, too raw, too dangerous. Now, as planetary boundaries rupture and social delusion festers, I find it necessary again to speak on a variety of topics.
Signs of ecosystem and societal collapse are all around. The climate unravels, forests burn, species vanish, and water and food grow scarce. The biosphere—the thin layer of life that sustains us—is dying by a billion cuts. We are gutting Earth for comfort and profit, and pretending it's normal.
Ecological collapse is intertwined with the rise of fascism, perma-war, and grotesque inequity.
Reality matters. The types of truths found in old oak trees and large intact forest ecosystems. Let me share where I am right now.
I believe in biological sexes as a scientific fact. I have no issue with others expressing their sexual identity however they wish—live as you see fit, as long as you are not hurting others. Just don’t demand I change my language and abandon scientific truth to avoid hurting your feelings.
I have no issue with legal guns either. They’re not going away. But let’s be clear: reducing gun violence starts with treating mental illness and restoring dignity to hollowed-out lives. A society that leaves people isolated, angry, and desperate will always be violent. Give people meaningful work, shelter, belonging—and the guns become less necessary and dangerous.
Unchecked immigration threatens to overrun stable, well-run societies. It also carries deep ecological consequences—more people, more consumption, more concrete, more emissions, and less nature. Legal immigration, foreign aid, and refugee support are essential. But so are walls and lawful deportations. When tech companies use global talent to drive down wages and shut out local communities from the benefits of AI, it’s not progress—it’s exploitation.
AI is here. It is too late to avoid. What matters now is whether it exacerbates collapse—through surveillance, disinformation, and hyper-consumption—or becomes a tool for healing and renewal. I’ve used AI to help write this essay, not to replace my voice, but to sharpen and clarify it. Augmenting my thoughts, not automating them.
MAGA is largely comprised of those who didn’t work hard in school, aren’t particularly clever, and were bullies. The high school tormentors are now in charge, and it’s called fascism. It’s a movement rooted in resentment, fear, and an open contempt for knowledge and caring for others.
Anti-fascist resistance to Trumpf tyranny is the responsibility of all decent, free-thinking, and liberty-loving people.
Yet progressive liberals are becoming just as extreme as those they oppose. They’ve lost touch with working people, pushing rigid beliefs instead of focusing on real-world struggles. Too often, they trade common sense for slogans and empathy for self-righteousness. When winning arguments matters more than improving lives, liberal politics turns into another form of control.
I long for political moderation. At this point, I would describe myself as a Bob Dole Republican. You want a 10% tax rate, I want 6%—let’s compromise at 8% and go have a beer together. I long for that simpler time (excepting the start of bloated military budgets and endless social wars), when policy was hashed out over handshakes, not hashtags.
The center must hold. The extremes—left and right—are tearing the fabric of society apart. We need pragmatic idealism, not purity tests. We need leaders who know how to solve problems, not just perform outrage. Some life-threatening issues may warrant strong responses. Reasoned extremism on behalf of Earth, humanity, kindred species, peace, equity, liberty, and justice for all is no vice.
Every one of these social diseases—fascism, economic injustice, identity tribalism, immoderation, and political demagoguery—are worsened by ecological breakdown. When the climate collapses, food systems fail. When forests vanish, cultures unravel. When we become alienated from the land, we lose each other—and eventually, we lose everything. Our home, our lives, our very ability to exist.
The human family is not separate from nature. We are one and the same.
Be purpose-driven and forward-facing. Move with clarity beyond the traumas you have endured, for me the pain of abandonment and loss by those who said they loved me. Forgive—but do not forget—the treachery of the jealous and less gifted. Let your scars speak for you and move on. Restore yourself as you restore natural ecosystems.
The new pope is onto something. His calls for peace, humility, and care for the Earth and the poor reflect spiritual clarity we desperately need. An end to war and global demilitarization isn’t optional—it’s a prerequisite to funding the health, environment, employment, and education investments needed for a livable future for all.
War must end. Perma-war saps the soul of nations and destroys the natural world. Weapons manufacturers profit while children die. Entire ecosystems are reduced to rubble in the name of power. War is the ultimate ecocide. If we cannot disarm, we cannot survive.
I am a strong supporter of Israel and insist that Jewish pogroms be relegated to the past. At the same time, I strongly support the Palestinian need for a place to live in peace. I condemn Hamas terrorism unequivocally. And I condemn the collective punishment and terror unleashed by Israel upon Gaza. I demand human rights for all—supporting and condemning both sides where needed. Moral clarity requires holding both truths at once.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is no such moral ambiguity. The Russian government is a dangerous force for imperialistic evil, launching a genocidal war of expansion upon innocent civilians. To stand by idly while Russian troops flatten cities is to erase the lessons of the last century. How long until Russian tanks rumble through Paris and London? The future of the free world depends upon resisting Russian, Chinese, and yes, American imperialism in all its forms.
As a failed pacifist, it pains me to realize that in this historical moment, we must fight for peace. To then demilitarize globally once and for all.
Overpopulation and consumption disparities threaten to pull down the entire biosphere and end being. Infinite growth on a finite planet is a mathematical impossibility. Educate girls and boys equally. Provide birth control freely. Tax large families.
We either find balance, or we collapse into nothingness.
Human exceptionalism is more than money and status. It is appreciating art, sport, philosophy, science, family, spirituality, lovemaking, pets, and constant self-betterment. Our greatness lies in what we create and protect, not what we consume.
Reengage with lofty goals: the rights of all humans, ending tyranny, lasting peace, equal opportunity, sharing and caring. End war. Stop ecocide. Reach for the stars.
Protect kids. When you know someone is harming children, report them. Even when frightened. Fully expect blowback and character assassination. Do it anyway, it is worth it. Authorities and media must take every report seriously—investigate thoroughly and refuse the reflex to attack the whistleblower. The vulnerable must come first.
Life can be so beautiful. The sky, the woods, the waters, the kinship of friends including other species—it is all profoundly miraculous. Is it possible we are already in heaven, yet are destroying it out of alienation and greed?
Seek grace and faith, but don’t push them upon others. There may be multiple paths to the divine. What matters is awe, reverence, and service to something greater than ourselves—be it Earth, future generations, or loving gods.
I trust you are somewhat surprised at the opinions expressed here. They fall across the political spectrum, a long-time quest for truthful reality, not ideological purity. And a recommitment to moderation.
We are the Earth protecting itself. Or we are its destroyers. Through my modest work building a global ecological AI, I hope to be on the side of truth, Earth, and life.
Because reality matters. That’s where I’m at right now.
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This is a personal essay and not the viewpoint of my employer.
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Climate, Ecology, War and More by Dr. Glen Barry
