Civilization Is an Ecological Phenomenon - Peter Michael Bauer
Photo: Peter Michael Bauer
“I don’t like the term Anthropocene, because ‘anthro’ means ‘human’ and that means [the earth] is a human-changed environment. But humanity didn’t change the environment; civilization, agriculture—those societies are the ones that changed it.
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As rewilding has reached the mainstream (or the word rewilding, anyway), it’s come to encompass many tenets: land conservation, nature immersion and ancestral skills; living off grid; homeschooling and forest schools; even wearing minimalist footwear. (At its most commercial, the term has been used to sell trucker hats and promote vegan restaurants, but I digress.) But the deeper meaning of rewilding—the call for systemic rewilding—is what we should be focusing on, says my guest Peter Michael Bauer, as we stare down an environment cataclysmically changed by civilization.
Peter would know: He was at the forefront of the rewilding movement when it emerged from the green anarchist movement in the early 2000s and is the author of the seminal book Rewild or Die. Now, he’s fostering place-based resilience with his organization Rewild Portland, along with his newly launched The Rewilding Podcast.
Here’s the rundown:
Peter’s recent trip off grid to the Olympic Peninsula and the Makah Museum
Systemic rewilding
What’s wrong with civilization?
The consequences of agriculture and the myth of progress
“There is no collapse. There is transformation.”
Rewild Portland, and why he isn’t living in the woods
Rewilding as a crime?
Peter’s newest project: The Rewilding Podcast
Follow Peter’s work on his website and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Listen to The Rewilding Podcast on iTunes. And don’t miss his upcoming Annual North American Rewilding Conference in Portland.
Editorial note: This episode originally aired on December 26, 2019. It has since been changed to the date of my actual interview with Peter, in order to provide more context for the final season of the show.
If you enjoyed this show, subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss the next one (and don’t forget to leave a rating and review). The theme music is by Paul Damian Hogan.
