Ninety years ago, on this day, May 7th, 1935,
Together, on May 7, 1935 – they signed the “Declaration of Dependence upon the Soil and of the Right of Self-Maintenance.” This entire movement was erased from history books with the passing of the “New Deal.”
see also Holly Buck 2020 on waste
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 309ppm. As of 2025 it is 430ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was endless inevitable growth had come to a crashing end in late 1929. Turns out the future was not going to be brighter/better etc. Various people were thinking also about soil depletion etc etc.
What I think we can learn from this. We don’t cope well with vulnerability – with reminders of our fragility and relative powerlessness, either as individuals or (especially?) as tribes. And we run towards myths of omnipotence and control, and wilfully repress any memory that would leave us scared. Probably should blog separately about this under some glib title about “pandemic amnesia”.
What happened next The New Deal “worked” but the thing that really lifted the US economy out of the depression was all that military spending. The mentality also worked for defeating the Nazis, at great cost. But the underlying will to power? That was safe….
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
May 7, 1966 – scientist warns public about carbon dioxide build-up…
May 7, 2001 – The American way of life is non-negotiable. Again.