Biocentric

Max Wilbert
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Frontline struggles for environmental justice in a world spiraling deeper into ecological crisis. maxwilbert.substack.com

  1. 29 July

    AI, Surveillance, and State Repression

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance to empire. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the work you see here, receive access to rare private posts with behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. Earlier today I hosted a live stream with Justin McAffee of Collapse Curriculum. We took audience questions and especially focused on AI and the difference between “mass surveillance” and “mass spying.” We also discussed how to keep ourselves safer in this age of surveillance. Then, we discussed how I’m losing my f*****g mind in this culture that takes no action in the face of the largest polycrisis in human history. This led to a discussion on the importance of action, courage, and risk-taking, and the difference between real resistance — which has real consequences — and resilience work, which is important, but which generally does not. I also shared the distinction between sustaining, shaping, and decisive action. And, I encouraged people who live nearby to join me on Sunday, August 2nd, at a threatened old-growth forest near Eugene, OR. Thank you Charlotte Del Signore, Jeanne Elbe, Karen RN, Brooke, Erin Q., and many others for tuning into my live video with Justin McAffee! Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. I’m not on social media, so I rely on readers to share. What’s Next * Too much awareness, not enough action: a reflection on journalism, storytelling, and “raising awareness.” * Confronting the nuclear power myth. * Another piece on my favorite topic: eco-sabotage. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

  2. 17 June

    Mutual Aid and Community Sufficiency

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance to empire. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the work you see here, receive access to rare private posts with behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. I can’t do this without support for readers, so thank you! On June 16th, we held a live stream conversation between Justin McAffee of Collapse Curriculum, Margi Prideaux, PhD of Radically Local, and myself. The three of us have been in dialogue about our work for some time now, and although our frameworks overlap, we tend to have different focal points, which means that dialogue and reading each other’s work has been particularly fruitful. Our live streamed conversation covered a wide range of topics related to ecological collapse and the ongoing fracturing of the support system upon which our economies, governments, and societies rest. In particular, we focused on Margi’s background as a climate and biodiversity negotiator and her transition to small-scale, community-based, and non-commodified food production in rural Australia in response to wildfires and the climate crisis. Margi shared how she approaches conversations across political differences as a foundation for place-based action. We talked about access to land, commons, and the social and psychological barriers to collaborative action. And we interrogated the parallels between resilience work such as this and serious resistance movements which typically build upon place-based foundations of deeply rooted trust. Although I followed Margi’s work for years and we’ve exchanged notes previously, this was my first time speaking with her face-to-face (albeit virtually), and I found her to be every bit as insightful and fascinating as her writing is. If you’re not already, I would urge you to subscribe to Margi’s Substack publication, Radically Local. Thank you Cain Substack, Gary Hoover, Carol Eaves, Roscoe’s out of nowhere, Nikos Giannakis, and many others for tuning into this live stream. We appreciated the comments and questions from viewers. Please leave any additional thoughts you have, as well as questions, in the comments here. We’ll try to address them in a followup in the future. I’ve left social media to focus my attention on organizing and writing. That means I rely entirely on readers like you to share this content. If you appreciate what you read here, please share on social media, discussion forums, and with friends. Thank you. Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

    Mutual Aid and Community Sufficiency

  3. 10 June

    Prayer Walk on The Imaɬ (Columbia River)

    Julie (Djuli) Lomboy is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and a descendant of Klickitat, Wasco, Chinookan, Molalla, Klamath, Filipino, German, French Canadian and Scandinavian people. She is an assistant teacher at her tribes immersion school where she works with kindergardeners to teach them chinuk wawa, the traditional lingua franca of the region, along with songs, culture, and decolonized curriculum and ways of connecting to the world around them. This weekend, she will begin a protest hike from Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, upstream more than 300 miles to the Hanford nuclear site. Djuli writes: “After spending time along the Rogue River this last summer for several cultural events, my ancestors and mother earth let me know what I am to do next. This hike is to bring attention to the nuclear site that is already leaking, along with the nuclear fission site they want to add and an AI plant. Adding these atrocities to the land around the Columbia is destruction that I can not sit and watch happen.” This walk will take more than 3 weeks, and Djuli could use support along the way. I’ll be joining her for a day or two of walking — as much as I am able at the moment — and she is looking for people who might be able to help us along the way with logistics — housing, food, shuttling supplies, camp sites, and so on. Please get in touch if you want to help. As Djuli always says, hayu masi (many thanks in chinuk wawa). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

    Prayer Walk on The Imaɬ (Columbia River)

  4. 6 May

    Oregon Politics: Dark Money, Old-Growth Logging, Offshore Wind, and More

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the work you see here, receive access to rare private posts with behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. From fertilizer shortages to energy disruptions, the systems that feed and fuel the modern world are showing signs of strain. Late last week, myself and Justin McAffee from Collapse Curriculum got together for another live stream discussion. We talked about a range of topics including: * The closure of the Straight of Hormuz and the impacts this is having on oil and gas as well as other industries. Why global supply chains are more fragile than we’ve been led to believe, and how industrial agriculture depends on unstable inputs. What these shortages reveal about the limits of a growth-based economy, and why this is an ecological issue. * A flood of “dark money” that’s flowing into the Oregon county where Justin and I both live to oppose a grassroots initiative to recognize the rights of water and watersheds. * Resistance to planned BLM logging of old-growth forests in this region. * We discuss greenwashing in an op-ed piece, and it’s failed market approach to addressing ecological issues. * Oregon’s offshore wind plan, greenwashing, and impacts to the ocean and wildlife. * A planned prayer walk along the Columbia River early this summer. * We chat about record low Arctic sea ice extents as shared by Prof. Eliot Jacobson. Also mentioned and discussed: * Michael Seebeck on Utilitarian Arguments for Biodiversity Protection * Edge Notes - The Byproducts Problem * Collapse Curriculum - Women are the Heroes of Earth Day * Biocentric - The Closure of Hormuz as (Unintentional) Climate Action Thank you Liz Reitzig, Brooke, Lynn L, Nikos Giannakis, Regi Teasley, and many others for tuning in. THURSDAY: What Revolution? Systemic Racism, Sexism, and Genocide from America’s Beginning I’ll be hosting a live streaming discussion with two brilliant woman, Keala Kelly and Dina Gilio-Whitaker, focused on the racism and indigenous genocide built into the founding of the United States, on Thursday at 1pm Pacific Time. My friend Ben Price will also be joining. Details here. Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. I encourage you to digest this material deeply. Take notes. go for a walk, or discuss with a friend. I’m not on social media, so I rely on readers to share. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

  5. 18 Apr

    Greenwashing and Resistance Tactics with Justin McAffee and Jeff Gibbs

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the activism you see here, receive access to private posts, which contain behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. On Wednesday, myself and Justin McAffee of Collapse Curriculum were joined by Jeff Gibbs, the filmmaker behind the documentary film Planet of the Humans (he writes a newsletter by the same name here on Substack). Jeff has been an activist for many years, worked as a social worker, and assisted his childhood friend Michael Moore with the films Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) before creating Planet of the Humans, a 10-year project completed on a shoestring budget which has nonetheless been seen at least 25 million times. Topics we discussed: * Why “green technology” won’t save us and what actually will. * Censorship and narrative control including how Planet of the Humans was attacked by critics. * Pollution kills 22 million people per year, double the toll of the Holocaust. * Can collapse be slowed or stopped or are we headed for a brick wall? * Permaculture, relocalization, and overshoot — just how far past a sustainable level are we? * Discourse, storytelling, and culture change via filmmaking and writing. * Other topics including CIA assassinations, urban farming, lifestyles for resistance, the secret of powerful filmmaking, the collapse of Mayan civilization, the Fermi Paradox, Jeff’s upcoming projects, and much more. If you haven’t seen Jeff’s film already, it’s free on YouTube: Moore said the following about Planet of the Humans: a documentary that dares to say what no one else will this Earth Day - that we are losing the battle to stop climate change on planet earth because we are following leaders who have taken us down the wrong road - selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America. This film is the wake-up call to the reality we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the environmental movement’s answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. It’s too little, too late. Removed from the debate is the only thing that MIGHT save us: getting a grip on our out-of-control human presence and consumption. Why is this not THE issue? Because that would be bad for profits, bad for business. Have we environmentalists fallen for illusions, “green” illusions, that are anything but green, because we’re scared that this is the end-and we’ve pinned all our hopes on biomass, wind turbines, and electric cars? No amount of batteries are going to save us, warns director Jeff Gibbs. This urgent, must-see movie, a full-frontal assault on our sacred cows, is guaranteed to generate anger, debate, and, hopefully, a willingness to see our survival in a new way-before it’s too late. In other news * Last week I ran an interview with Jeff McFadden on the CELDF Substack, focused on his use of donkeys for transportation, and more broadly on eco-collapse and slowing the hell down. Check it out here. * Christopher Ketcham’s recent piece, “Letters to an Ecosaboteur,” is well worth reading. He should have far more readers here on Substack. Go subscribe. * With drones increasingly shaping modern warfare, those interested in asymmetrical forms of resistance should begin learning about this technology and how to mitigate the risks it poses. This video is a short, accessible introduction. * My friends at Communities That Protect and Resist are teaching a course on “Leading Communities of Resistance.” Details here. * I was interviewed on local radio recently and discussed forest defense and the upcoming rights of nature initiative up for the vote in Lane County, Oregon next month. Here’s that interview: Thank you Prof. Eliot Jacobson, Emmett Tatter, lights out for migrating birds, Randolph Proksch, Anna P, and all of the many others who tuned into the live stream. I appreciate you watching, and please send any questions, comments, or ideas. Finally, the whales If you made it this far, here’s a reward: a video of a pair of Humpback whales, a mother and calf, feeding in the Salish sea, which I recorded last month. They’re doing what’s called “bottom feeding” or “side-rolling feeding,” where they filter feed on small fish, krill, and other creatures living in the shallow water. What a sublime thing to see. Notice the birds coming in to feed on injured fish and other creatures stirred up by the whales. I wasn’t the only one watching; the Bald Eagle, who calls around 3 minutes into the video, was also watching the fracas closely. Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. I encourage you to digest this material deeply. Take notes. go for a walk, or discuss with a friend. I’m not on social media, so I rely on readers to share. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

  6. 2 Apr

    Grand Strategy for the Collapse Era

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the activism you see here, receive access to private posts, which contain behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. Topics discussed in this video * Grand strategy. How the idea of United States democracy is a falsehood and corporations have near total control over policy, and a discussion of a revolutionary and evolutionary path forward in the current moment of ecological collapse. This section takes place in the last 20 minutes or so. * The coming food crisis. Why collapse is actually the most positive possible future and how that collapse can be shaped to maximize positive outcomes and minimize the negative. * Wildfire as rejuvenation. The mythology of wildfires as destructive to forests and the reality of their ecological importance, as well as how fear of fires is being used by the Forest Service logging companies and the mainstream environmental movement to gain public acceptance for exceptionally destructive logging projects under the guise of “forest thinning” for “wildfire resilience,” and how logging releases FAR more carbon pollution than wildfires. * Land destruction. Agriculture as the most destructive force on the planet, including a case study of alfalfa production in the southwestern United States, much of which is shipped to the Gulf countries to feed cows in industrial dairies in sand deserts. * Biocentrism is essential. A discussion of shifting baseline syndrome, the prevalence of greenwashing, and the necessity of a value-system rooted in the land to keep us on track. * The myth of individual choice. How neoliberalism taught us all to become consumers rather than self-willed decision makers in our communities, including the dramatic difference between industrial food production, even “organic” and “eco-conscious” food, and having direct relationship with land. * Connecting to source. The complete disconnection of modern people from the source of life, including a discussion of a visit to Unist’ot’en Camp, an indigenous-led pipeline blockade. * Slow down. The reality that traditional low energy and localized ways of life are not anachronisms from the past. They are the only viable future. * Prepare. The ways in which self-reliance, prepping, and gaining independence from industrial supply chains and capitalism enables and facilitates more effective forms of resistance to undermine and destroy this system. * Take action. The necessity of action, the risks of relying on single charismatic leaders, horizontal organizing strategies, and how to get started. The necessity of direct intervention to halt the flow of fossil fuels, as well as the mining, logging, and other extractive industries, and to build alternatives. Thank you to everyone who attended the live stream. Justin and I are considering making this into a regularly scheduled program, but in order to increase the quality and professionalism of this show, we could use some support. If you’re interested in being part of a production or editorial team for a weekly live broadcast of this sort, please contact me. We may be able to pay a nominal fee. In other news: * If you know nothing about Iran, it’s worth learning more about the culture. There are many ways to do so. Here’s one video from a mainstream perspective: * A friend of mine created a website with online actions anyone can easily take to pressure companies that have contracts with ICE. As far as this friend knows, this is the only website that documents all known ICE contracts. Any feedback is welcome, and you can contact the site creator via their Substack page. This type of virtual action is no replacement for physical confrontation, but pressure campaign can be a potent supplementary tactic provided people engage in them en masse. * Small actions can trigger major ripple effects. In the introduction to this podcast, my colleague Tish O’Dell and I discuss this, with me sharing the example of how a small conversation between me and a friend helped, in a small way, to spark the 2020 Fairy Creek blockade, which became the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history and protected significant stands of old growth forest, and Tish relating how a prior podcast we recorded with a conservation biologist in Virginia led to a vibrant grassroots movement working to protect forests and Terrapin nesting habitat. * A wonderful Biocentric reader commented on my essay from last week, arguing that the phrase “Epstein Class” is less descriptive, precise, and politically useful than using the term “ruling class.” I largely agree, but as the feminist movement helped to teach us all, “the personal is political.” Patriarchy is, I believe, even more deeply embedded than capitalism, and underlies many of the problems we face today. With this in mind, it’s well worth watching this documentary summarizing what is known about Jeffrey Epstein and his links to the most powerful people on the planet: * I conducted an interview recently with Tom Grotewohl, and organizer with “Protect the Porkies” working to defend the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from a massive “toxic waste mine,” as Tom insists that it be called — since the vast majority of what is produces would be toxic waste. * I was interviewed by Bernie Stephen for his new show, Eco-Logic. Thank you Bernie! Apologies for the bad audio quality here. * Some friends asked me to share their latest effort in collaboration with Roger Hallam. It’s called “4 Billion Dead,” and is meant to be a new action network regarding the climate catastrophe. I’ve interviewed Roger previously and respect him greatly, despite some strategic differences between us. This project is worth following. Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. I’m no longer on social media, so I rely entirely on readers to share this content. If you appreciate what you read here, please share on social media, discussion forums, and in direct messages to friends. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

  7. 21 Mar

    Is Collapse Our Best Option?

    Welcome to Biocentric, a newsletter about sustainability, greenwashing, and resistance. I’m author and organizer Max Wilbert. If you want to follow, you can subscribe for free. Paid subscribers, in return for supporting this publication and the activism you see here, receive access to private posts, which contain behind-the-scenes reports and unreleased drafts. Last week, I published a piece on Iran’s closure of the Straight of Hormuz and Iran’s largely unknown eco-feminist movement. Yesterday morning, I discussed that article during a live streaming video. Here’s the recording of that live stream. I especially focused on the topic of economic collapse: its disproportionate impacts on the poor, its ecological benefits, its inevitability, and how we should think about it and respond to it as biocentric people. I’m no longer on social media, so I rely entirely on readers to share this content. If you appreciate what you read here, please share on social media, discussion forums, and in direct messages to friends. Biocentric is a liberated zone with zero AI-generated content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

    Is Collapse Our Best Option?

  8. 6 Mar

    Iran War: Ecology, Human Rights, Asymmetric Warfare, and Anti-Imperialism (Live Video)

    “ Truth is the first casualty of war.” — Aeschylus This morning I was joined by my friend Justin McAffee of Collapse Curriculum to discuss the IOF-US attack on Iran. We covered: * The blatant lies being peddled by the Trump Regime as “justifications” for this illegal war of aggression, women’s and human rights, and parallels with the invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). As Spain’s Irene Montero said: “No woman has ever been freed by American bombs or illegal aggression. Not in Syria. Not in Iraq. Not in Lebanon. Not in Afghanistan. And it will not happen in Iran either. They hide behind women’s rights to justify their colonial wars.” * The human and ecological costs of war, and the US military as the largest polluter on the planet. * Sanctions as a weapon of economic warfare (neocolonialism) which has been responsible for 38 million deaths since 1970. * US and IOF goals: preservation of the petrodollar, decapitation strategy, arming of insurgent groups, and analogues to Libya and Syria. * The US and Israel as rogue theocratic oligarchies, including the influence of AIPAC on US politics and the desire to bring about a holy war, Armageddon, and the rapture. * Asymmetric warfare strategy and the goals of the Iranian Regime. * Military censorship in Israel and across the GCC covering up the extent of the damage inflicted by Iranian retaliation via drone strikes and missiles. * Speculation about the extent of that damage: five F-15 fighter jets, dozens of drones, several radar arrays, and various military, CIA, and Mossad sites hit. As Trita Parsi writes: “The pattern of the Trump administration's conduct - hapless efforts to justify the war, ever-shifting war objectives, exaggerated gestures to signal control - all suggest that, only a few days into the war, Trump has already lost control.” * The “double tap” US air strike on “Shajareh Tayyebeh” (The Good Tree) school in the city of Minab in southern Iran, which killed 165 schoolgirls and staff, and the likelihood that AI chose the target. * The ecological and economic impacts of the closure of the Straight of Hormuz and Iranian attacks on oil infrastructure and transportation across the GCC, as well as skyrocketing oil prices. * The mainstream media’s thirst for war, parroting of government talking points, and alternative news sources worth following in times of war. * Cosplay resistance from Democrats in Washington D.C. who, as they should have, forced a war powers resolution vote they knew would likely fail, yet many Democrats plan to vote in favor of $50 billion in war funding for the Pentagon. Thank you Natalie Brite | DoGoodBiz, Jeanne Elbe, Nikos Giannakis, William E Rees, Trav London, and many others for tuning into this live video. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit maxwilbert.substack.com/subscribe

    Iran War: Ecology, Human Rights, Asymmetric Warfare, and Anti-Imperialism (Live Video)
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About

Frontline struggles for environmental justice in a world spiraling deeper into ecological crisis. maxwilbert.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Max Wilbert
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Max Wilbert
  • Show Website
    Biocentric