Great simplification pulsing lines

Ep 11  |  Rex Weyler

Rex Weyler: “Crisis in the Ecology Movement”

Check out this podcast

TGS11 Rex Weyler The Great Simplification

On this episode, we meet with ecologist, writer, and Greenpeace cofounder, Rex Weyler.

Weyler explains how the ecology movement was hijacked by the environmental movement. How is climate change one of many issues that has a root cause of overshoot? 

Weyler also explores the dangers of relying on hope as a strategy.  Why must we be careful about virtual signalling in the environmental movement, and how can we “sharpen the sword” as individuals?

About Rex Weyler

Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a finalist for the BC Book Award. 

In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles. He served on campaigns to preserve rivers and forests, and to stop whaling, sealing, and toxic dumping. 

He currently posts the “Deep Green” column at the Greenpeace International website. He lives on Cortes Island in British Columbia, with his wife, artist Lisa Gibbons.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

00:40: Rex Weyler books, essays, photographs, Deep Green essays index, Greenpeace: The Inside Story, “What Can We Do?”, Greenpeace documentary

01:39 – Greenpeace

02:11 – Ecology

03:37 – Carrying Capacity

04:57 – Overshoot

06:16 – Homeostasis

06:44 – K-species

08:20 – Mass extinctions

08:48 – Oxygen mass extinction

09:17 – Cambrian explosion

09:32: Phyla collapse after cambrian explosion

11:30 – Shrew-like ancestors

11:55 – Current mass extinction

12:14 – 100x-1000x background extinction rate

12:40 – Importance of biodiversity

13:40 – Ecolate

14:42 – Greenpeace and the women’s movement

15:14 – Sierra Club

16:30 – Our system is based on growth

17:02 – Randy Hayes

18:38 – Quadrupled material consumption rate

18:55 – Increase in starvation

19:41 – Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold

20:07 – Ecological roots in Taoism, Buddhism and Indigeous culture

20:15 – Ernst Haeckel

20:49 – Gregory Bateson

22:06 – Stephan Harding

22:50 – Gregory Bateson Mind and Nature

24:59 – Energy surplus

26:21 – In-group/out-group

27:2 – Exo-energy

30:54 – Upton Sinclair

34:46 – Bill Rees, Vaclav Smil

35:24 – Superorganism

35:35 – Market’s control of the system

38:55 – Social status of wanting

39:20 – Boundaries of wealth

41:39 – Dopamine

47:18 – Greenpeace whale campaign in 1975

49:30 – 1981 Oil tanker test in Puget Sound

53:41 – Bob Hunter – Mind bomb

54:09 – Storming of the mind

56:36 – Signal to noise barrier

58:44 – Extinction Rebellion

58:48 – Fridays for future

1:03:19 – Don’t Look Up

1:05:22 – Virtue Signaling

1:06:40 – Theodore Sturgeon

1:09:02 – We cannot just stop cold using fossil fuels and continue our economy as usual

1:10:47 – Renewable themselves are a fossil intensive idea

1:11:34 – We need to contract our economy

1:11:59 – GDP and materials are coupled

1:12:26 – Decoupling is a myth

1:13:18 – Women’s rights and working against overpopulation 

1:15:20 – 88 Million new humans per year

1:17:42 – Advance policy

1:22:16 – Militarism is a trillion dollar industry

1:23:02 – Schismogenesis

1:24:40 – Rex’s written recommendation to students

Download transcript
Back to episodes
Where Will Humanity Move When the World Gets Too Hot?With Sunil AmrithThe Great SimplificationEp 192 | Sunil Amrith

In the next 25 years, the International Organization for Migration estimates that one billion people will be displaced from their homes due to climate-related events. From island nations underwater to inland areas too hot and extreme to sustain life, the individuals and communities in these areas will need somewhere new to live. Where will these people go, and how will this mass migration add further pressure to the stability of nations and the world? 

Watch nowAug 27, 2025
How Do You Become Who You Want to Be?With Taylor GuthrieThe Great SimplificationEp 191 | Taylor Guthrie

In this episode, Nate is joined by social neuroscientist Taylor Guthrie to delve into the neuroscience of identity, exploring how the brain constructs a sense of self and the implications for our modern societal challenges. They discuss the role of values and personal narrative in identity formation, the impact of technology and consumerism on self-perception, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to purpose and success.

Watch nowAug 20, 2025
The Forgotten Skills of Dying and Grieving WellWith Stephen JenkinsonThe Great SimplificationEp 190 | Stephen Jenkinson

In Western culture, topics surrounding death and dying are often considered taboo and are generally avoided in everyday conversations. But this reluctance to fully acknowledge and integrate death as a natural part of the human experience has rendered us less able to cope with the end of life and less prepared to show up for ourselves and the people around us as we inevitably navigate loss. But what if a more skillful engagement with death and grief could actually offer us a more mindful approach to living?

Watch nowAug 13, 2025

Subscribe to our Substack

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, founded in 2008, that conducts research and educates the public about energy issues and their impact on society.

Support our work
Get in touch
x