The Monkey, the Disease, and the Symptom: An Analysis of the Ecological Crisis

This article provides a profound analysis of the ecological crisis, challenging the widespread belief that climate change is the disease itself, not merely a symptom. Drawing on the work of James Hamilton-Paterson, the text introduces the metaphor of the monkey to describe the evolutionary determinants of human motivation in the face of modernity. The author debunks the myth of the dematerialization of the digital world, pointing to the enormous energy consumption of data centers, AI, and blockchain. The analysis also addresses the tragedy of the commons and the lack of transparency in carbon footprint reporting by the military sector. A key conclusion is the need to implement demand-side mitigation strategies and reshape institutional conditions of choice to effectively counteract planetary degradation through an understanding of the laws of physics and entropy.