A Personal Reflection: California Dreamin'

Haunted by The Mamas & The Papas

Before this all kicked off, I downloaded “California Dreamin’”

All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is gray (and the sky is gray)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)

These lines haunt me. Safe and warm? In LA? I mean I guess that was the conventional wisdom and why millions flooded the city, building out suburb after suburb. The inevitable collapse has come to roost. And to be clear, I take no joy in that. But its worth marveling at a certain preposterousness of it all that’s only clear, to me anyways, now that the fires are burning. California has a water shortage, at least partially attributed (so it is said in hushed whispers) due to some almond magnates. We’ve all heard of how the hydrants ran dry as the firefighters were out carrying out their essential duties.

California Dreamin’ gets at the essential dream that was California. The past tense feels like it’s of the moment. That dream is gone and perhaps something new is taking its stead. But, yes, I myself was drawn to it, spending my 21st Christmas in Death Valley near a date farm. I drove through the sierras, spent the night at a cattle-ranch-college, and bathed in the state’s many natural hot springs. The natural splendor of the state remains, true, but one has to wonder: what role does the urban play in a state so quintessentially known for its natural treasures?

Esteemed biologist E.O. Wilson might have a proposal worth listening to. It’s called the “Half-Earth”. According to the E.O Wilson foundation:

In order to safeguard a sufficient number of species to protect global biodiversity, including humanity, the late American biologist, E.O. Wilson and a new generation of scientists, ecologists, and conservationists concluded that we must set aside roughly half of Earth’s land and seas for nature, known as the principle of “Half-Earth.”

Perhaps the Palisades and Altadena are some of the first places where we can experiment with handing over the reigns to the biosphere. Doing so requires being attentive to the questions of equity and care for its former inhabitants. But in an era increasingly defined by climate refugeeism, we must learn as a society to care for those displaced by the historical foibles of the anthropocene. No affected individual, really, is to blame for the hubris that was planned into the essential layout of LA. However in the dream of Half-Earth, we become cozy neighbors rich with parklands and wildlife refuges.

As I think about this, I can’t help but reflect on how tired everyone seems to be and myself especially. Today marks two weeks of organizing and map-making, but it feels like it’s been a lifetime already. The signal channels are eerily silent. The discords are more active, as they work away at their mutual aid plans. I stayed up all night creating simulators and optimization algorithms for warehouse logistics for a food justice organization. I fashioned it a baby cybersyn for LA and indeed I created a tool for AI-enabled Viable System Model mapping. I can’t quite believe I can put together these tools over the span of an hour or two, but this is the power I’ve gained coding with AI agents. You become accustomed to such speed that everything else seems to be crawling. And that’s not good when you’re organizing, working at the pace of people. I’ve been overbearing and eager to jump into things too quickly because of this—I’m accustomed to the speed of AI now, and expect everything I imagine to occur instantaneously.

But growth, rebuilding, recovery, of the flora and fauna of affected LA, this will take time. You can’t AI your way to Half-Earth…. right? But what of the platforms for organizing that might get you there. Here AI holds more currency, though not with many organizers who foreswear it entirely. That’s fair. How many gallons of water are not wasted so a 10th grader can cheat on an essay? But when it comes to building infrastructure, it’s so generative, so instantaneous, so giving of complex solutions, that it feels like a paradigm shift that could have vast ripple effects. Indeed, we’ve already seen this in a way with FireAid. It would never have been possible to spin it up in such short order without Cursor.

As I said, I’m tired. I didn’t sleep enough, and that’s a recurring theme these last 2 weeks of organizing. I know I’m not alone—many sleepless night for many as this new administration ascends. All the more reason we need mutual aid: to look out for one another when government is slowly turning its back on its people, especially its most vulnerable. I see a beautiful future ahead where mutual aid systems allow for the kind of coordinated restoration that Half-Earth calls for. Perhaps AI systems and optimizers like the one I built last night will have a key role to play in redressing the horrors of the anthropocene.

Stay tuned.