[Silence]
\n[Instrumental Intro: Piano, Deep Sub-Bass Synth, Acoustic Guitar, Organ, Harmonica, Electric Guitar]<\/p>\n
[Intro]
\nHow much is enough?
\n(Enough for who?)
\nHow much can the land provide?
\n(And who gets to stay inside?)<\/p>\n
Count the acres
\n(Count the mouths)
\nCount the water
\n(Count the house)<\/p>\n
Count the children
\n(Count the kin)
\nThen ask the question…<\/p>\n
(Who’s out? Who’s in?)<\/p>\n
[Verse 1]
\nA hundred acres
\nTwenty souls
\nThat’s the number
\nThat’s the goal<\/p>\n
Food and water
\nWood and heat
\nEnough to keep
\nThe whole thing neat<\/p>\n
… add another
\nAnd another
\nPretty soon
\nYou’re counting cousins
\n(Who’s in?)<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nThe spreadsheet grows
\n(The numbers climb)
\nThe land stays put
\n(It’s still the same size)<\/p>\n
You can’t create
\nAnother acre
\nJust because
\nYou need it later<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nWhere to begin?
\n(Who’s out… who’s in?)
\nOnce it’s thought about…
\n(Who’s in… who’s out?)<\/p>\n
[Verse 2]
\nMom and Dad
\n(Bring them in)
\nFourteen people
\n(Here we begin)<\/p>\n
Sister, brother
\n(Bring them too)
\nPartners, children
\n(What do we do?)<\/p>\n
Twenty-five
\n(And counting!)
\nThe gate is closed
\n(The clock is sounding)<\/p>\n
There comes a moment
\nYou have to decide
\nWho gets a place
\nOn the inside<\/p>\n
[Chorus]
\nWho fends for themselves?
\n(Who fends for themselves?)
\nWhen there’s nowhere else
\n(And nobody helps)<\/p>\n
Who gets the water?
\n(Who gets the food?)
\nWho gets the shelter?
\n(Who’s in the mood?)<\/p>\n
It’s easy to say
\n(Everybody comes!)
\nWhen everything’s plentiful
\n(And there’s plenty for everyone)<\/p>\n
But when the limits
\nFinally show…<\/p>\n
(Who gets to stay?)
\n… I dunno just ain’t gonna go<\/p>\n
[Bridge]
\nDo you choose
\nThe oldest first?
\n(The youngest first?)
\nThe ones who work?
\n(The ones who hurt?)<\/p>\n
Do you choose
\nThe strongest hand?
\n(The smartest mind?)
\nThe ones you love?
\n(Or leave the choice behind?)<\/p>\n
What does “family” mean
\nWhen resources run thin?<\/p>\n
Is there an outside?
\n(Is there an in?)<\/p>\n
[Break]
\nWho’s in?
\n(Who’s out?)<\/p>\n
Who’s staying?
\n(Who’s going?)<\/p>\n
Who’s got some?
\n(Who’s got none?)<\/p>\n
Who’s got tomorrow?
\n(Who gets one?)<\/p>\n
[Instrumental, Psychedelic Bluegrass Jam]
\n[Slow-building fiddle, bass and guitar]
\n[Harmonica Solo]<\/p>\n
[Final Chorus]
\nWho fends for themselves?
\n(Who fends for themselves?)
\nThat’s the question we ask
\n(When the numbers don’t match)<\/p>\n
Twenty people
\n(Then twenty-five)
\nHow many can we sustain?
\n(How many survive?)<\/p>\n
And when the capacity
\nFinally ends…
\n(Who’s family do we send?)<\/p>\n
[Instrumental, Whistle Solo]<\/p>\n
[Final Refrain]
\nWhere to begin?
\n(Who’s out… who’s in?)
\nOnce it’s thought about…
\n(Who’s in… who’s out?)<\/p>\n
Where to begin?
\n(Who’s out… who’s in?)<\/p>\n
The hardest calculation…<\/p>\n
(Is who gets civilization.)<\/p>\n
[Outro]
\n[Instrumental, Whistle Solo]
\nCount the future…
\n(Are you sure?)<\/p>\n
And, what comes above?
\n(Count the love…)<\/p>\n
About the Song
\nTonight\u2019s homework assignment: How much land do we need for all our shit?<\/p>\n
AKA: The \u201cWho Will Fend for Themselves?\u201d Experiment<\/p>\n
Last night was micro: How much land do I need for just me?<\/p>\n
Tonight is macro: How much land do we need for me, my family, and company?<\/p>\n
In two different experiments\u2014one in New Zealand and one in Pennsylvania\u2014families have been trying to find the answer.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, both case studies arrived at a remarkably similar result: if you can optimize the use of roughly 100 acres, you can support about 20 people, although toward the lower end of what we would consider a modern standard of living.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when the bigger problem became evident.<\/p>\n
As part of our long-term planning, we had to determine who would be allowed to come live with us in a crisis such as climate change.<\/p>\n
There were eight of us. We figured our parents would need to be among the first to come. That added six, bringing us to 14. Then we started adding siblings, their partners, and their children. We quickly exceeded 25.<\/p>\n
So the real question became:<\/p>\n
Who gets invited?<\/p>\n
And who is left to fend for themselves?<\/p>\n
That sounds like an abstract thought experiment when you have plenty of land, food, water, and energy. It becomes a very different question when those resources have a hard limit. And as climate change accelerates\u2014and the number of grandchildren continues to grow\u2014these questions are no longer really about \u201cfuture generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
They are about our own descendants.<\/p>\n
They are the people who may actually have to confront the new realities we are leaving them.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the part of the experiment I find hardest to calculate.<\/p>\n
Not how many people the land can sustain.<\/p>\n
But who gets to be one of them.<\/p>\n