Reality Report: Talking with Richard Heinberg about the Green New Deal (transcript added)

January 30, 2009

NOTE: Images in this archived article have been removed.

Image Removed2008 has been a remarkable year. About a year ago James Hansen of NASA gave a presentation at the American Geophysical Union meetings in San Francisco that showed how greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere were already too high. Energy and other commodity prices rose and then fell spectacularly. Recently the International Energy Agency released a report that said fossil fuel production will not meet future demand without massive, and perhaps unrealistic, levels of investment. Now we are in the midst of epic convulsions in the financial system, and have just elected a new U.S. President.

The global crises of 2008 all relate to growth in debt, pollution and consumption reaching their limits, but will the incoming Obama administration recognize the new reality? This show discusses “Energy Realism and the Green New Deal” with Richard Heinberg of The Post Carbon Institute. Hear what message Post Carbon Institute is presenting to the incoming U.S. President.


And as a special bonus to this episode of the Reality Report, a song by Neal Learner that expresses what so many feel. Free MP3 Download

Jason Bradford

Dr. Jason Bradford is an organic farmer, and owner of Sol Cycle Farm near Corvallis, Oregon. He has been affiliated with the Post Carbon Institute since 2004, initially as a Fellow. He is currently Board President and a co-host of the Crazy Town podcast. In 2019, he authored The Future is Rural: Food System Adaptations to the Great Simplification. Prior to his switch to agriculture, he was a research biologist studying evolution, ecology, and global change.

Tags: Consumption & Demand, Energy Policy