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Nate Hagens

Nate is a well-known speaker on the big picture issues facing human society and currently teaches a systems synthesis Honors seminar at the University of Minnesota ‘Reality 101 – A Survey of the Human Predicament’   Nate is on the Boards of Post Carbon Institute, Bottleneck Foundation, IIER and Institute for the Study of Energy and the Future.  Previously, he was lead editor of The Oil Drum, one of the most popular and respected websites for analysis and discussion of global energy supplies and the future implications of the upcoming energy transition. Nate’s presentations address the opportunities and constraints we face after the coming peak of global economic growth. On the supply side, Nate focuses on the interrelationship between debt-based financial markets and natural resources, particularly energy with and the unique (and so far unplanned for) risks from the coming ‘Great Simplification’.  On the demand side, Nate addresses the evolutionarily-derived underpinnings to status, addiction, and our aversion to acting about the future and offers suggestions on how individuals and society might better adapt to the coming decades.  Ultimately, Nate’s talks attempt to provide a framework for people who would like to participate in shaping the future. Nate has appeared on PBS, BBC, ABC and NPR, and has lectured around the world. He holds a Masters Degree in Finance with Honors from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Previously Nate was President of Sanctuary Asset Management and a Vice President at the investment firms Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers.

The Great Simplification

The Great Simplification – Full Movie

By Nate Hagens, The Great Simplification

This 32 minute animation -in 4 Acts - describes the backdrop for The Great Simplification - an economic/cultural transition on our near term horizon.

  • May 19, 2022
Earth Day

Earth Day 2022: A Reading with Nate Hagens

By Nate Hagens, The Great Simplification

With help from one of my former students, I give a quick overview of 80 concepts relevant to human (and animal) futures each under the umbrella of a Tarot Card. Despite all else going on, I hope you can watch and share this year's Earth Day synthesis.

  • May 3, 2022
Episode 75

What Could Possibly Go Right?: Episode 75 Nate Hagens

By Vicki Robin, Nate Hagens, Resilience.org

Nate Hagens is the Director of The Institute for the Study of Energy & Our Future (ISEOF), an organization focused on educating and preparing society for the coming cultural transition. He addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?”

  • April 18, 2022
Decency Respect

No Matter Who Wins

By Nate Hagens, Institute for the Study of Energy and our Future

No matter who wins the election this week we are on the cusp of major change which will require both top-down and bottom up interventions and cultural emergence.   I hope you can play a role.

  • November 5, 2020
planet earth with facemask

An Overview of the Systemic Implications of the Coronavirus

By Nate Hagens, Resilience.org

Let’s create a living open source project—where collective intelligence informs near and intermediate term mitigation, one that helps us as a culture navigate the narrow path between fantasy and doom.  When we see gasoline this summer under $1 per gallon let’s not waste that moment in a Caligula-like orgy of consuming like we used to, but rather, reflect, imagine, and resolve to make America good again.

  • March 25, 2020
chart

Uncharted Territory: Nate Hagens on coronavirus and the economy

By Asher Miller, Nate Hagens, Resilience.org

At Post Carbon Institute we have been closely monitoring the global COVID-19 pandemic and encouraging our staff, volunteers, and broader community to take great caution and practice social distancing. But that doesn’t mean we should disengage.

  • March 17, 2020

The Human Predicament

By Nate Hagens, Resilience.org

We face a "perfect storm" of interacting global stressors. Is resilience a possible response? What does real resilience look like?  Join some of the foremost thinkers in a discussion on resilience and civilizational collapse.

  • July 9, 2019
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