Richard Heinberg

The world teeters on the brink of economic disaster due to energy shortages caused by war. Key oil-producing nations are unable and unwilling to increase output, though prices are high. The solutions being proposed—renewable energy technologies—are coming on line, but not fast enough. Sound familiar?

Most activities driving climate change rely on technology, so we naturally turn to new technologies for solutions. But what if more technology worsens the problem? This article explains why trees, soil, and biodiversity may be our true lifelines.

As soaring consumer prices, supply chain disruptions, and reductions in government-provided funding and services threaten communities, localists can help bolster local markets and inspire mutual aid efforts, helping mobilize folks to take more responsibility for their own collective resilience and well-being.

If collective survival is possible, there will be a lot of work ahead. We’ll be more effective in that work if we’re unburdened by hate and recrimination, and are instead rooted in gratitude for life, nature, and community.

Peak oil calls on us to imagine a lower-energy future and to start adapting now. It’s a game-changer, and a life-changer.

While the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, political attention is drifting away from climate change just as warming accelerates and Earth’s life-support systems approach collapse. From disappearing federal climate data to record-breaking heat, denial is giving way to something more dangerous: collective delusion.