Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Taking a place-based approach that works with and understands local culture while catering to national priorities will not be an easy task, but it is necessary if we are serious about our efforts to work towards a just transition for everyone.
The crucial question of the ecological transition is not how many MW of wind and photovoltaic solar power we are going to be able to plug into the electricity grid, but, what new levels of love, justice, and rationality are we going to be able to deploy? And at the moment we are not responding well…
On this episode, Nate is joined by Doomberg – the anonymous energy/finance analyst team (visually presenting as a talking chicken icon) who uses an energy lens to analyze global trends in the economy, with so far some remarkable accuracy.
The major themes of Today’s Ten are the continuing conflicts between Democrats and House Republicans over spending and efforts by China to find a way to keep supplying the U.S. with the materials, e.g., the precious metals needed for electric vehicle batteries, and products, e.g., photovoltaic panels, despite efforts of the White House and Congress to build out domestic industries.
Tool libraries have the potential to simultaneously decrease material usage and increase access to material goods, both of which are needed if we are to create a more equitable and ecological society.
In Part 3 of this Frankly Series, Nate (just after watching the movie Oppenheimer!) breaks down the logic of how we COULD arrive at a post-growth future.
We’re in the chaos. But there is no reason not to expect order to flow from the simple rules of biology and physics. Just pay attention to the patterns in your surroundings… and then, logically, adapt. That’s following the science.
Too often in an effort to save Mother Nature, we forget about human nature. Solving problems with rolling out clean renewable energy is less a matter of the physical sciences than the social sciences—overcoming users’ habits and project resistance at the local level.
Humanity’s last little blast of carbon for a millennium or so is being auctioned off to the highest bidder for a simple reason: it’s the rich who have the power to shape such decisions, and deciding those precious allocations through the marketplace suits them just fine.
In Part 2 of this Frankly Series, Nate breaks down why energy – and specifically oil – is currently the central foundation of our entire modern economic system.
The proper solution to climate change is to steer clear of the fossil fuels pits—not by seeking out a new way to sustain our consumer economy but to shift cultural directions and consume dramatically less.
Just transition presents some specific challenges in places historically dependent on fossil fuel production.
