Act: Inspiration

The end of the Information Age

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Prophets of an indefinite expansion of today’s “information society” too often forget that information doesn’t exist by itself; it requires a physical substrate, and if that goes away, so does the information. As the age of cheap energy comes to an end, relying on a substrate as energy-intensive as the internet may be a risky bet.

When the oil gives out (new book excerpt)

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“One way to evaluate the prospects of Eldertown might be to start from the viewpoint of one of the more apocalyptic environmental groups. The peak oil movement focuses tightly on the issue of energy, the Achilles heel of industrial society. Convinced that global oil production will soon peak — or perhaps already has — the peak oilers predict a horrendous cascade of disasters in our near future.”
(Roszak was author of the 60s classic The Making of a Counter-Culture. In this book, he predicts that as the Baby Boomers become seniors, they will shake society once again – for the better)

Thinking about “The Green Mind”

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“Let’s start with the fact that climate change is anthropogenic,” says psychologist Elke Weber …
“That means it’s caused by human behavior. That’s not to say that engineering solutions aren’t important. But if it’s caused by human behavior, then the solution probably also lies in changing human behavior.”

Review of A Presidential Energy Policy by Mike Ruppert

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As with nearly all of Mike’s writing over the years, some parts are resoundingly liberal and resemble FDR’s New Deal, and some parts echo a conservative Republican or Libertarian approach simply because Mike’s overarching concern has always been to “implement policies that will keep the nation functioning and that will protect the American people and the world as a whole.”

On choosing – a hyperlocavore responds to catastrophe

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I have an good idea that has been bugging me since I was about 5. I used to look at the inside of city blocks in San Francisco and wonder, why the heck were the yards all fenced off, in the middle and mostly unused. Why not, I thought way back then, tear those fences down and build a garden full of fruit trees, nut trees and veggie patches? Why don’t people grow food there?

Sane environmentalism to save earth

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Our global culture is held together and connected by our economic system of money, laws and enforcement. This economic system is structured in such a way that it automatically and unintentionally motivates and perpetuates behaviors that are damaging to Earth. We can save Earth by understanding this destructive mechanism and then by acting to replace it with a creative, restorative one.

An economics addition to The Transition Handbook

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Since the first edition of the Transition Handbook was published, huge and far-reaching changes have begun unfolding in the world economy. For many, they are seen as the outcome of the end of the age of cheap oil … What are the assumptions we have made thus far about the economy. Do they still hold after the events of recent months? Did they ever actually make sense in the first place?