Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
With Transition, many people encounter the model, the tools, the Network, and enter what we might call ‘Super Exuberance Mode’, where they feel they have found the One Thing That Will Save Us. Over time, this then calms down, and they become more realistic and grounded, but although that early stage is a powerful experience for many, it also has its inherent dangers.
For someone who is hostile to consumption, I have, well, a lot of stuff.
Poverty an asset; assets a burden
The Guardian’s sustainability vision
New York City streets: Utilitarian corridors or livable public space (YouTube)
NY City: On the street – clear sailing (slideshow with audio)
‘One planet’ pledge for Wales
Transition: gearing up for the great power-down
Fruit and veg boom needed to feed Britain
Strahan: Letter to the Energy Secretary
Homes with no electric shocks from the bills
Kurt Cobb: The (not so) invincible society
Are human beings hard-wired to ignore the threat of catastrophic climate change?
John Gray in conversation
Memories of the Depression still sear
The woman with a tiny carbon footprint
What indy media heroes can teach us
Prince Charles – Unelected, yes – but a true green hero
‘Kilowatt Ours’ explores energy conservation on PBS
Report Says Sun and Wind Power Could Threaten Nation’s Electrical Grid
Swiss adventurer demands more green action
This year’s fifth Peak Oil and Community Solutions Conference took place at the beginning of November in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Keynote speaker John Michael Greer reflects on the conference and its implications for the changing peak oil movement.
A climate change conversion
Dmitry Orlov’s “Reinventing Collapse”: Thom Hartmann ‘Independent Thinker’ Review
Ecology and the Transition from Capitalism to Socialism
Post Carbon Newsletter – November 2008
Spot.Us and Fear of Change (YouTube, text)
You can click with your neighbors here
The talk you are about to hear is the result of a lengthy process on my part. My specialty is in thinking about and, unfortunately, predicting collapse. My method is based on comparison: I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and, since I am also familiar with the details of the situation in the United States, I can make comparisons between these two failed superpowers.
I was born and grew up in Russia, and I traveled back to Russia repeatedly between the late 80s and mid-90s. This allowed me to gain a solid understanding of the dynamics of the collapse process as it unfolded there.
Throughout the Peak Oil and collapse of civilization milieu, much speculation abounds regarding the speed with which collapse might occur. Some theorists insist or imply that the descent will be rapid and dramatic while others argue for a more “slow burn” scenario, less dramatic and more stair-step-like in progression. The tone of proponents of acute collapse reverberates with urgency while the tone of authors who perceive collapse as occurring in a more protracted fashion is notable for its moderation and skepticism of the rapid descent theory.
