Energy descent preparation – interview with Vermont peak oil educator Carl Etnier
What would make a private consultant with a solid, secure income quit his day job to teach people about Peak Oil?
Act: Inspiration
“What would my grandfather do?”
It’s big things, and small things. I don’t know if these qualities come from growing up in the Depression, being a hard working man, not growing up in the computer age, or just learning to be a good person. But for my grandfather, every decision matters, to ourselves, our family, our friends, our communities, and the world as a whole.
Ready, Aim…
Barbara Ehrenreich has a wonderful essay on the way we’re turning on ourselves in response to the financial crisis – and how we should be turning our anger outwards. She’s right – and it isn’t just suicide. Depression, domestic violence, child abuse – all of these are on the rise, and in large part due to the fact that people are poorer, scared and frustrated. Ehrenreich writes of the move to respond to the financial bad news by destroying yourself that we’re aiming in the wrong direction:
Reviving the Household Economy, Part One: The World Outside the Market
On the radar screens of conventional economics, value created outside the market economy rarely makes a blip. This first part of a two-part series discusses the roles that the “invisible economy” of household production might play in a future of scarce and expensive energy.
Solutions & Sustainability – July 30
Economists assign monetary values to region’s ‘natural’ gifts
Jakarta: About 2,000 industries ready to shift Saturday, Sunday days-off
Cornwall: Stiff sea breeze blows away school’s electricity bill
What are the real implications of peak oil in a culture where common sense has been suppressed by consumerism?
A lot of parenting is about common sense. Deep down as parents, we realize that if a child gets showered with gifts, they become unappreciative. If they receive things because they stamp their feet and scream, that behavior will continue because it has been rewarded.
In the last few decades however, common sense seems to be on the decline and its commonality is certainly fading. Let me give you an example.
Something Wonderful Just Happened in Somerset
Last week, Somerset County Council voted unanimously to endorse a motion that they become the UK’s first ‘Transition Local Authority’. What is means is that SCC could start taking an integrated approach to its planning processes, putting peak oil and climate change at the heart of its forward planning. It may well also unlock funds for the many Transition initiatives emerging across Somerset.
Climate & Environment – July 29
Warming world ‘drying wetlands’
Black churches urge action on global warming
Survey cruise records second-largest “Dead Zone” in Gulf of Mexico since measurements began in 1985
United States & Canada – July 28
Amish also feel strain of high fuel costs
Schools look to save money with four-day week
Will clotheslines turn dryers into relics?
Food & agriculture – July 28
The vegetable patch goes luxe
Vegetable gardening is cool. Who knew?
Farmers ready to cash in on soaring land prices
Everything you need to know, in order – part II
Ok, I’m going to try and work some more on the list of necessary skills. So five more entries on this subject – and more coming. Last time was the absolute minimum – but I’m still working on a list of everything you might ever need to know.
Review: Plan C by Pat Murphy and Small is Possible by Lyle Estill
Pat Murphy’s Plan C is a rich treasury of practical suggestions for reducing fossil fuel consumption and fostering community cooperation—while Lyle Estill’s Small is Possible is an engrossing portrait of a small Southern town that is already taking these steps
