Year: 2011

OPEC spare capacity, rig count and the big picture

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There has been much speculation on these blog pages about the existence of OPEC spare capacity. The oil rig count for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Qatar (SKAQ) provides some clues. The sharp rise in operational oil rigs in February 2011 suggests to us that usable spare capacity does not exist and that new useful capacity (light sweet?) must be built by drilling new wells. This takes time. It also suggests that there is goodwill among these OPEC members to try and boost supply to tame oil prices.

Building a resilient congregation

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As the economic crisis stretches on, religious congregations are playing a vital role in helping people cope. For many, Resilience Circles (also called Common Security Clubs) are a way to help members confront and address their economic insecurities.

Recently, a group of Resilience Circle leaders has been discussing the idea of a “theology for community resilience.” How do the resources of our faith traditions support and empower our communities during this time of economic and ecological challenge?

Cereals, agroforestry and droughts: an interview with Martin Crawford

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Yields from arable crops in the East of the country, (which is where the main arable crops like wheat are grown in this country), are going to be down by at least 25% and maybe more, because the damage has been done. It can’t be recovered – it’s too late for that now. It’s not all fine now and it really shows that a spring like this, which seems to be becoming the norm…..for the last four years we’ve had pretty dry springs – not as dry as this one but it seems to be becoming a pattern.

Guardians, traders, and public policy

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Here’s a thought. One way into several of the policy issues dominating British news headlines — from the future of the national health service, to the Southern Cross catastrophe, to the funding of higher education — is to look at them through the lens of Jane Jacobs’ distinction, in her book Systems of Survival, between systems based on territory (“guardians”) and systems based on exchange (“traders”). Most human societies need both. But when we get the distinctions between them blurred, breakdown and corruption follows.

The shrinking pie: The end of “development”?

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Throughout the past two centuries economic growth has translated to an increased capability to support more humans with Earth’s available resources. More energy, more raw materials, more jobs, more trade, better sanitation, and key medical advances have all contributed to higher infant survival rates and longer life expectancy in general.

Renouncing, reclaiming, rebuilding: The 3 steps of radical homemaking

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Yesterday I counted 85 spears of asparagus nudging their way up through the soil (Asparagus may be finished in some parts of the country, but we’re zone 4 here in cold upstate New York). I crawled along the row on my hands and knees, pushing aside clumps of rotted manure to reveal each spear. I ran inside and proudly reported the figure to my husband Bob. Then I called my mom, and told her, too. It took me longer to get this asparagus growing than it did to earn a Ph.D. I consider the achievement just as significant.

Intellectual consumerism

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Within a society where physical consumerism has been the norm, consuming events — we might call it intellectual consumerism — is a real issue.  I see it a lot in my native Los Angeles, particularly within the old-style environmental circles. People show up for a meeting or a movie or a political rally, but it doesn’t scratch the surface. There’s no lifestyle change, or there’s negligible lifestyle change to go with it. They show up for the meetings but then go home to same-old, same-old. It’s revealed by their small talk, by the THINGS they admire and coo over. There are some people who are massive consumers of environmental events.

Backyard clotheslines and washboard secrets

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Friends smile wanly when they see my wife’s corrugated washboard in the sink. They wonder when we are going to go down to the “crick” and pound our clothes on the rocks. This is very funny, of course, but it reveals the modern ignorance about washing clothes that is becoming nearly universal. A washboard is still the cheapest and often the only way to get dirty clothes clean… buy one that is only rough surfaced. The ones that are only smooth-surfaced are no good for dirty clothes… and if the clothes aren’t dirty, well, throw them in the automatic washer. It does a real good job on clean clothes.