Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
“You’re so pessimistic,” one student said. Another added, “There are alternative energy sources and electric cars that are coming along.” Yet another said, “Look, oil prices are high because of speculation –there’s really lots of oil left.” … Another, who had not spoken during the discussion, said, “I get what you’re saying; it’s pretty damned late to be thinking about this stuff if you’re right, isn’t it?”
– Hiding From Shame, Addicted to Optimism
– Hedges: Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System
– Stiglitz: Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%
– The Blowback World of Chalmers Johnson
– Swans and Zombies: Neoliberalism’s Permanent Contradiction
– Waiter, why isn’t there a fly in my soup?
– Britain’s taste for cheap food that’s killing Brazil’s ‘other wilderness’
– Nitrogen pollution ‘costs EU up to £280bn a year’
– Shell’s outgoing UK boss has seen oil firm’s role shift in a changing climate
– Edward Burtynsky’s Oil Exhibition Shines
– Energy and Security Issues in the Red Sea Transforming as the Age of Gas Begins in Earnest
– Fukushima Daiichi and Decision Time
– Fukushima Nuclear Disaster at One Month: The Explosion of Nukespeak
Natural gas is being promoted as a "bridge fuel" to a clean energy future, and even as an abundant, long-term energy source. The claims are audacious, but do they match with reality?
Today I joined the newly formed Board of Directors of 350.org. I have been a supporter of 350.org since I first heard about the wacky plan to turn a wonky scientific target into a global people’s movement. In the past three years, we have all watched the number “350” morph into a beautiful and urgent S.O.S., rising up from every corner of the globe, from Iceland to the Maldives, Ethiopia to Alaska.
The original version of the “Nuclear Power? No thanks” logo that was created in Danish in 1975 by Anne Lund and Søren Lisberg. Lisberg tells his story which dates from the “pre-Chernobyl” era of opposition to nuclear power.
It may seem a bit over the top to say that a book entitled Into the Cool is the coolest book I’ve ever read on energy. But energy junkies should take note of its two compelling theses: First, the eventual heat death of the universe – a supposed consequence of the Second Law of Thermodynamics – has, to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, been greatly exaggerated. Second, life – in all its forms – is NOT an anomaly made improbable by the aforesaid Second Law, but rather a direct and likely inevitable consequence of it.
Vandana Shiva speaks about a Village City, but I’m sure what she really means is a city of VillageTowns. You get the best of three kinds of life in one. You have the intimacy of a village, the magic of the city, and a real influence like in a small town.
On an almost daily basis, the American public is presented with false solutions, rhetoric, and partisan bickering. The only conclusion I can come up with is that one or both of the following is true:
1) Our elected officials think we’re too childish to speak to honestly about the complex issues and choices we face.
2) Our elected officials are, themselves, too childish to govern.
But here’s the thing… When it comes to facing these daunting economic, energy, and environmental crises, we’re all going to need to grow up. And fast.
– Prime Minister of France: Oil production can only decline
– Libyan unrest sends oil prices soaring to $124 a barrel
– Barclay oil analyst Amrita Sen answers your questions
– NYT: Rush to Use Crops as Fuel Raises Food Prices and Hunger Fears
– Survey of natural gas in shale deposits
Let’s start taking an honest look at the myths behind the demand for increased energy. We don’t need nukes, and we could cut our fossil fuel use just about in half, if not significantly more, today.
