Year: 2011

A time of catastrophe, a time for education

by

The Fukushima story is one that will emerge for months and years to come; the worst is behind us, but there are long-term problems that still must be addressed. In our Fukushima Issue, six authors provide a snapshot of where Japan and the international community stand six months on. (Special issue of the noted “Journal of the Atomic Scientists; most of the contents are available free)

CULTURE AND BEHAVIOR: Dangerously Addictive: Why We Are Biologically Ill-Suited to the Riches of Modern America

by

Living now in relative abundance, when the whole world is a shopping mall and our appetites are no longer constrained by limited resources, our craving for reward–be that for money, the fat and sugar of fast food, or for the novel gadgetry of modern technology–has become a liability and a hunger that has no bounds. Our nature has no built-in braking system. More is never enough.

Thoughts on a sustainable human ecosystem

by

In this post, different modeling approaches to gain insights into sustainability will be discussed. We hope that readers will contribute their thinking of what a sustainable ecosystem would look like, and how to map the road towards it. One of the parts of this post is the initial outline of a project to model a human ecosystem from cradle to grave.

Peak Moment #202: Collapse of the titans

by

Learn from the Soviets — personal relationships are the best currency, says Russian-born Dmitry Orlov, the author of Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects. The American empire is following the USSR into collapse, he asserts, with financial collapse happening first, followed by commercial and then political collapse. Dmitry, an America resident for several decades, suggests lowering our needs and expectations and replacing money transactions with barter and exchanges. [Transcript is online]

Daniel Yergin and peak oil – prophet or mere historian?

by

In his glib dismissal of “peak oil” theory advocates, Yergin glosses or ignores a number of issues fundamental to the larger picture, for whatever reason, and these oversights should be considered in any evaluation of the piece and the peak oil “specter.” … Is the world then running out of oil then? No, but the increase in future global oil production will likely be modestly incremental and production could be thrown off course by any number of possible events, from an Israeli attack on Iran to (another, but successful this time) al Qaida attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq oil refinery.

Wendell Berry’s weapons of mass destruction

by

In 2002, talking like a modernist poet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked Americans to pay heed to “known unknowns” to prevent terrorist disaster. Two years later, a real poet, Wendell Berry, advised us to take the “Way of Ignorance” to prevent ecological catastrophe. If Rumsfeld is a man who tormented people and words alike, Berry is a man who would set them both free. And that could be more dangerous to the status quo than any weapons imagined by Rummy.

35 reasons you might want to attend the 2011 ASPO-USA conference

by

2. To make your voice heard in Washington about this issue – because we don’t have much time to begin to act, and every person here who says ‘I care deeply about this’ helps reinforce our message of the centrality of this issue.

3, To hear Wes Jackson talk about what we’re going to eat in the coming decades.

4. To get the latest in the emerging story on Shale Gas reality.

5. Because where else can you hear Nicole Foss and Jeff Rubin arguing deflation vs. inflation in the hallways?

6. Because our future depends on getting the word out and we need your help.

7. Because if you want to do with your retirement funds in this economy there are more experts here per square foot than anywhere else.

ASPO-USA conference, November 2 – 5, Washington DC

by

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA (ASPO-USA) is announcing its upcoming conference in Washington, DC on November 2 – 5. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

Many speakers are likely to be well known to Oil Drum readers. Oil Drum authors who will be speaking include Dave Murphy, Robert Rapier, and myself, Gail Tverberg. Art Berman will be moderating a panel called, “The Shale Gas Rush: Boom or Bust.” Readers are also likely to be familiar with speakers Jeffrey Brown (westexas), Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute, and retired geophysicist-geologist Jean Laherrere. A copy of the Agenda is shown below.