Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
-Colorado farms planning for dry spell losing auction bids for water to fracking projects
-UK shale gas firm doubles estimates, seeks partner
-Shale Boom in Europe Fades as Polish Wells Come Up Empty
-Gas Industry Spin Can’t Cover Up Air, Water Problems Caused by Fracking
-Government drops water pollution charges against Range
There are people who care about facts. And then there are peak oil deniers.
Whether or not peak oil is true cannot possibly be in doubt. Within anything other than a geological frame of time, oil is a finite substance. When it is burned, it is gone. Without stretching our brains very far, it is easy to conclude that anything that is finite and consumed will someday be gone.
In 2011 we decided to build a greenhouse. We had two primary goals. First and foremost, we wanted to grow a broader range of vegetables than what outdoor conditions allow, as well as extend the season for the leafy green vegetables we much enjoy. Secondly, we were interested in creating a sunny warm space where we could relax and enjoy a good book now and again…We also set some constraints – primarily that the space had to require only modest energy inputs once built, and if possible, capture heat for greenhouse and other domestic uses. We also envisioned significant application of at least 7 of the 12-permaculture design principles.
There are many uncertainties about how the realities of resource constraints will play out in the lives of our children and grandchildren. In my earlier list of three options, there were two scenarios that could support well-being: one is to accept that lower labor productivity means lower hourly wages, recognizing the society-wide requirement to trim the size of the economy to fit within a finite ecosystem. The other is to find ways to produce the same (or greater) quality of the desired outputs, with less inputs of resources and less labor hours.
PCI Local Economies Fellow Michael Shuman joins PCI Economy & Preparedness Fellow Chris Martenson to discuss how you can prepare yourself, your family and your community to weather turbulent economic times.
This is a recording of video chat recorded April 3, 2012.
PCI Local Economies Fellow Michael Shuman joins PCI Economy & Preparedness Fellow Chris Martenson to discuss how you can prepare yourself, your family and your community to weather turbulent economic times. This is a recording of video chat recorded April 3, 2012.
“There are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams.”
This cornucopian quote sounds like something a Disney character would say, but it’s actually chiseled in stone on a monument in the heart of Washington, DC. These are the words of Ronald Reagan, and they have a permanent home in the atrium of the government building that bears his name. These words also seem to have a permanent home in the economic strategy of the U.S. and just about every other nation.
In October 2011, ASPO-USA conducted a news conference in front of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters in Washington D.C. to express deep concerns about the reliability of projections for future oil and gas supplies by DOE and the Energy Information Administration. Representatives of ASPO-USA presented a letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu which outlines these concerns and asks for answers to seven specific questions. The letter also urges DOE to initiate and lead the development of a National Oil Emergency Response Plan. A staff member from the Office of the Secretary was on hand to receive the letter. This month DOE sent their response – printed below.
The “curse” of oil wealth is a well-known phenomenon in Third World petro-states where millions of lives are wasted in poverty and the environment is ravaged, while tiny elites rake in the energy dollars and corruption rules the land. Recently, North America has been repeatedly hailed as the planet’s twenty-first-century “new Saudi Arabia” for “tough energy” — deep-sea oil, Canadian tar sands, and fracked oil and natural gas. But here’s a question no one considers: Will the oil curse become as familiar on this continent in the wake of a new American energy rush as it is in Africa and elsewhere? Will North America, that is, become not just the next boom continent for energy bonanzas, but a new energy Third World?
“We’re on a mission here now with this group. We all are co-ordinated and there’s something powerful about having fifteen people completely dedicated to the degree where we all know we’re going to do absolutely what it takes to make this happen in our community”.
While the media goes around in circles chasing its own tail Jason Heppenstall wonders when, if ever, peak oil issues will be given serious column inches…
Nitrogen is necessary for life on earth to continue and the nitrogen cycle is one of the most important nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Everything that lives needs nitrogen; it is required for the manufacture of complex molecules such as chlorophyll, proteins and DNA, and also for the production of enzymes necessary for growth, reproduction and other vital functions. However, when present in excess, nitrogen poses risks both to the environment and human health.
