Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
At the beginning of every year, the peak oil blogosphere sees a flurry of predictions for the coming year. A surprisingly large number of these predictions are the same ones that were offered in previous years, and didn’t happen. Is this simply a matter of impaired collective memory, or is something deeper involved? The Archdruid considers the question.
– In Depth with Author and Journalist Chris Hedges (video)
– Vengeance vs Forgiveness: This Eternal Struggle
– Guy McPherson: Taking a hike
– Fascist America? Not Exactly
A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Developments this week
Co-operatively-owned energy generation is a vibrant and growing sector in the UK. The first co‑operatively-owned wind turbines, Baywind in Cumbria, started turning in 1997. Since then, over 7,000 individual investors have ploughed over £16 million into community-owned renewable energy. This report summarises insights gained from visits to five co-operatively owned energy projects during the summer of 2011.
As the recession and Occupy movement encourage people to reimagine work and how they get their needs met in the new economy, Timebanks are catching fire. They are a clever tool to circumvent the scarcity and misdirection of conventional money. Timebanks are at heart a simple concept – you work for an hour, earn an hour credit, and spend an hour with anyone in your Timebank community. Timebanks don’t pay taxes or get penalized in benefit reductions because they are more like charitable volunteering circles of mutual aid or relationship-based gift economies than market-based national currencies.
My resolution for 2012 is to be naive — dangerously naive.
On January 1, it was 48 degrees on my farm. My sons were at the playground, dressed in sweatshirts and jeans, rather than winter coats and mittens. Their ice skates had yet to be used this year. Their sleds haven’t even come out of the garage. Walking out in the warm weather among the goats, I noticed my cowslips and primroses are up and there are buds on the pussy willows…
Now weather is complicated and climate is complicated and you will note that I make no claims about what has or hasn’t influenced things…The aggregate of my research and watching my site probably isn’t worth very much scientifically – I haven’t lived here long enough and the local data wasn’t taken from my precise site, so its value is uncertain. What it does teach me is that adaptation to complicated weather is something that has to be a priority in our lives, however.
– NYT: Oil Price Would Skyrocket if Iran Closed the Strait of Hormuz
– RT: Crude Plan: Iran war & double recession? (video)
– Iran could be bluffing in the strait of Hormuz – but can US risk calling it?
-Josh Fox, Director of Gasland, on the Lies of Hydrofracking
-What the Frack?
-Ohio earthquake was not a natural event, expert says
-Ohio Quake Spurs Action on 5 Wells, Won’t Stop Oil and Gas Work
-Fracking Rules Show Obama on ‘Wrong Track,’ Oil Group Says
The continuing economic crisis shows the foolishness of promoting selfish individualism as the chief operating principle for our society.
– Goldman Sachs thinks we’re close to maximum oil pumping capacity
– Robert Rapier Soliciting Feedback for His Energy Book
– University of Alaska Fairbanks professor predicts spike in oil prices
– UK “Energy trends” bulletin available
-2012: The Year to Stop Playing Nice
-New Farmer School
-A Punch to the Mouth: Food Price Volatility Hits the World
-China’s Growing Urban Population Sprouts Urban Farms
-Students Say “Occupy Your Plate”, Plan to Converge at Retreat to Grow Food Cooperatives
-Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing Its Ideals
-Digging Into Potash Stocks
