Year: 2012

Review: Was a Time When by Sam Penny

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The novel describes a future in which humans have evolved into an entirely new species, the Neu-humans. They are distinguished by their short tails, freckled appearance and super-intelligence—along with a strong tribal sensibility that compels them to tread lightly upon the planet and always make decisions rationally. The story involves an archaeological journey to the “Lands of Oregon,” from what is now northern Canada, to discover the missing link between humans and Neu-humans. The year is 3100.

ODAC Newsletter – June 29

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This week saw further confirmation that all is not well in the shale gas industry as ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson admitted “We are all losing our shirts today.”…”We’re making no money. It’s all in the red.” The news comes as little surprise since the price of production is estimated to be around $4-7/per million BTUs and prices have been languishing around $2…

Thirst for power: How coal, nuclear and gas waste our water

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As many Americans retreat to air-conditioned environments to get out of the heat, the flame increases under our limited freshwater resources. The electrical energy used to create our comfort zones requires massive withdrawals of water from our rivers, lakes and aquifers to cool down nuclear, coal and natural gas power plants.

Not waiving but drowning

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Although the Barclays scandal has pushed the Eurozone crisis off the front pages this morning, the two are intimately related. As the previous post on this blog indicated, the sovereign debt crises have also arisen as a result of banks bidding up the rates of interest paid by nations on the money they borrow from those banks, increasing bank profits while bankrupting countries and destroying their societies.

World made by hand

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The Hatch model is truly one of sustainable business practices. It relies on the knowledge bank of its past artisans to hand down to future workers. And it depends on its workers in a way that will never be undercut by the lure of cheap labor in far flung locales. By doing everything by hand, locally, and on a human scale (along with that nearly 150 year old reputation) Hatch can be assured (barring some unforeseen occurrence) that its services will be needed even as the world economy shrinks back and high-tech work dies for lack of the energy to produce it.

Shale gas – June 28

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-Exxon: ‘Losing Our Shirts’ on Natural Gas
-Shale Gas Reality Begins to Dawn
-The Sky Is Pink: New Josh Fox Video On Fracking Controversies in New York (and Much More)
-Obama’s Interior chief: State regulation of fracking ‘not good enough for me’
-Ed Davey urged to take ‘foot off the gas’ and focus on renewables [Report]
-Gazprom Biggest Loser As Shale Gas Upends World Markets

Making space for community

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Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of touring an incredibly vital cultural commons in the heart of Providence, Rhode Island…What may be less appreciated is that AS220 is a self-sustaining creative commons (lower case). While it has all sorts of interactions with the market, government and philanthropy, it is really an unheralded model of a commons for producing and enjoying the arts. It is financially self-sustaining, independently managed, and grassroots-responsive. It is dedicated to art made by and for the people.

Making currencies work for us

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When it comes to creating those new kinds of money there is no one perfect currency that can right all the wrongs of the past and every flaw in the conventional money we use. There are currencies fit for the job in hand, and which have specific challenges as a result.