Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Staff – Kunstler’s new book: ‘Too Much Magic & Wishful Thinking’
– El tercer principio ético de la permacultura
– The Spiritual Crisis of Capitalism: What would the Buddha do? (Marx and the Dalai Lama)
– The Emerging Left in the ‘Emerging’ World (Democracy, nature and a smaller scale)
– Collapse Fatigue: Prevention And Treatment
There is no evidence from the top three oil producers (Saudia Arabia, Russia and the U.S) that their production will be even close, in total, to current levels by the end of the decade.
Now there comes an Energy Study from Harvard which boldly states that this is rubbish – that by 2020, global production will be at 110.6 mbd and these concerns that most of us have at The Oil Drum (inter alia) are chimeras of the imagination.
It is therefore pertinent to begin with examining where the study (which was prepared with BP assistance) anticipates that the growth in supply will come from.
A report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), “Grade A Choice? Solutions for Deforestation-Free Meat,” found that if Americans shifted their diets toward less beef and more poultry or pork, they would protect their health, protect forests, and protect the planet by reducing carbon emissions. “Because of the way it is produced, the more beef we eat, the worse global warming gets.”
Though cities are responsible for about 70 per cent of global warming emissions, it’s a rare city that owns, regulates or reaps taxes, jobs or other benefits from oil, gas or coal reserves or many of the companies that spin off these resources.
As often as not, high emissions in cities are the result of subsidies and other practices embedded at the national level. Resource and allied companies (pesticide and fertilizer companies, for example) hold sway at the national, not city, level.
The global recession has accelerated the transition, revealing the current order’s weaknesses, and showing the people in the emerging nations that they have outgrown it. The major nations continue to defend the current systems, a futile effort wasting time and resources that could be better spent adjusting to the new world now evolving. (Report from a group that includes officers and ex-officers of the U.S. military)
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.
Svenska Dagbladet, one of the largest newspapers in Sweden, has now made a review of the book Peeking at Peak Oil (read the article in Swedish). In a special note they have compared the predictions that Matt Simmons made for Saudi Arabia and the predictions in the new book Peeking at Peak Oil.
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…
Oil, natural gas, and alternatives dominate the headlines when it comes to energy. But there’s a big and largely-overlooked revolution occurring with the energy source likely to become the most preferred fuel for a world in economic decline: coal.
While I recover from a nasty case of food poisoning, I thought in honor of the SCOTUS decision, it would be worth re-running this piece from 2009. For all that this is not the national health care system the US needs, it is, in the end, a small step in the right direction.
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.
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.
