Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Shepherd Bliss Occupy events in big cities like New York, Oakland, and Los Angeles receive considerable coverage in the corporate media, especially when police react. Yet in small towns and mid-size cities throughout America, peaceful occupations occur that engage people in conversations and education in public spaces and beyond.
Assuming the inevitability of a lower energy civilization, How low will it go? What will civilization look like? While accurate prediction is impossible, there are ways to look at the question that provide insights, and can even dispel some visions of ‘gloom and doom’. We know a lot about the way the world looked before the advent of fossil fuels, so we can look at how societies used the available energy late in that period, say 1800 in European civilization and its extensions as a point of departure, and ask, how will the post-petroleum age differ?
The whole story, of course, made more sense when it was gaining popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries; most children were familiar with sleighs or lumps of coal, and hung their stockings by the chimney anyway, to dry. The oranges we received in our stockings were meaningless to us in the 1970s but precious to our forebears; they were from exotic lands. In “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” Mama was in her kerchief and I in my cap because the houses were cold. Children a century ago would not have found such details cryptic, any more than they would stables and mangers.
EthicalOil.org is a defense of the Canadian oil sands industry. The argument it makes is that because human rights standards are much better in Canada than in many other oil exporting nations, Canada should be considered a more “moral” source of oil. In fact, the oil from the oil sands is touted as a “fair trade choice.” Once I’d read through the site, it was hard to imagine why the oil sands industry would even want it online. If these people were working for me with the express mission of defending the oil sands, I would fire them.
– The New Cyber-Industrial Complex Spying on Us
– Fox: The Muppets Are ‘Brainwashing’ Young People To Hate The Oil Industry
– How net neutrality helped Occupy Wall Street
– Amazon Launches Christmas Attack on Local Shops
The opportunity to pull Michigan out of its economic slump and deal with climate change is right in front of us. But leaders are dithering.
– In Uniform at Protests, and in Trouble as a Result
– My Occupy LA Arrest (Fox “Family Guy” writer)
– Russian Vote Wrath Swells Protests as Putin Blames Clinton
– Putin Contends Clinton Incited Unrest Over Vote
Before the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar the newspaper Gulf Times wrote in an article that, “A highlight is the keynote speech that will be delivered by Total’s President and CEO, Christophe de Margerie on the theme: “Peak oil – ahead of us or behind us?” on December 7”. The fact that Peak Oil is the theme for one of the seven main presentations at the congress shows that Peak Oil is now an important topic of discussion in the international and national oil industries. Earlier, Total had indicated that they believed Peak Oil could occur before 2030 so it was with some suspense that we awaited the message from Total and their managing director de Margarie.
The news overnight from Brussels is that the 17 euro countries, led in this particular respect by France, have refused to allow the UK to exclude itself from their emerging plans to regulate financial transactions. And this sticking point may well limit the influence of the UK on the development of the central Eurozone programme of fiscal harmonisation.
The streets of Barcelona appear deceptively calm at first sight. Fashionable people stroll the streets, shopping bags in hand, while others stop to drink a glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe. These luxurious images project a sense of prosperity onto the streets of Barcelona, but underneath the surface, a struggle rages. The 15 May Movement that captured the global imaginary just six months ago and encouraged people all across the world to occupy public space and hold massive democratic assemblies is no longer limited to the central square. Now, they are everywhere.
Why did the Durban climate talks fail? Ultimately, the culprit is the near-universal pursuit of economic growth. All the major players want growth: the US, because it’s still pulling out of a recession; China, because it knows 10 percent annual growth can’t go on forever, but is trying to avoid a hard landing; Europe, which is trying to pull out of its sovereign debt spiral. The US and China, in particular, know that fossil fuels have given them growth in the past, and are especially reluctant to give them up now.
-The New Agtivist: Edith Floyd is making a Detroit urban farm, empty lot by empty lot
-A citizen activist forces New Mexico’s dairies to clean up their act
-Citywatch: Food’s a trip, Actually a Baker’s Dozen of Trips
-Amish Farms to Hippie Co-Ops Fight FDA Inquiry
-Industrial-Sized Rooftop Farm Planned for Berlin
-Small farmers crave horse power
