Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Ugo Bardi A society is not as simple as a balloon but it can easily explode in revolutions, collapse, breakdowns, civil wars and all sort of rapid and unpredictable changes. Societies, it seems, are fragile, at least in terms of the stability of their governments. This behavior looks normal to us because we have seen it happening many times. But, just as for balloons, it is difficult to explain exactly why societies “explode.”
As an academic economist I find I am living in interesting times. Yes, really. The profession is in crisis, and much blame is being laid at the door of those who teach politicians how the economy works, and who engage in research to support this teaching. The fact that the financial crisis was predicted only by dissident economists, and the lamentable failure of mainstream economists to explain what has happened, much less provide solutions, has led to severe criticism.
– Could a blueprint for a happier and more successful society come a little-known French philosopher?
– Reflections on the Early Global Springtime of Peoples
– 1 million workers. 90 million iPhones. 17 suicides. Who’s to Blame?
– Guardian on oil prices: Green light from the black stuff
– China Reportedly Plans Strict Goals to Save Energy
– UK facing 1970s-style oil shock which could cost economy £45bn – Huhne
– Libya, oil production, OPEC responses, Saudi Arabian capabilities and the SPR
– David Strahan: My2050@lastoilshock
– WSJ: U.S. Wavers on ‘Regime Change’
– Video: Libya rebels control oil port
– Saudi Arabia bans public protest
– Muammar Gaddafi’s opposition: How Libya’s revolt has stalled
– Calls Mount to Tap U.S. Oil Reserves
– White House considers tapping oil reserves
– Crude Oil Heads for Its Third Weekly Gain as Unrest Spreads to Middle East
– Oil no immediate threat to recovery; fundamentals different from 2008
– In New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges
– Peak Phosphorus: Is there enough for biofuels at scale?
– The Future is Organic (but it’s more than organic) – report from plant scientist
– (GMO) Alfalfa and Our Future
I’m writing you today about Tim de Christopher. For you that don’t know his name, here’s a short story: In its last days, the Bush administration was selling off 77 parcels of federal land totaling 150,000 acres for drilling, a last round of favors to the oil and gas industry. The leases were on wilderness areas, including some areas next to national parks. Business as usual. Then a student at the University of Utah named Tim de Christopher showed up.
– As climate crime continues, who are we sending to jail? Tim DeChristopher?
– Republicans attack Obama’s environmental protection from all sides
– Bill McKibben: My life as a communist
– Barack Obama May Be Forced to Delay US Climate Action
– Who’s Blocking U.S. Action on Climate Change?
So often each of us evaluates the present based on our fantasy of the future. That fantasy has been heavily influenced by the science fiction genre in books and film–a genre which is, of course, an outgrowth of faith in unlimited technological progress.
– Hillary Clinton: US Losing Information War to Alternative Media (video)
– How WikiLeaks is democratizing journalism, redistributing power and increasing transparency
– In the Age of WikiLeaks, the End of Secrecy?
– The Internet’s Unholy Marriage to Capitalism
Why then don’t complex agricultural societies, or the even more complex civilizations that they sometimes evolve into, rely on ecological complexity to solve problems? Because by their very nature they are committed to ecological simplicity. Their size, population density and social complexity are in most places the result of grain monocultures.
