United States politics – July 11
– Study: Demographic trends favor Democrats
– Lakoff: Disaster messaging
– Disaster capitalism hits Europe (and the US is next)
– Kabuki democracy: Why a progressive presidency is impossible, for now
Staff
Solutions & sustainability – July 11
– Sustainability: From Excess to Aesthetics
– Bamboo Houses to the Rescue
– How to Share Time
– Six ways to teach kids to value community life
ODAC Newsletter – July 9
Hopes rose this week that BP may be in a position to attempt to ‘kill’ the Macondo oil leak a couple of weeks ahead of its previously anticipated date. The first of two relief wells is now close to the target, and a top BP executive is reported to have told Wall Street Journal that, should weather conditions remain favourable, the well could be shut off by 27th July. With this optimistic, but by no means assured backdrop, Tony Hayward spent this week visiting Middle Eastern investors in an attempt to shore up BP against hostile takeover bids…
How long and how fast will we deleverage?
Obviously, deleveraging in the household and financial sector has begun. The question is, how long will it go on, and how low must the various debt-to-gdp ratios go? In this post, I look at various ways of guesstimating this.
Peak oil, prices, and supplies – July 9
-Climate photo of the week: BP oil spill
-Canada: The Saudi Arabia of the North?
-The Gulf Spill – The Battle over the Drilling Moratorium
Lighting the way to a new economy
Listen carefully. This is serious. We seek: Within a generation, a global system of human-scale, interconnected Local Living Economies that function in harmony with local ecosystems, meet the basic needs of all people, support just and democratic societies, and foster joyful community life.
Transition in the big city – part I
The Transition movement coaches us to "begin in your own backyard." But what if your backyard happens to be one of the biggest megacities in the world?
Peak oil notes – July 8
A mid-week update of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-Deepwater Horizon
350.org urges Obama to put solar back on the White House
Environmental author Bill McKibben and his international campaign 350.org are joining the solar company Sungevity in a new effort to encourage President Obama to reinstall an updated set of solar panels on the White House roof.
Seeking the Gaianomicon
One of the enduring archetypes of popular culture is the quest for some lost tome of ancient and forgotten wisdom. Ironically, books that fit that description tolerably well are among the core resources for a “green wizardry” that could revive the old appropriate technology movement for a world on the far side of Hubbert’s peak. The Archdruid explains…
Another anxious plea to recognize limits
The current generation will not escape the consequences of rising energy and material resource costs. An appealing but superannuated ideology keeps the public in the dark. More light!
Improving the sustainability of water treatment systems: Opportunities for innovation
There is growing recognition of the need for increased access to drinkable water across the world and for water treatment approaches that improve the quality of the delivered water and re-establish a balance between human and natural systems…Localized, networked water treatment systems improve access to potable water, encourage the development and diffusion of innovations through reduced financial and technical risks, lower the potential of total system failure, and provide easier trial and replacement of specific innovations and greater organizational capacity.
