Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Robert Rapier In my recent essay Vinod Khosla Debunked, I challenged Mr. Khosla to a written debate on his recent ethanol claims. Mr. Khosla e-mailed me shortly after that essay appeared, and offered to discuss the matter by phone. [Khosla is an influential venture capitalist now promoting ethanol.]
Apocalypse no! An Indigenist perspective / Converging ecological crises: are we up to the challenges? / Signs of the times
He was a frail old fellow, dressed in loose-fitting clothes, working in his garden and chopping potatoes. Less than a year before, in 1945, he was in command of one of the largest fleets that had ever been assembled by any nation. His name was Takeo Kurita, vice admiral of the former Imperial Japanese Navy.
Along with most who have read it, I was much impressed with the Chicago Tribune special segment on oil this weekend. I would highly recommend that you both read the articles and watch the hour-long video that accompanies them.
After constructing several alternative scenarios [for the economic impact of an oil crisis], it became abundantly clear they all produced results that were strikingly similar. Every scenario produced higher rates of inflation and unemployment with declining GDP. The only real difference was in the timing and degree of severity.
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki celebrates Cuba’s success in providing for itself in the face of a massive economic crisis, and how its latest revolutions, an agricultural revolution and a revolution in science and medicine are having repercussions around the world.
Part 1: 7pm July 30 CBC
Part 2: 7pm August 6
Artists, we need you. We need your vision and your courage to tell the truth. We’ve got plenty of “analysis,” and enough punditry to last us forever. What we lack are the gut-wrenching stories that put a human face on the collapse that is upon us.
China reins in fast growth of coal-to-liquid fuel projects / Study: Coal-to-liquid plants future of U.S. energy / The return of Nazi oil
It’s not all about oil (there’s more to rising gas prices than the oil supply) /
Oil execs speak out (interviews) / Oil boom puts stress on water supply
Heatwave with a global grip / Methane makers yield to science / How global warming has thrown nature into disarray (Scotland) / Acid waters, dissolving shellfish / Capital pollution solution? (carbon trading)
Social ecologist Murray Bookchin dies at 85 / Redefining American beauty, by the yard /
The environmental benefits of vegetarianism / Sustainability Network Newsletter #60
If we take climate change seriously, there aren’t many tangential issues. We emit greenhouse gases whenever we use fuel or electricity — when we drive or fly, heat or cool our homes, grow or manufacture or transport our products.
