Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Kurt Cobb As I watched snippets of President Obama’s town hall-style meetings around the country recently, I was struck by how often questioners demonstrated the mindset that solutions to their problems will come from some central authority, in this case, the federal government.
“A thing is right when it tends to strengthen the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
We have just reviewed a minimalist history of human economies and the economic theories that have come into vogue to explain and manage them. But there is a lot of detail to be filled in if we are to understand what’s happening in the world economy today.
– On donating, buying, and swapping secondhand clothes
– Compostable diaper service
– UN environment chief urges recycling of rare metals
– U.S. military prepares for the coming conflicts triggered by climate change
– Climate Change Crisis ‘Can Be Solved by Oil Companies’
– How global warming is aiding – and frustrating – archaeologists
– Human Impact on World’s Rivers ‘Threatens Water Security of 5 Billion’
– Groundwater Depletion Raises Likelihood of Global Food Crises
– NYT: Water Use in Southwest Heads for a Day of Reckoning
– Sharon Astyk: The Water Fountain
This week saw the release of another influential report on peak oil. Fueling the Future Force, by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS)…recommends that the Department of Defence transitions entirely away from petroleum by 2040. The publication demonstrates once again that there is a freedom to engage with the issue in military circles which as yet does not exist in mainstream politics.
Due to co-editorial holidays, there will be light posting on Energy Bulletin from 2 to 11 October. Regular posting will resume on 12 October.
“Fueling the Future Force,” published September 27, is the third military consideration of a future of scarce oil published so far this year. It states that 77% of the US Department of Defense’s “massive energy needs” are met by petroleum – but “given projected supply and demand, we cannot assume that oil will remain affordable or that supplies will be available to the United States reliably three decades hence.” To remain as an effective fighting force, the entire US military must transition from oil over the coming 30 years.
Like everyone in the rich world, I carry bottles of water with me everywhere I go. In populated areas, folks 30 or 40 years ago, would have told a thirsty person – “wait until we get to the water fountain.”
Get rid of Wall Street!” says David C. Korten, author of Agenda for a New Economy and The Great Turning. Wall Street is about phantom wealth — real wealth is about food, shelter, education, and mutual support. David advocates rebuilding local economies for healthy families, communities and the earth. To do that, we must change the rules to reduce the power of corporations, the politicians in their pocket, and a destructive money system.
Articles that we thought were significant this month.
