Civilization’s foundation eroding
Civilization depends on fertile soils. Ultimately, the health of the people cannot be separated from the health of the land.
Lester Brown
Peak oil & energy – Sept 29
– Peak oil article in Portuguese newspaper Expresso
– Japan to drill for controversial ‘fire ice’ (methane hydrate)
– Report for the French government: “The Effects of High and Volatile Oil Prices” (NEW)
– CAE: Les effets d’un prix du pétrole élevé et volatil
– World unprepared for “convergent crisis”, international force needed?
Norwegian TV on peak phosophorus
The Norwegian science program Schrödingers katt aired an excellent introduction to the concept of peak phosphorous. Phosphorus is required for modern agriculture, and like oil, its supplies are limited.
(YouTube video)
Life after oil in Los Angeles
What could Life After Oil possibly be like for our local area? That’s the question nearly 50 people in Los Angeles studied this past weekend at a one-day mini-conference hosted by Transition Los Angeles.
Peak phosphorus still a threat to food security, despite new report
Researchers investigating a coming peak in world phosphorous production have urged caution on the revising up of estimates of reserves in a new report.
Back to school month: Peak oil 101
Every so often someone comes up to me with fiery eyes and raring for a battle and says “I don’t believe in Peak Oil” or “I don’t believe in Climate Change.” When this happens, I think they expect me to argue with them, and I do. But isn’t the argument they expect – my standard response, correct almost 100% of the time is not to make the case for peak oil or climate change, but to argue “Yes, you do, in fact, believe in them.”
US military must stop using oil in 30 years, defense think tank says
US military must stop using oil in 30 years, a defense think tank says. But their path for achieving this is unbelievable.
Waste: Climate change, peak oil, and the end of waste
We in rich contries have almost lost the ability to supply our own needs through local manufacturing and agriculture–or even to extend the life of products through reuse, repair and repurposing. We rely on others, and on a system lubricated by cheap oil, to meet our needs as well as our wants.
UK government’s oil shock warning
A UK government minister is preparing for a coming global oil shock – a possible doubling of the price of oil.
Energy Security: an annotated military/security bibliography (2010 update)
The following is a selected list of studies of various aspects of energy security (including peak oil) which have either been conducted by members of the military/security research community, or which raise issues with direct military/security relevance.
The food crisis is not about a shortage of food
The food crisis of 2008 never really ended, it was ignored and forgotten. The rich and powerful are well fed; they had no food crisis, no shortage, so in the West, it was little more than a short lived sound bite, tragic but forgettable. To the poor in the developing world, whose ability to afford food is no better now than in 2008, the hunger continues.
Throwing some light on the patterns….
The idea of this patterns business is that, rather than the linear process suggested by the Transition Handbook’s ‘12 Steps’, (first do this, then do that etc…) what we see actually happening in Transition initiatives in practice is something much more organic, dynamic and self-organising, arranged in different ways in different places according to circumstances, interests and what is appropriate.
