Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Brooke Jarvis We live in a world of deep inequality, and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. We in the rich world generally agree that this is a problem we ought to help fix—but that the real beneficiaries will be the billions of people living in poverty. After all, inequality has little impact on the lives of those who find themselves on top of the pile. Right?
As Iraqi’s prepare to go to the polls on Sunday the country has been subjected to a month of increased violence including a string of blasts in Baghdad on Thursday targeting early voters which killed at least 14 people. The election, which will decide the next chapter of Iraq’s future, is being keenly watched by the oil industry…
The cattle breeds from the past will be the breeds preferred tomorrow.
-Empires on the Edge of Chaos
-Majoring in Idiocy
-Climate-Resilient Industrial Development Paths
-Can we design cities for happiness?
-What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism
-A Future for Agriculture, A Future for Haiti
-Towards a more sustainable livestock sector
-Red Menace: Stop the Ug99 Fungus Before Its Spores Bring Starvation
-Is There Enough Food Out There For Nine Billion People?
-Growing Your Own Wheat
-Number of farms in state grows, report finds
Could it be that “thinking positively” is contributing to our blindness and inaction around energy issues, environmental degradation and economic devastation? I’ve hammered this point home in a number of posts, the most widely read being “Do You Have a Panglossian Disorder?.” Now, a trenchant social observer provides a clear outline of how that may well be so, elaborating on the ‘dangers of positive thinking.’
What I have said may provoke anxiety, and is certainly an immense undertaking, but ultimately we have no choice so let’s not whine and delay. Let’s take it on as a great adventure, a thrilling challenge. Our success or failure is going to hinge on our attitude. We need to take control of the circumstances and become active participants in transition.
One of the least understood dimensions of the crisis of industrial society is the role of energy concentration, rather than the simple quantity of energy, in making the modern world possible. Renewable energy sources have much lower concentrations than fossil fuels, and that distinction can have critical impacts on what can and can’t be done with them — a lesson easily learnt from one of the few really mature renewable energy technologies we have at present.
A weekly update including:
– Prices and production
– Iraqi elections
Weeds are why most of us left the farm. After you have walked up and down endless rows of soybeans hoeing sourdock and pigweed in 90 degree heat, it is not too hard to decide to join the army or even get a job in Washington DC.
A lot of what I write works from the assumption that we all agree that peak oil and climate change are happening and going to be life-changing events. And yet, some people who read this blog don’t necessarily agree on this subject, or they don’t see the effects has being as profound as I do, or perhaps the idea of peak oil or climate change is fairly new to them, and they don’t know what to believe.
With each passing day, it is becoming increasingly likely that the future of our gasoline prices and consequently our economic well-being over the next few years will be determined by what happens with China’s economy.
