Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Jerome à Paris We’ve recently heard more veiled threats from Putin about Ukraine being unable to pay for gas (thus presumably leading to new attempts at cutting them off), which suggests that Russia is getting itself ready to start a new crisis.
-Gazprom defends rigid contract terms with Europe
-Gazprom dismisses warnings of lengthy gas glut
-EU seeks Russian energy boost
Our current food systems are precarious and vulnerable to external ‘shocks’. A combination of one or more external factors, such as extreme weather conditions, global conflict or trade disputes could easily disrupt the continuity of food supplies unless we make fundamental changes to the way we farm, process, distribute and eat our food over the next 20 years.
These are merely my notes from the conference. I hope they will be useful to others as an index to the volumes of material that were covered.
-Obama and Hu aim to agree greenhouse gas targets
-China’s empty city
-China’s Blunt Talk for Obama
-Market cornered for rare minerals
-Chinese credit card debt mounts
-Will rising oil prices derail the recovery?
-Banks Hasten to Adopt New Loan Rules
-Finite Resources: One Possible Explanation for the Financial Crisis
-What Is Inflation and How Does One Measure It?
-They can make this rally last for years
Not many years from now, there will be a huge uproar over who missed the coming of peak oil. There will be Congressional hearings and much finger pointing and protestations that the peaking of world oil production was impossible to predict.
One of the most rarely used resources for relocalization projects is the fact that our species has been this way before — the twilight years of many other civilizations featured the breakup of centralized economic arrangements and the rise of a new localism. Can insights from past examples offer us guidance in the present case?
We travel to the State of California where 50% of all fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in Canada and the United States are produced. Beyond fresh produce, California is also a major producer of dairy, olives and nuts, and the list of foods goes on.
A recent front-page report by the British newspaper, The Guardian, is the latest reason why Canada needs a top-level analysis of global hydrocarbon supplies. The Guardian’s November 9th story is headlined “Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower.” The story focuses on the world’s top energy monitoring and forecasting body, the International Energy Agency (IEA).
-Leaders plan a ‘two-step’ environment deal
-The psychology of climate change
-Greenland’s Ice Sheet Melting Faster than Ever
-Rainforests could be traded on world market
-Leaders agree Copenhagen will focus on principles, not concrete goals
-World on course for catastrophic 6° rise, reveal scientists
-UN links climate with hunger
-Hungry for change
-The Links Between Food Security And Climate Change
-Agriculture in the Climate Change Negotiations, Platform Issue Paper
-The one thing depleting faster than oil is the credibility of those measuring it
-Promoting climate-smart agriculture
