Gene Logsdon

The man who created paradise (a fable)

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Remarkable story about strip-mining, farming and resurgence.
Wendell Berry writes in the Foreward: “… there is something wondrous and redemptive about … [an effort that would] employ the technology of destruction to begin the restoration of what has been destroyed; and how this singular effort might inspire the efforts of others to do the same thing; and how finally a whole community of people might ally themselves with the inherent goodwill of any place to heal itself and become the Paradise it once was.”

Peak oil & supplies – Sept 1

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Gustav may hit Gulf platforms harder than Katrina
Hurricane Gustav could send stocks, futures on a wild ride when US markets reopen Tuesday
TOD on Hurricane Gustav
Cantarell loses production at a rate equal to 30% of Shell’s Perdido project, in 1 month
Oil prices and the Mayflower problem

Food & agriculture – Sept 1

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Monty Don, new head of UK Soil Assn, calls for wholesale change of food system
Russia’s collective farms: hot capitalist property
China raises, extends fertiliser export duties
Raj Patel on the mystery ingredients in our food

Beyond voting: guerrilla gardeners, outlaw bicyclists & pirate programmers

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This US election year an unprecedented number of voters will likely head to the polls to cast their ballots in an exercise that should take just a few minutes to complete. But what about the rest of the minutes left in the year? Author and activist Chris Carlsson has some suggestions for social change beyond voting in Nowtopia, a new book about modern day rebels who, in his words, “aren’t waiting for an institutional change from on-high but are getting on with building the new world in the shell of the old.”

Slow Food Nation attracts 50,000 — beneath the surface

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“Come to the table,” Slow Food Nation invited. And come to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend they did—around 50,000 people attending perhaps the largest food celebration in American history.
Tables and straw bales appeared in the heart of the city’s Civic Center around a victory garden on about a quarter of an acre that had replaced a lawn. It was surrounded by a huge marketplace, which was like an old-fashioned farmers’ market that gets food directly from the farm to the fork, bypassing corporate super-markets.

Why civility matters in the transition

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It seems to me that the world is growing steadily ruder. As we grow more and more stressed and less connected to those around us, we increasingly, it seems, have less time for civility. (Review of Talk to the Hand: the utterly bloody rudeness of everyday life (or six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door).)

A geopolitical tsunami: Beyond oil in world civilization clash

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Less developed countries have set their will towards becoming industrialized. But, the stark facts of oil depletion present barriers to thwart the universalization of economic development. This may facilitate civilization clash, as each political bloc frantically strives to secure a reliable supply of oil at the best price.

Review: The Long Descent by John Michael Greer

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The Internet writings of John Michael Greer—beyond any doubt the greatest peak oil historian in the English language—have finally made their way into print. Greer’s searingly perceptive blog entries on peak oil, which for the past several years have enjoyed a robust online following, have now been incorporated into a single bound volume from New Society Publishers titled The Long Descent.