Staff

The tempo of change

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As industrial society moves deeper into a time of crisis, the likelihood of drastic change rises. Still, even the most dramatic changes take on a different shape from the perspective of those present at the time. How will these differences affect our plans for a post-peak future?

The Long Descent (excerpts from new book)

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The Stories We Tell Ourselves: “One of the things that makes our culture’s reliance on the utopian myths of progress and apocalypse so problematic as we approach the end of the age of cheap energy is that both narratives claim to explain the entire universe.”
Tools for the Transition: “One of the most hopeful features of this side of our predicament is that the revitalization of old technologies can be done successfully by individuals working on their own. It’s precisely those technologies that can be built, maintained, and used by individuals that formed the mainstay of the economy in the days before cheap, abundant energy…” (paean to the slide rule)

Russia: There is life after peak oil

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Several years ago, at what seemed to be one of the darkest moments of the Russian collapse, I was walking in one of the avenues of Moscow. I noticed a series of large signs hanging from lampposts, showing traditional Russian buildings and landscapes. One of my Russian colleagues translated the text of the signs for me as saying, “Nobody will help Russia, so Russia will have to help herself”. Government propaganda? Sure, but that is what the Russians did. Never underestimate a country that has survived peak oil.