Peak oil and our finite world; or, in praise of waste
“Peak oil has arrived,” says economist Paul Krugman in one of his columns late last month—a watershed moment, since it makes him one of the most widely read people to have uttered such words.
Building Community
Show me the evidence: Growth and prosperity
Most cities in the U.S. have operated on the assumption that growth is inherently beneficial and that more and faster growth will benefit local residents economically. Local growth is often cited as the cure for urban ailments, especially the need for local jobs. But where is the empirical evidence that growth is providing these benefits?
Environmentalism != Socialism
The project of transforming society to use less resources, have less environmental impact, or emit less carbon, does not necessarily have anything to do with the project of making society more equal. Environmentalism != Socialism, to reduce it to a bumper sticker.
Food crisis, reports, and solutions? – Jan 14
-World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report
-The futility of trying to fight these food and energy price shocks
-Transylvania: could this ‘lost in time’ land be the future of European agriculture?
-Can We Feed 9 Billion People?
-EU organic food push hailed by African farmers
-Best practices for organic gardeners
-The Great Food Crisis of 2011
And it is back…
On the lists of guests no one ever wants to invite to well…not eat dinner, the food crisis is probably number one, but it has a way of continuing to intrude. The thing about food is that it is both simple and complicated – very simple, in that when people don’t have enough to eat, they die. Very simple in that just because we in the west became preoccupied with our own fiscal troubles doesn’t mean that hungry kids stopped being hungry. Complicated, in the sense that food system responds to a great number of events – and we can expect it to keep on responding.
A world in breakdown
The events of a single day in three continents are a lesson in the interlocking crises that will define the decade.
Proof that bikesharing works in the USA
For all those who dismissed bike sharing as a woolly-headed European idea that would never work on the mean streets of U.S. cities, the success of the first season of MinneapolisNice Ride bike program will come as a surprise.
Innovation of the week: Healing hunger
Hospitals,” says McAllister, “lend themselves to strong garden projects. They have high walls and guards to protect the plants, and hundreds of people are coming and going every day. It’s also a unique opportunity to help people learn the connection between what they eat and their own health.”
Cool food, cool fuel, cool climate
“Painting the choice as a harsh dichotomy between your current standard of living and something resembling that of a prisoner on Devil’s Island is a blown meme. Stick a fork in that. The future will be one of more conscientious design: more food with net carbon and fertility soil gains; warmth, light, mobility and other energy services based on solar income, not distilled dinosaurs.”
Celtic land values
In spite of the recent consultation over access to the countryside in England, there is little serious linkage between land ownerhship, sustainability, and food security in the English shires. By constrast, what is happening in the newly devolved territories of Scotland and Wales may be the beginnings of a revolution.
Deep thought – Jan 12
-What’s So Green About Doing it Yourself? Ownership & Knowledge
-The Forest As Garden: Visions of Plenty
-Post-Carbon Politics III: The Ends of Freedom
-Earth System Science – the science of the whole Earth system
Thinking outside the box
Naturally you are asking: what is this box I need to get outside of? That’s easy to answer and hard to answer at the same time.
