Building Community

What works: community

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At some point, we simply lost track of the importance of communities, human and otherwise. Along the way to becoming a nation of multitasking, Twittering, Facebook “friends” we abandoned the ability to connect meaningfully, viscerally, individually. … I know you hate those stories that start with, “When I was a kid, ….” But here goes, regardless. I grew up in a tiny, backwoods, red-neck logging town. By the time I was 18 years old, I’d seen more bar fights than first-run movies.

Riddles in the Dark

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One aspect of the predicament of industrial society too rarely grasped is the impact of the end of the age of cheap abundant energy on labor costs, wages, and standards of living. In a world where everything is scarce but people, many of the most deeply rooted economic assumptions bid fair to be stood on their heads, with results few of us are prepared to face.

Productivity Plunges

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A Bloomberg poll of leading US economists found that 79% were “shocked” or “dismayed” by the recently-readjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that labor productivity in the United States plunged by 13.8% in 2010. Asked how they felt about the corresponding sharp decline in U3 unemployment – from 10.1% to 6.3% – 31% of these economists said improved employment numbers were “welcome”, but 88% considered the correlation (between falling productivity and falling unemployment) “counterintuitive” or “irrelevant”. All agreed that the top priority must be to return to increased productivity and healthy economic growth as rapidly as possible.

Skills and Materials for Post-Petroleum Economies

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Margot McDowell is a sail maker and seamstress in Anacortes, Washington. She has a counterpart here and there in the region, such as a woman in Port Townsend and a woman in Bellingham. Considering the number of sailboats and ongoing demand for more sails and sail repair, these sail makers barely comprise a local industry. This is because the great majority of sails are made in Taiwan — made out of Dacron, a petroleum product.

Green: Deep, Wide, and High

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“Green” is the color of the day. Not only on Earth Day. I Googled “Green Products” and got … 150 million hits … “Green Jobs” (153 million) … “Green Politics” (94 million) … “Green Living” (84 million). You get the idea. We’re awash in green, not to mention awash in greenwash. The word is so ubiquitous, as Michael Pollan once wrote about “sustainability,” that “the whole concept is in danger of floating away on a sea of inoffensiveness.” Can “green” mean anything useful?

There and Back Again – The Opening of Cornucopia LLC

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Dear theoildrum.com readers. Many of you may have wondered about my absence here over the last 6 months or so. Suffice it to say that I’ve had a sea change of understanding about both our situation and on the opportunities it presents. As such, I’ve made some career change decisions, which Kyle and Gail are allowing me to share with you here (based on my prior efforts at TOD). Starting May 1, I have accepted an offer from Goldman Sachs to become a Managing Partner in a new energy and resource hedge fund where I’ll be one of three people responsible for security selection and risk management. Details, and the story of how I came to ‘see the light’ on resource depletion opportunities are below the fold. Basically I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Say it loud: I’m childfree and I’m proud

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Here’s the dirty little secret that we’re never supposed to say in mixed company: There are a lot of perks to childfree living, not to mention a lot of green good that comes from bringing fewer beings onto a polluted and crowded planet. [Also, Stephanie Mills video on her decision to remain childless]