Building Community

The Five Stages of Collapse

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The talk you are about to hear is the result of a lengthy process on my part. My specialty is in thinking about and, unfortunately, predicting collapse. My method is based on comparison: I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and, since I am also familiar with the details of the situation in the United States, I can make comparisons between these two failed superpowers.

I was born and grew up in Russia, and I traveled back to Russia repeatedly between the late 80s and mid-90s. This allowed me to gain a solid understanding of the dynamics of the collapse process as it unfolded there.

“The Long Descent” by John Michael Greer: Coming up short on reality?

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Throughout the Peak Oil and collapse of civilization milieu, much speculation abounds regarding the speed with which collapse might occur. Some theorists insist or imply that the descent will be rapid and dramatic while others argue for a more “slow burn” scenario, less dramatic and more stair-step-like in progression. The tone of proponents of acute collapse reverberates with urgency while the tone of authors who perceive collapse as occurring in a more protracted fashion is notable for its moderation and skepticism of the rapid descent theory.

Governing the ungovernable

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The problems we now face will not be solved at the central government level. They might be mitigated or exacerbated, but not truly solved. In essence, the world as currently constructed has become ungovernable. So, along with new ways of living, we must find new ways of governing, and I believe those new ways will emphasize the local and the regional over the national or the international.

Patriotism

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We are facing a deep crisis – our economy is simply falling apart, while our ecology and the underlying source of our economic power – our energy supply – is threatened. And Obama is coming to us, like Lincoln, like Roosevelt, at a moment in which the easy solutions to these crises are no longer possible.

The Last Recession? Or Our Best Opportunity for Hope?

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As the drama of the bursting bubble of Wall St. gives way to a slower, but steady and painful, economic decline, the first and most important question we should ask is “Should we try to blow another bubble, or should we reject bubble culture values for something entirely different?”

Michigan hosts state-focused peak oil conference

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Michigan’s third peak oil conference of 2008 focuses on the specific challenges and solutions for Michigan and features 45 speakers including Richard Heinberg, Albert Bates, Michael Brownlee, Ellen Hodgeson Brown, Richard Gilbert, Stephanie Mills, Kurt Cobb, and Aaron Wissner. The event is schedule for the November 14 weekend.

A proposal for transition to a sustainable economy

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The following is proposed as a preliminary plan for discussion amongst all those who are willing to acknowledge the reality of our predicament, think beyond the paradigm of the current system, and rationally discuss the fundamental reforms required to avoid catastrophe.