Consumption & Demand

San Antonio: New Economy Leader or Nuclear Guinea Pig?

by

San Antonio’s new Mayor Julian Castro, in office just three months, has inherited a dilemma. The nation’s 7th largest city is suffering from almost 8% unemployment. With limited resources, the Mayor and City Council are searching for ways to create local jobs. At the same time, the City, through its municipal utility City Public Service (CPS), is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars on just paperwork, to prepare to spend billions on a new nuclear power plant project some 200 miles away at Bay City, TX.

ODAC Newsletter – Sept 18

by

This week saw further oil discoveries in the Santos Basin and off the coast of Ghana, extending a run of sizeable finds in recent weeks. Following much breathless reporting of such discoveries, it was good to them put into context by solid analysis from Morgan Stanley and Bank Macquarie…

The Aftermath of the Great Recession, Part I

by

Today’s article is the first of a two-part series in which I attempt to forecast general economic conditions that will affect the oil market over the next 10 years. Despite Galbraith’s sensible warning, what we will experience in the aftermath of the Great Recession is not a complete mystery. Strong evidence suggests that during the next decade, the global economy will struggle to regain a sound footing supporting vigorous growth.

Your Ticket May Win You a Shetland Pony

by

It’s getting more and more onerous for me to interface with the dominant culture. Delusion is the water in which we swim. You can see it everywhere and anywhere and elsewhere and right here, well-documented and critiqued in Guy McPherson’s recent blog, Scale, and in Keith Farnish’s latest at Culture Change, Time to Decide What Matters. The depths of our cultural insanity astound.

But that’s the easy part, seeing the delusion around us.

The Thermodynamics of Local Foods

by

I am going to make an argument I don’t see much. Reading the pros and cons on this subject is a bit like watching a pea roll around on a plate. My goal is to stick a fork in that pea and focus on something very fundamental. The point I will make is that one can say with high confidence bordering on certainty that only a predominantly local food system will ever be sustainable.

Economics – Sept 16

by

-Obama urges banks to accept new sense of responsibility
-Through the prism of fraud and poverty
-Keep banks on the straight and narrow
-A Critique of Ecological Economics
-From job to handouts in six weeks
-US Census Bureau Confirms Rising Poverty, Falling Incomes, And Growing Numbers Of Uninsured
-Can he fix it? Sarkozy’s carbon-tax plan derided by environmentalists
-New York Faces Dramatic Consequences of Crisis