Culture & Behavior

When the oil gives out (new book excerpt)

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“One way to evaluate the prospects of Eldertown might be to start from the viewpoint of one of the more apocalyptic environmental groups. The peak oil movement focuses tightly on the issue of energy, the Achilles heel of industrial society. Convinced that global oil production will soon peak — or perhaps already has — the peak oilers predict a horrendous cascade of disasters in our near future.”
(Roszak was author of the 60s classic The Making of a Counter-Culture. In this book, he predicts that as the Baby Boomers become seniors, they will shake society once again – for the better)

Thinking about “The Green Mind”

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“Let’s start with the fact that climate change is anthropogenic,” says psychologist Elke Weber …
“That means it’s caused by human behavior. That’s not to say that engineering solutions aren’t important. But if it’s caused by human behavior, then the solution probably also lies in changing human behavior.”

Barter, Baby, Barter

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It is astonishing what barter can bring about – and while I like barter networks and other programs, and can see their advantages, I am particularly passionate about barter that takes place in human relationships – because I think it kills two birds with one stone, not only does it save money on the particular exchange, but it helps us give up our general dependency on money in place of community.

Rethinking the Rust Belt

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The fantasy that historical change can only continue in its most recent direction underlies many of the difficulties we face in making sense of the deindustrial are. Unthinkable as it may seem, the economic map of North America in 2050 might well resemble nothing so much as the equivalent map in 1880 — a possibility that requires reframing many common assumptions about the shape of the future.