Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) describes itself as āthe UKās leading planning bodyā¦.ā It recently released a 59-page discussion paper on Peak Oil, partly in preparation for a forum on this issue which is scheduled for January 17th in London.
Last year ASPO-USA brought together a host of leading thinkers and their predictions for what to expect in 2011. While not all the predictions were on target, last yearās thinkers and leaders on energy issues were remarkably prescient, accurately anticipating among other things Arab Spring, the flow of energy prices, the re-emergent world food crisis, and the next step in the Transition movement. While foreseeing the future is a delicate exercise, there are real trends that are evident to eyes prepared to see. Here are their thoughts about the coming year. A Hopeful New Year to all from ASPO-USA!
Richard Heinberg joins James Howard Kunstler, Nicole Foss, Dmitri Orlov and Noam Chomsky in a panel discussion. Reviewer: “These extraordinary clearseers analyse precisely the catastrophic crises which — amongst many other things — are bringing on the steady, relentless collapse of the US empire. “
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The Iranian confrontation
-Trouble in Baghdad
-Quote of the week
-Briefs
– White House, GOP Battle for Supremacy on Tar Sands Pipeline
– Interview with peak oil journalist and novelist Kurt Cobb
– Hunt for Gas Hits Fragile Soil, and South Africans Fear Risks
– In conversation with peak oil pioneer Dr. Colin J Campbell (video)
– Steve LeVine’s Oil and the Glory: End-of-year edition
– Oil will decline shortly after 2015, says former oil expert of International Energy Agency
– World Pays Ecuador Not to Extract Oil from Rainforest
– ‘Terrible’ and Plenty of It: The Oil That Comes in from the Cold
John Michael Greer takes on economics, a subject in desperate need of his characteristic, level-headed analysis. The usual growth oriented fantastical notions that have plagued the subject over the last half century were in particular need of such cool headed dispatching.
In this third and final article in this series, we will discuss seven new ways of living which we can adopt as economic growth fails. They are not revolutionary (revolutions never achieve their utopian visions because of something called “human nature”). Rather, they may allow us to “muddle through” the best we can right now with what we already know how to do. We will do these things because they will work — and we certainly need to stop doing things that don’t work, and find new ways that will work.
Our expectations tend to be outsized with respect to the physical limitations at hand. We quickly dash up against ideological articles of faith, so that many are unable to acknowledge that there is an energy/resource problem at all. The Spock in me wants to raise an eyebrow and say āfascinating.ā The human in me is distressed by the implications to our collective rationality. The adult in me wants less whining, fewer temper tantrums, realistic expectations, a willingness to sacrifice where needed, the maturity to talk of the possibility of collapse and the need to step off the growth train, and adoption of a selfless attitude that we owe future generations a livable world where we can live rich and fulfilling lives with another click of the ratchet. Otherwise we deserve a spankingāsorryāattitude adjustment. And nature is happy to oblige.
We cannot “set things right” in the sense of restoring things to the way they once were, but we must begin now to adapt to the new realities if we are to reduce suffering and continue an advanced culture. Today’s article, “Out With the Old”, discusses ending seven unsustainable practices.
Thirty months into a new life devoid of regular interaction with inmates and honors students, Iām having the sort of identity crisis described by Dmitry Orlov in his excellent book, Reinventing Collapse. According to Orlov, middle-aged men ā specifically those aged 45 to 55, nicely bracketing the age I departed the ivory tower (49) and my current age (51) ā experienced the highest rate of mortality as the Soviet Union collapsed.
– Protests seen as stand against fossil fuels
– U.S. Congress hands energy industry historic victory
– Oil lobby lagging reality
– The politics of pipe: Keystone’s troubled route
– If You Care About Keystone and Climate Change, Occupy Exxon
– Official White House Response to Reject the Keystone XL Pipeline
