Media & Communications

Understanding the oil markets — 2010 Version

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I’m starting to think that the oil markets in 2010 are just a more chaotic version of the markets as they were in 2007. You will recall that in 2007 oil the price was rising, demand was outstripping supply, OPEC said the markets were well-supplied, and would not raise output quotas and the Venezuelans were saying $100/barrel was a fair price for oil. Most of this has happened just in the past week.

Better than a food bank

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While The Stop is rooted in providing food to those who can’t afford it, it works on the premise that without food infrastructure, viable farms, civic engagement and personal empowerment, food banks are simply a stop-gap measure in the fight to eradicate hunger. The organization’s ability to harness a growing interest in local food has allowed them to not only boost their own programming, but also build local food infrastructure. The model is the envy of foodies and social activists alike, and a case study for municipalities in Ontario and beyond.

Preparedness for fuel supply disruptions

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This article is in response to last month’s article by Kathy Leotta and her colleagues, Observations on local governments’ preparedness for fuel supply disruptions. First, I congratulate Kathy on her earlier research and thank her for reviving this neglected topic in her most recent paper. The purpose of my submission is to support and supplement various observations made by the Leotta team.

WikiLeaks – Dec 14

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– Swedish documentary on WikiLeaks: “WikiRebels” (now online)
– Stephen Colbert’s International Manhunt for Julian Assange
– Wikileaks defectors to launch Openleaks alternative
– WikiLeaks may make the powerful howl, but we are learning the truth
– Harvard law professor: Seven Thoughts on Wikilea
– The US Government’s Pursuit of WikiLeaks Could Be Its Undoing-

America: the panoptic shiver

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Among the most compelling nuggets of information contained in the batch of United States diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks and published in leading international newspapers is the list of installations in more than fifty countries which the state department in Washington deems to be a US security concern.

What happened (and why) at Cancun

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The international climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, have concluded, and despite the gloom-and-doom predictions that dominated the weeks and months leading up to Cancun, the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must be judged a success. It represents a set of modest steps forward. Nothing more should be expected from this process.

13 Transition-related(ish) books you might like to snuggle up with this Christmas….

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I haven’t done this for a while, so I thought it might be good to do a round up of some of the more influential and inspirational books that have passed across my bedside table over the last 6 months. In terms of books you might choose to offer people over the next few weeks’ festive period, there is of course no beating the ever-expanding Transition Books series (still time to order before Christmas), but here is a collection of 13 titles to inform, inspire, fascinate, entertain and enlighten (also please note the Amazon-free nature of the links provided…). Any books you’d like to recommend?

Ecosystem services: Pricing to peddle?

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The good news from the Green New Deal is that ecological microeconomics (such as valuing ecosystem services) has risen from the recesses of academia into the realm of international diplomacy. The bad news is that ecological macroeconomics (such as limits to growth) apparently has not. Let’s take a look at the implications.