Thermodynamic roots of economics
The first and second laws of thermodynamics should also be called the first and second laws of economics. Why? Because without them there would be no scarcity, and without scarcity, no economics.
Media & Communications
Peak oil review – Nov 8
A weekly roundup of peak oil news, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-The US elections
-Iraq
Jeff Rubin: Oil and the end of globalization – ASPO-USA
You know, knowing the nature of the disease is usually an essential first step to finding a cure. And so too, it is with a recession. Knowing the true nature of a recession goes a long way in helping us to avoid falling into another one. Particularly when the recession we are just coming out of happens to be the deepest global post-war recession on record.
Energy – Nov 7
– US Coal to Gasoline Plant Will be the Largest in the World
– New Exxon talking points
– SCSU professor eyes oil deposits in study
– Energy analyst Charles Maxwell: brace for $300/barrel oil
Review: “The Witch of Hebron” by James Kunstler
Having grown tired of the competitiveness of peak oil writers pushing their various grim visions as the most likely to unfold, I am happy to go with this New Age takeover of the geeks’ techno collapsing world simply because it is the more empowering vision.
Peak Moment 183: Coping with the decline
This time Janaia’s in the hot seat! In this interview by Jim Fritz on Port Townsend Television, she tackles corporate control and a dysfunctional system that profits from increasing unhealthiness and consuming the planet. She points to Peak Moment guests as models for the average family to gain genuine security. They’re withdrawing from the money system, growing food, and joining neighbors to prepare for emergencies.
ODAC Newsletter – Nov 5
Oil rose to a six-month high of more than $87/barrel as the Federal Reserve embarked on a new round of quantitative easing worth $600bn and Saudi Oil Minister Ali al Naimi raised his target oil price to $70-90 per barrel. Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation said the price should be higher still, at around $100/barrel…
In war-scarred landscape, Vietnam replants its forests
With large swaths of forest destroyed by wartime defoliants, and even larger areas lost to post-war logging, Vietnam has set an ambitious goal for regenerating its woodlands. But proponents of reintroducing native tree species face resistance from a timber industry that favors fast-growing exotics like acacia.
What I learned on the Cascadia trail
People have asked me about my impressions of my trip and there is one word I want to communicate: Local. The stops were so varied, the needs so diverse, the problems so different, it is difficult to generalize, but I’ll try anyway.
The Preponderance of the Small
Halloween may be over, but monstrous robosigners and zombie banks still stalk the midnight streets of the American psyche, and the decision of the US government to begin financing its debt via the printing press moves us into a dangerous new phase of history. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that big problems must have big solutions, but if the rising spiral of crisis no longer leaves room for solutions at all, the Archdruid suggests, it may be time for a counterintuitive approach.
Peak Fantasy
I’m going to begin by admitting to a questionable wish that, I believe, others may nevertheless also share: I wish for the coming of Peak Oil. The sooner, the better. Let’s get on with it. Enough of all this practice: when will it be game-time?
The Peak Oil Crisis: The Leading Edge
Do you remember the furor over drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge a few years back? The whole country was up in arms. At various times some 50 to 60 percent of Americans favored drilling in the area as they were told this would result in lower gas prices.
