Media & Communications

A government says NO to airport expansion

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The British government’s recent decision to cancel construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport marks a major milestone in our adaptation to post-carbon mobility. This is the first time that a government has canceled plans for major aviation infrastructure expansion due to global, rather than local, concerns about environmental degradation.

Eroding a mountain range of debt

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The above data shows the debt outstanding of various sectors in the US economy.  It comes from the Federal Reserve Z1 release, and the data are annual except for the 2010 point, which is for Q1 (on the graph, the annual data are shown at the mid-point of the year, and the Q1 point is shown 1/8 of the way into the year, so slopes should still be accurate).

Celebrating independence

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On this Independence Day, I’m celebrating the ways my family’s lifestyle is becoming more independent from the mainstream.  This means our lifestyle is becoming more independent from oil for long-distance transport of goods, more independent from carbon emissions, more independent from the Industrial Growth Paradigm, demanding less earth resources, and thus much more resilient.

Steady staters, futbol fever, and NASCAR nonsense

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I am entirely addicted to watching World Cup soccer. It’s the greatest sporting event on the planet – each match is a high-stakes struggle with international intrigue and unpredictable endings. It’s hard to top the build-up and excitement of a last minute goal that means the difference between going home and moving on to the next round…Ok, so I’m a fan of the World Cup, but what does that have to do with a steady state economy?

EIA’s first Peak Oil statement—how was their vision a decade ago?

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Back in 2000, the EIA developed their first power-point presentation covering the topic of peak oil. A version of it was presented by EIA Administrator Jay Hakes to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists…What was the EIA’s rationale at the time? How has their view held up a decade later?

Bunkers ‘R not us: Correcting Boston Magazine’s take on this movement

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The irony here is that Boston Magazine intended this to be a positive piece on the impact of my message and the large audience it’s resonated with to-date. But in relying on easy “survivalist” stereotypes to frame the story (bunkers, Mad Max references, etc), they’ve succeed in missing the forest for the trees – conveying an image in polar opposition to what we actually stand for. … The most unfortunate thing about this is that Boston Magazine missed out on a really big story.

ODAC Newsletter – July 2

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Hurricane Alex, the first hurricane of the season, hampered the Macondo oil well disaster clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and resulted in the precautionary closure of 25% of crude oil production in the area. Reports indicate however that it didn’t cause any delay to the drilling of relief wells on which so much hope rests…

Back to our roots

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Last September I attended the Prairie Festival at The Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas. At the institute, Wes Jackson and his colleagues are undertaking one of the most important agricultural research projects in the world. They have gone back to first principles and are breeding new grain crops that are perennials rather than annuals…They have taken the long view.