Media & Communications

What happens when energy resources deplete?

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One view is that energy prices will rise, substitutes will be found, and prices will come back down again, perhaps settling at a somewhat higher equilibrium reflecting the cost of producing the substitute energy source… Another view, popular among those concerned about peak-oil, is that oil and energy prices will just keep rising. If scalable substitutes aren’t found, some expect that oil prices will rise from their current price of $75 barrel, to $100 barrel, to $200 barrel, to $300 barrel, and eventually to $1,000 barrel or more.

Make me a pallet on the floor: Preparing to take in short-term refugees in tough times

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One of the inevitable realities where people get poorer and are subject to more climate-related and infrastructure failure disasters is that people have to take in friends and family who have no other place to go. Hurricane Katrina, for example, for several million people represented an exercise in shared housing – sometimes for a short while, sometimes for a long one.

Creating a game plan for the transition to a sustainable U.S. economy

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The Obama administration should take advantage of the economic crisis to redefine the country’s social goals to prioritize sustainable human well-being and not just grow the economy. We should strive for a future that has full employment and more leisure time to spend with friends and family, thereby reducing conspicuous consumption and poverty. This article envisions what that society might look like with redefined goals, and includes specific ideas as to how to achieve this vision.

Global scenarios for the century ahead: searching for sustainability

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Building on earlier work of the Global Scenario Group and the Stockholm Environment Institute – Boston, this paper presents four updated and contrasting global scenarios for the twenty-first Century created with the PoleStar modeling system. These scenarios feature brief narratives and integrated quantifications across numerous economic, social, resource, and environmental dimensions.

How to be ‘Fast, Fresh, and Green’ in the kitchen [book review]

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Like recycling, listening to NPR, and caring about the World Cup, everyday cooking has become a de rigeur activity for those with certain class and cultural aspirations. And that’s as it should be. We need more home cooks. If diversified, human-scale, community-directed farms are going to thrive, then a much broader swath of the population has to know how to turn raw ingredients into dinner — and do it regularly.

Peak Moment 173: Transitioning to the Elm Street Economy

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How can you contribute your skills towards meeting real needs now and in the future? Paul and Sarah Edwards, the authors of Home-Based Business for Dummies, focus on the “Elm Street Economy” of locally-owned businesses rather than “Main Street”, which we hear so much about, but is comprised mainly of franchises. In the Elm Street Economy, local businesses meet local needs — for food, shelter, clothing, heating, electricity, healthcare, and other products…

Oilwatch Monthly June 2010

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Conventional crude production – Latest figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that crude oil production including lease condensates decreased by 107,000 b/d from February to March 2010, resulting in total production of crude oil including lease condensates of 73.41 million b/d.