Politics

Vision of the future : Dune

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Science-fiction tells us more about the dreams, hopes, and fears of a time than about any actual form the future could take. It may, however, sometimes offer us a glimpse through a glass, darkly, of how this future might come to be. That is why Kunstler’s The World Made by Hand and Greer’s Star’s Reach are so interesting to read. They are not the only novels on this subject, however. Other science-fiction classics, not necessarily of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre, may help us to grasp what the fundamentals of a post-peak society could be. Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of those.

Haitian farmers: so all can eat, produce it here

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We’re putting together a national network, RENHASSA, to show what our alternatives are today. The whole peasant sector is coming together to tell everyone about the policies we want. Our mission is to advocate for Haiti to be sovereign with its food and to promote national production.

Waiting for the Millennium, part 1: Peak oil goes mainstream

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As cracks spread through the wall of peak oil denial, the subculture that has grown up around peak oil activism may just have to deal with their concern becoming mainstream. That offers many positive options, but also some troubling possibilities on the downside — among them a social phenomenon common in periods of turmoil and the collapse of existing cultural narratives.

A dialogue with Lorna Salzman – part III

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In her Commentary and her Critique of the Transition Initiative/Network, Lorna Salzman questions the role of government and Transition. Ms. Salzman asserts that the Transition approach omits government. As I will attempt to explain below, our approach is far from that.

Paint it Black: Oil activism

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Hey kids, the circus is in town. One day, the Los Angeles Times announces the Gulf gusher is plugged. They got that news from Coast Guard clown Admiral Thad Allen. The oil didn’t get the message, it kept gushing out of the hole. BP had stopped pumping mud 16 hours previously, but nobody told the government. Even so, 24 hours later, Allen, acting as cheerleader-in-chief, said the same thing, on National TV. Meanwhile, any fool on the Net could see the oil continuing to gush out, if you could find the right camera.

Media flirting with peak oil following Gulf spill

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The ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil disaster is bringing the mainstream media a little closer to the peak oil debate. It’s been out there on the business pages for a while, but it is beginning to make its way into news pages – via comment columns, and in a roundabout way, of course. It’s still at the flirtatious stage, but its beginning.

Review: Thriving Beyond Sustainability by Andrés R. Edwards

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Given what a sweeping category sustainability is, author and noted sustainability expert Andrés Edwards is to be commended for distilling it down into two easily digestible volumes for lay readers: The Sustainability Revolution and Thriving Beyond Sustainability.

ODAC Newsletter – June 4

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As the leaking Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to defy BP’s efforts, the crisis now looks existential for the company. This week the share price collapsed further, and commentary went far beyond the usual concerns over the fate of the chief executive and the dividend. One Clinton era official even suggested taking BP’s US assets into temporary administration…

Under pressure to block oil, a rush to dubious projects

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In response to the widening disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, government officials have approved a plan to intercept the oil by building a 45-mile sand berm. But scientists fear the project is a costly boondoggle that will inflict further environmental damage and do little to keep oil off the coast.

Retirement and entitlement

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Last Tuesday I participated to a demonstration against the projected reform of the French retirement system. It was nearly mandatory for me to be seen there, on strike (but still paid, that one of the advantages of being a politician) and holding a party banner. Yet, all moderates present felt the whole thing was an act, a mere baroud d’honneur [last stand] before an unavoidable defeat.