Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Much passionate concern is flying around regarding the United Nations meeting on climate this December in Copenhagen. We hear it from honest activists and from politicians who sound trustworthy on this most crucial matter. An example is Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, who deserves a prize for eloquence in warning us of climate change.
This week ODAC welcomes the publication of two important reports. In its excellent Heads in the Sand report, Global Witness provides one of the clearest summaries of the peak oil issue to date, including a trenchant critique of the IEA’s position…
For the average home- or small business-owner looking to purchase a solar PV array, there is much homework to be done—and truly good textbooks, amid the cacophony of voices on the subject, are a real find. Thankfully, Power from the Sun, the latest offering from green building guru Dan Chiras, is just such a book.
-Fossil Fuels’ Hidden Cost Is in Billions, Study Says
-Will EPA veto or regulate the plunder of Appalachia?
-Global Warming Accelerating While The U.S. Backpedals
Oil prices rose this week breaking the $75/barrel mark for the first time this year. The gains were mainly fuelled by rising equity prices and a falling dollar…
-India’s quest for uranium
-Putin’s China Visit Helps Russia Become Global Energy Supplier
-Iraq cuts foreign deals for major boost to oil output
-The U.S. military’s battle to wean itself off oil
-What’s yours is mine
-Big Oil Front Group Fights for Tar Sands
-Saudis Seek Payments for Any Drop in Oil Revenues
-Transforming Clean-Energy Industry Into a Local One
-National Grid plan for local waste-to-biogas plants
-Saving energy may generate billions, study says
Evolution demands short-term thinking focused on individual survival. Most attempts to overcome our evolutionarily hardwired absorption with self are selected against. The Overman is dead, killed by a high-fat diet and unwillingness to exercise. Reflexively, we follow him into the grave.
A couple of weeks ago Jerry Mander and I were discussing the best word to use in the heading for the back cover copy of a new short book being co-published by International Forum on Globalization and Post Carbon Institute, Searching for a Miracle: “Net Energy” and the Fate of Industrial Societies (I wrote the main text, Jerry wrote the Foreword). Jerry liked the word “conundrum,” while I argued for “dilemma.” We were in basic agreement, though, about a word we didn’t want: “problem.”
“A peak of conventional oil production before 2030 appears likely” and “there is a significant risk of a peak in conventional oil production before 2020…”
-What Makes Europe Greener than the U.S.?
-My dream of a zero-waste Goa
-Get Your Community Resilience Toolkit Today!
-From Turbines and Straw, Danish Self-Sufficiency
-The Return of the American Prairie
Lester Brown released a new book this week called Plan B 4.0, Mobilization to Save Civilization. The book is for sale, but it can also be downloaded free as a PDF.
I participated in a conference call with Lester Brown, in which he talked about the book, and several of us asked questions. In this post, I will give you at least a brief introduction to the book.
