Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
McKibben: Global warming about to hit high gear / The Great Coral Reef disaster /
World Bank: China, India are fast-growing polluters / CO2levels accelerating / Christian Aid: climate change ‘will kill 182m Africans’ /
Long-haul breaks spell bad news for the climate /
Meltdown fear as Arctic ice cover falls to record winter low / WSJ: Scientists explain climate-change data / Report: Americans and climate change
Last week, I attended a conference on Peak Oil in Washington, D.C. With about 250 others, I heard that the world is probably reaching the top of petroleum production right now. This would mean a future of ever declining supplies and rising prices. It was scary. But there was also a strong message of hope.
When casualties overwhelm battlefield doctors, they are often forced to sort the wounded into three groups: those who will survive without treatment, those who will likely die even with treatment, and those who will probably live but only with treatment. In the post-peak oil age we will likely be faced with a similar situation in deciding which activities a lower-energy society can support.
Ivins: developments in journalism’s Internet frontier / Interview with John Talberth (“Redefining Progress”) / Earn well, live cheap (telecommuting) /
Wal-Mart eyes organic foods
Special coverage of oil at Business Week / Crop shortages could curb European biofuel growth / Congress considers hydrogen prize / Pacific islands look to coconuts to cut oil costs / Europe warned of steep rise in gas price as Russia runs out
The Nation: for a sane energy policy / Lester Brown: raise gas taxes and lower income taxes / Ibbotson: a sure cure for oil addiction /
Inside the lives of ‘extreme commuters.’ / Grist: push to raise fuel-economy standards gaining new support
BREAKING NEWS: House appropriators OK resolution on need to cap emissions / Putin proposes ruble-denominated oil, gas exchange / Want to change the world? Make gas $10 a gallon. / NYT: The high costs of cheap gas and vice versa / Oklahoma oil output continues to fall
What, too far-fetched? Too implausible? Not at all. Citizens would wail. Commuters would scream and stomp and die. But then we would do what we always do. We would evolve. Adapt.
MIT: Hydrogen reality check /
Africa to benefit as world shifts to biofuels / CBS: the ethanol solution / East Europe tackles energy waste / Americans head out beyond the exurbs / Report: 98% of U.S. commuters favor public transportation for others
When Felix called to ask me if I was handy with tools, naturally I said yes. As soon as he described the project he had in mind I knew we were about to make automotive history. He wanted to do a public conversion of a stock Prius into a plug-in Prius with a handful of home mechanics over the Earth Day weekend.
Last week the peak oil phenomenon reached a turning point when official Washington began to realize it has a problem. The problem, however, is currently being framed as high-gas-prices-going-into-the-next-election rather than worldwide oil depletion.
Rod Dreher’s political hybrid: the all-natural, whole-grain conservative /
UK: ‘Clear lead needed’ on green life /
Zero emissions, village-style car-free neighbourhoods – in China /
Derrick Jensen: Beyond hope /
Ex-mayor of LA:
Leave the gas at the pump and pedal away
