Rob Dietz is the Program Director at Post Carbon Institute, where he guides projects from conception to completion. With training and experience in ecological economics, environmental science, and conservation biology, he has built a career aimed at moving society in sustainable directions. Rob is the lead author of the bestselling book Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources (Berrett-Koehler, 2013).
Crazy Town 95. Shotgunning Hedwig: The Dilemma of Invasives and the Bizarre Decision to Slaughter Barred Owls
The US Fish and Wildlife Service decided to “manage” barred owls by shooting half a million of them over the next three decades. Jason, Rob, and Asher (along with the postal workers at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) are upset about this plan for addressing the predicament of invasive species.
December 18, 2024
Crazy Town 94. Breaking News: Crazy Town Joins the Newly Formed Department of Entropy
Rob, Jason, and Asher talk about joining the new Trump Administration, at least until Elon Musk eradicates it. They explore the implications of Trump 2.0 through three reality-bending lenses – shifting baselines, entropy, and the upside of down – and three ways of responding: resistance, resilience, and regeneration. They decided they couldn’t stomach a fourth R – respect.
November 27, 2024
A Dozen Years of Economic Thumb Twiddling
Post Carbon Institute colleagues Richard Heinberg and Rob Dietz discuss the history of economic growth, the rise of ecological economics, the aftermath of the economic turmoil of 2008, and how to go from obsessing over growth to embracing a right-sized economy.
October 31, 2024
Never Mention Population
Bringing up the Earth’s growing human population (and its associated impacts) is not something you typically do in polite circles. If you do introduce the topic of overpopulation, even among staunch environmentalists, you risk being called all sorts of undignified names.
September 12, 2024
Crazy Town Bonus Episode: Human Nature Odyssey
Sometimes you just wanna hear from someone else. In this bonus episode, Alex Leff enters Crazy Town to introduce his podcast, Human Nature Odyssey. Before playing the first episode of the podcast, Jason, Rob, and Asher find lots of laughs with Alex as they contemplate environmental destruction, gorilla suits, the fate of civilization, tandem bike rides, imaginary games, and how to make a podcast.
August 1, 2024
From Learning to Doing: Cliff Scholz on Reskilling
Cliff Scholz –advocate for healthy food and farming and the originator of the Green Hand Reskilling concept– chats with Post Carbon Institute’s Rob Dietz about what it takes to turn knowledge into action to make your community more resilient.
July 26, 2024