Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Throughout the European part of the Mediterranean – an area stretching from Greece through Italy, France and Spain, the coltura promiscua or coltura mista (translated as “promiscuous agriculture”, polyculture or mixed farming) landscapes predominated in many regions.
Europe is finding out the hard way that there are no easy substitutes for oil and natural gas.
We no longer have the luxury of facing one catastrophe at a time. And the underlying cause is our slavish devotion to perpetual growth.
What made Europeans so successful in the task of conquering the world? My interpretation is that it was the result of periodic “Seneca Collapses” of the European population which made it possible to accumulate resources that would then be available to propel the European expansion. It is an effect that may be called the”Seneca Rebound” that makes growth faster after a collapse.
Europe has been the global leader in energy transition for decades, offering to the rest of the world many useful examples of both policies that work and those that don’t. As a result, European countries now have some of the world’s most energy efficient economies, and the largest shares of renewable energy.
Consumption peaked 7 years after the production peak and is falling now in sync with production.
Last year, Sofia witnessed first hand the near complete collapse of the island’s economy…
The economy of Italy seem to be declining as a consequence of the increasing cost (or – equivalently – declining energy returns, EROEI) of primary energy sources, mainly natural gas and crude oil.
Italy’ peak oil has arrived: we are back to 1967 in terms of oil consumption.
De Wereld Morgen asks Richard Heinberg about the prospects for fracking in Europe.
A weekly update, including:
•Oil and the global economy
•Middle East
•Europe
•The climate summit
•Quote of the week
•Briefs
Shared problems need shared solutions. That’s why, last May, members of various European social movements met in Frankfurt to protest the European Central Bank in three days of action under the name “Blockupy.” There, they decided that they needed to do more to create joint strategies for fighting the excessive power of the financial sector and the resulting policies of austerity.
