The Real Population Problem
Sometimes considered a taboo subject, the issue of population runs as an undercurrent in virtually all discussions of modern challenges.
limits to growth
The End of the Age of Extraction
Today’s global economy is causing shortages of natural resources (both renewable and nonrenewable) as we come to the end of what might be called the Age of Extraction.
Wanted: political leader with a vision for a sustainable future
A sustainable future remains within our grasp but – thanks to the way human brains work – only governments can implement many of the necessary strategies.
The Peak Oil Crisis: A Review of Richard Heinberg’s ‘Snake Oil’
The heart of “Snake Oil” is directed at countering the optimistic projections for production of oil and gas by hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Well and Truly Fracked
Heinberg makes four points in the book, each of which could usefully be put on the business end of a branding iron and applied to the tender backsides of pundits and politicians alike.
The Fracking of “The Limits to Growth”
Does a new extractive technology arrive before or after limits to growth in resource throughput are in place?
How Unchecked Capitalism Has Brought the World to the Brink of Apocalypse — and What We Must Do Now
We have both a moral obligation and practical reasons to work for justice and sustainability.
Our Global Ponzi Scheme
Since the principal advisors to government are economists, we need either economists who can think like ecologists or more ecological advisors. Otherwise, market behavior—including its failure to include the indirect costs of goods and services, to value nature’s services, and to respect sustainable-yield thresholds—will cause the destruction of the economy’s natural support systems, and our global Ponzi scheme will fall apart.
Richard Heinberg Navigating the New Economic Reality Part 1
In this keynote presentation Richard surveys three over-arching global trends that provide the context for smart local economic development and planning.
The Abundance of the Commons
Is there indeed “abundance” in the commons, especially ones based on natural resources? Or do such ideas amount to a denial of nature’s finite limits?
Economics – breaking the mold – May 28
•Horror story •Gattopardo economics: The crisis and the mainstream response of change that keeps things the same •The Wrath of Capital: Neoliberalism and Climate Change Politics •"Twenty-Something" Entrepreneurs Return To Northern Michigan •The Economy Of Tomorrow Project
The speech Obama needed to make
I’ve stayed away from politics pointedly in posts, because voting for either party is still just voting for growth, with different labels applied. I do not believe that the current corporate giveaway that we call a political system is fixable unless we elect a leader who is ecologically and energetically literate. I doubt that will happen. That said, here is an earth day wish for real servant leadership which would fix our problems. The post is directed at a specific leader, Obama, since the United States is the worst offender in terms of extreme behavior and unsustainability.