You can’t win, you can’t break even, and you can’t get out of the game. Those kernels are my favorite descriptors of the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. Respectively, the clauses mean (1) energy is conserved (First Law), (2) entropy never decreases, thus precluding perpetual motion machines (Second Law), and (3) it is impossible to cool [...]
3. February 2010
City living in a post-peak world
This headline at today’s version of Energy Bulletin caught my eye: Are cities sustainable in a post-peak oil world?
The editors at Energy Bulletin, reflecting contemporary culture, clearly do not understand sustainability. At every level, from the individual through the culture and even through the species, ours is a transient existence. We should be focused on [...]
28. January 2010
Where do we go from here?
Some doors are closed. We will no longer observe long-term growth of the industrial economy. In fact, any growth reported by the government or media is suspect at this point, and probably a result of the age-old fudging-the-numbers trick. We have entered the age of contraction. The days of access to the inexpensive fossil fuels [...]
25. January 2010
Wanted: two miracles
The cover of William Catton’s 1980 book, Overshoot, includes the following definitions:
carrying capacity: maximum permanently supportable load.
cornucopian myth: euphoric belief in limitless resources.
drawdown: stealing resources from the future.
cargoism: delusion that technology will always save us from
overshoot: growth beyond an area’s carrying capacity, leading to
crash: die-off.
Most people to whom I speak do not believe these definitions [...]
18. January 2010
If it suddenly ended tomorrow, could you somehow adjust to the fall?
We’ve all played the “what if” game, and specifically the one with a timeline. What if I had six months to live? Would I live differently? Would I see somebody, or some place? How would I “make my peace” with the world and those I love?
Let’s kick it up a notch. It’s not one of [...]
13. January 2010
Rubbing our noses in it
This guest post is authored by Michael Irving
____________________________
I would like to come back to our email exchanges in which I mentioned you were “rubbing our noses in it” about economic collapse, particularly with your 10-step plan. When I think about the implications of what you are saying from the perspective of the actions of EarthFirst! [...]
12. January 2010
Infiltrating the mainstream media
I’ll be writing for Examiner, at least on a trial basis. Although this is a mainstream outlet, there likely will be some overlap with topics on this blog.
My first piece is about the Wilderness Act, and it’s here. Please check it out, and tell me what you think with an online comment. This article, and [...]
9. January 2010
Politically viable solutions for peak oil and global climate change
As I’ve written and said many times, I see no politically viable solutions to peak oil or global climate change. There is simply no way to tell the masses the truth about economic contraction and then get re-elected. Ditto for declining accessibility to fossil fuels even as the human population continues to grow, with every [...]
6. January 2010
Channeling Berra about Barack: “If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him”
Lately I’ve been thinking about the relevance of Yogi Berra in the age of Obama. The all-star baseball catcher is best known as the master of the malapropism, and many quotes attributed to him seem especially timely in the age of Obama. I guess that’s one of the attributes of timeless quotes — they seem [...]
1. January 2010
Leadership in the post-carbon era
I’m getting cranky, judging from several comments on this blog and on Facebook (where my latest entries have been posted and then re-posted by contacts there). Not to pick nits, but I’m getting crankier. But, like all rationalizing animals, I have a good excuse. As my awareness grows, hopefully along with the awareness of other [...]
5. February 2010
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