Archive | April, 2011
Health care in a post-collapse world
by John House, who blogs at Health by Dr. House I can’t begin to count the times that I’ve thought about the collapse of the industrial economy. Even before I knew that such a thing was not only possible, but probable, I was hoping for collapse, or at least some sort of radical change, every [...]
Continue reading...Partial understanding on planet Easter Island
26. April 2011
The recent S&P downgrade of U.S. debt is yet another example of a circus sideshow in a nation filled with clowns sleepwalking off a cliff. Ben Bernanke, the master of ceremonies in the most ridiculous show on Earth, has come up with a new scheme to print money, hence plunge a financially bankrupt nation further [...]
Continue reading...Wrong things wrong
21. April 2011
by Brutus, who blogs at The Spiral Staircase I tossed around in bed a few nights ago with insomnia. This happens a lot lately. As my mind wandered, it occurred to me that NBLers lob lots of accusations, judgments, and ridicule about what is wrong in the world today. So, too, do others of every [...]
Continue reading...Like an elevator when the cable breaks
17. April 2011
According to Mark Twain, “civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.” It seems western civilization is just about done with the mindless multiplication of anything, much less unnecessary nonsense. It’s too late for a fast collapse of the industrial economy. According to every significant index, the U.S. hit its economic peak in 2000. We’ve [...]
Continue reading...Excerpts on education
14. April 2011
The blogosphere is rife with discussion of education, with a particular focus on higher education. In the spirit of beating a dead horse joining the fray, I’ve dredged up a few excerpts from Letters to a Young Academic, a book I wrote in 2003-2004 (and which was published in 2006). This book is my most [...]
Continue reading...The Heirloom
10. April 2011
The Heirloom is a riveting, fast-paced story about some of the characters caught up in a rapidly collapsing United States. This tale meets the plausibility test requisite of a any good novel. On that front, I find it far superior to James Howard Kunstler’s post-peak superstition-laced novels, World Made by Hand and Witches of Hebron. [...]
Continue reading...Quickening
7. April 2011
In the United States, various states offer glimpses into the future of industrial economies. Wisconsin is filling the mainstream media outlets, but California really leads the way. In the latter state, the lights have gone out and the water has been turned off for a significant number of people. Those events are coming to the [...]
Continue reading...Missing the forest and the trees
3. April 2011
by John Duffy Humans are creatures of myth. We invent stories to help us understand our surroundings, but we then become slaves to those stories, and to the false truths within. The real world, is the physical world; the sun, the soil, the water, the trees, the microscopic fungus, the mud wasps, the cucumber vines… [...]
Continue reading...This time is different
1. April 2011
Okay, I’m convinced. I’ve been wrong this entire time, but I’m willing to admit the error of my ways. It’s time to move on. The industrial age will last forever, with no negative consequences for the living planet, including an infinite number of human occupants. If we find a use for those species that have [...]
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29. April 2011
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