I delivered two TED-style talks at the 2011 International Conference on Sustainability, Transition and Culture Change in Bellaire, Michigan. The presentations embedded below were delivered to the few dozen people remaining at the conference on its fourth day, Sunday, 13 November. The first video clip describes my personal journey in the usual, self-indulgent manner, and [...]
Continue reading...Saturday, November 5, 2011
There are various ways to ready oneself for the trip down the peak-oil curve, as well as for climate chaos. Most importantly, as I’ve indicated many times, is psychological readiness. If you are mentally prepared for a future radically different from the past you’ve known, you’re well on your way to thriving in the years [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, September 29, 2011
My recent foray to Wisconsin and Michigan had me staying five different homes, hence sleeping in five different beds and eating at many different tables. It was quite an exciting adventure, spent with wide-awake people, and I hope to repeat the experience as many times as the industrial economy allows. I’ve embedded one of the [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A strong community underlies mere survival for most humans and, contrary to the strong current of the main stream, developing and maintaining a decent human community is imperative if we are to thrive. As I’ve written previously, our self-proclaimed independence based on suburbia is a bad joke made possible only by cheap energy. As we’ll [...]
Continue reading...Friday, August 5, 2011
This brief post is used to point out three former activities and one future one. I present them as I live: in chronological order. My July essay at Transition Voice summarizes collapse-related information. I am featured in this article from 14 July by editor Erik Curren at Transition Voice. I am featured in this article [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, June 1, 2011
I’ve managed to connect via email several people, most of whom I’ve not met. I have connected directly with many like-minded people using myriad outlets, including online fora, email, telephone, and live-and-in-person. The latter has proved most gratifying, particularly including the few hundred visitors to the mud hut. Online opportunities have been largely disappointing to [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, April 7, 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...Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Late last week I was interviewed by KMO for the C-REALM radio show. The resulting podcast runs about an hour, and it’s posted here (go directly to podcast here). All comments welcome, all the time. My monthly essay for Transition Voice, barely modified from an earlier essay in this space, was posted here today.
Continue reading...Friday, February 11, 2011
I wrote an entire book on the life of the mind, if you can imagine that. A significant portion of the book was dedicated to the importance of a liberal education, and I’ve written about that topic in this space, too: Liberal teaching means putting everything I know, and everything I am, at risk in [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I presented in Austin, Texas, 9 January 2011 under the title, Durable Living: Preparing for Climate Change and Energy Decline. Free and open to the public, the event was sponsored by Design~Build~Live and Crude Awakening Austin, and attended by about 30 people. I was shooting video of this presentation, but my camera failed 15 minutes [...]
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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