Tag Archive | "economic growth"
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 [...]
Continue reading...Wanted: two miracles
Monday, January 25, 2010
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 [...]
Continue reading...Politically viable solutions for peak oil and global climate change
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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 [...]
Continue reading...Terminating the industrial economy: a ten-step plan
Friday, December 25, 2009
Will the ongoing economic collapse reach completion in time to save the living planet, and our species, in the absence of action on our part? Perhaps. Does that give us the right to ignore the moral imperative, hoping — or rather, wishing — peak oil causes the system to collapse under its own weight in [...]
Continue reading...Fear and loathing in the blogosphere: doom, gloom, and controlling the message
Saturday, December 12, 2009
I spend quite a bit of time reading the work of other bloggers. Believe it or not, I’ve read a few books, too. This post follows my usual approach of being an equal opportunity offender as I comment on the philosophy of James Howard Kunstler, Dmitry Orlov, and John Michael Greer, along with a few [...]
Continue reading...Unwinding
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
If Ben Bernanke and the fools at the Fed actually thought the industrial economy was recovering, they'd jack up interest rates. When the prime rate is up around 5%, you'll know the industrial economy is back on track. Alternatively, you can monitor the extinction rate of non-human species.
Continue reading...The recession is dead … long live the recession!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The world's first peak-oil recession has come to a close, according to third-quarter numbers invented by the federal government. Apparently flooding big banks, insurance companies, and automobile manufacturers with fiat currency interrupted the plummeting descent of American Empire. The stock markets skyrocketed expectedly. Predictably, so did the commodities markets.
Continue reading...Abandoning a dream
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I was among the final baby boomers born in the United States. Along with my entire generation, I owe the world an apology. My generation abandoned a worthy dream, and it will cost all of us, but nobody more than civilized members of industrial society.
Continue reading...Rally time
Thursday, August 27, 2009
It's rally time on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a positive day for the eighth day in a row to hit a year-long high amidst the longest streak since April of 2007. Before you get too excited about this bit of green-shoots news from the boys on murderer's row, let's consider the cause and consequences.
Continue reading...A typical reaction
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Occasionally when people talk to me about my new life in and around the mud hut, their conclusions include one of the following statements: (1) You're selfishly wasting your talent as an excellent and inspiring teacher. You should be teaching at the university, saving students, instead of preparing for economic collapse. (2) Don't be silly. The United States cannot suffer economic collapse. My responses go something like this:
Continue reading...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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