Tag Archive | "economy"
Warning shots
How many do you need? I still keep hearing, “If things get bad, I’ll move to ….” And then fill in the blank with your favorite fantasy or nightmare, including these and many more: “my sister-in-law’s property in Kansas” “Mexico” “the wilderness” “a central America country” “southern Europe” “the coast” First, let’s consider how “bad” [...]
Continue reading...What works, maybe: individual options
Monday, April 26, 2010
Like global climate change, peak oil represents a predicament, not a problem. There is no politically viable solution to either of these great challenges. Political solutions require economic growth, forever, and therefore no significant sacrifice on the behalf of the electorate. Further, the industrial economy is underlain by the assumption of growth: The industrial economy [...]
Continue reading...Surveying the field and charting a course
Friday, April 16, 2010
It’s all the rage to talk about a double-dip in the industrial economy. That would be an economic trend in the shape of a W. I think an M is far more likely. The assumption of never-ending growth underlies all neoclassical economic assessments, but I think that assumption is about to break up on the [...]
Continue reading...What works: 98.6 degrees
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Along with securing potable water and edible food, any strategy for thriving during the post-carbon era will include maintaining body temperature at about 98.6 F (if you speak Celsius, that’s 37 C). There are several ways to accomplish this goal, even if you spend most of your time traveling. In this essay, I will describe [...]
Continue reading...City living in a post-peak world
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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 [...]
Continue reading...The morality of imperialism, continued
Sunday, December 20, 2009
My latest post stirred considerable interest, as indicated by my email in-box as well as several thoughtful comments online. Although I tried to be clear about my position, questions continue to flow in, suggesting my no-holds-barred approach lacked clarity. I’ll try again in this post, recognizing that my position is so nuanced it is likely [...]
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...Briefly, for now
Monday, September 14, 2009
While I'm developing a post about the ongoing decline into negative territory beyond Hubbert's Peak, today's brief post satisfies two purposes: (1) shameless self-promotion, and (2) short-term prediction.
Continue reading...Whack!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The next case of $120 oil, assuming we get there before the industrial economy falls into the abyss, will be brutal for an already over-stretched American consumer. Banks are falling like dominoes on a mule cart over the bumpy terrain of declining energy supplies. When will the lights go out?
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...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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