Tag Archive | "fossil fuels"
A review before the exam
Actually, this review is too late for the many people who have already endured economic collapse. As any of those folks can tell the rest of us, we do not want to receive the lesson after the exam. I’ve written all this before, but I have not recently provided a concise summary. This essay provides [...]
Continue reading...Greatest hits
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Three years and 185 essays into the blogosphere, I’ve decided it’s time for a “greatest hits” essay. The best part, for you: It’s only a line or two per essay, and I’ve selected from only a dozen essays. The best part, for me: I get to pick ‘em. They’re in chronological order. Feel free to [...]
Continue reading...Muddling along
Monday, August 2, 2010
After a woefully inept introduction, this essay forces me to stare into the abyss of planet-destroying myth. If you believe we’re headed for a muddle-through future in which we correct massive ecological overshoot with the tranquility of Buddhist monks, this is the essay you’ve been waiting to read. Come on along, if you dare, keeping [...]
Continue reading...Economic and environmental consequences of expensive oil
Friday, July 16, 2010
What are the causes and consequences of expensive oil? The first question is posed in this article, and answered surprisingly well by a neoclassical economist. He understands the relationship between the price of oil and economic growth, and he hints at constrained supply while also expressing irrational exuberance about continued economic growth. As an economist, [...]
Continue reading...Strike one … you’re out?
Monday, July 5, 2010
Bad Company’s Shooting Star blares over the PA system. Don’t you know, yeah, yeah The hour is late as the game enters the top of the ninth inning. The home team has held the Industrialists scoreless, and leads by a single run. If the Industrialists score, the home team will bring out the bats. Don’t [...]
Continue reading...Making other arrangements: I’d like to help you
Monday, June 28, 2010
Now that my own living arrangements are in order — to the extent that’s possible in light of ongoing, accelerating global climate change, decline of American Empire, and demise of the living planet — I would like to help other people more directly than I am able via the blogosphere, email, and telephone. My ability [...]
Continue reading...The agenda revisited
Saturday, June 19, 2010
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. (Arthur Schopenhauer, one of my philosophical heroes) ______________________ Based on recent comments in this space, and also in my email in-box, I am compelled to provide an updated overview of my proposed agenda [...]
Continue reading...Dispatches from Central Absurdistan
Monday, June 7, 2010
1. In yet another reason to keep those shows on the air, reality TV breeds new body ideals. 2. It’ll take a lot of rats to clothe plus-size models in the latest fashion accessory. 3. Encouraging us to keep the weight on, the American Heart Association endorses Nintendo’s Wii. Please put aside your shovel and [...]
Continue reading...We didn’t start the fire
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Actually, to counter singer/songwriter Billy Joel, we did start this FIRE. Not you and me, of course, but our culture. The U.S. industrial economy is all about Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate. The FIRE is about to run its course, extinguished by the absence of fuel in each of those interconnected sectors. The financial sector [...]
Continue reading...Time to bury the dead
Monday, May 10, 2010
The final nail in the global financial coffin was hammered into place this morning by the masters of the Eurozone. The trillion-dollar bailout Ponzi scheme to save Greece is yet another example of kicking the proverbial can down the road, hoping the taxpayers fail to notice the 800-pound gorilla fighting its way out of the [...]
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Monday, August 16, 2010
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