Yesterday I delivered a presentation to a room full of Honors College students, peppered with a few faculty and administrators. The response was overwhelmingly disappointing. Seems nearly everybody in the room — and in the country, for that matter — wants to keep the current game going, no matter the costs. They don’t view civilization as a problem at all, evidence notwithstanding, and they think the solution to our fossil-fuel dilemma is to drive less and bicycle more.
Jean-Francois Bernier of Quebec asked a couple questions in response to a recent post. It occurs to me that I’ve given hints about my relocation efforts, but I haven’t revealed the whole tawdry story in one place. This post corrects the oversight, if it was one, if you’re interested.
People keep asking me why the price of oil has fallen from its recent spike to nearly $150/barrel. Trust me, I’m not responsible for the price decrease. Or the preceding price increase, for that matter.
I’m surprised, too. I didn’t buy oil futures, and yet the price of oil fell.
I’m headed to the mud hut for a few days, where I’ll be working on cisterns, the outdoor kitchen, and some raised garden beds. I used my magnus opus as the basis for a luncheon talk I’ll be giving next month to kick off the Honors College’s once-a-month series. Students in the Honors College were asked to read Daniel Quinn’s book, Ishmael, during the summer. Below, I’ve attached the draft transcript of my talk for your comments.
If you’re in Tucson this afternoon, I’ll be reading from, and signing, my latest book at the main bookstore on campus. The gig’s at 4:30 p.m., and I’d like to meet you there.
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I was interviewed on Arizona Illustrated tonight about my latest book, Living with Fire: Fire Ecology and Policy for the Twenty-first Century. I had chatted with the program’s host, Bill Buckmaster, for about 30 minutes before we taped the segment. He took a few mental notes.