It’s time to start spreading the word about peak oil
Hate mail is just part of the reason I submit the occasional commentary. It reminds me that, lacking the ability to love the future yet unable to change it, at least we can despise the messenger.
BushCo’s peak-oil plan
The lamestream, corporate media are finally beginning to spread the news about peak oil, though they’ve been remiss in pointing out the ramifications. And, as with global climate change, they’re too late to this party to do much good, if any.
Math. The scary kind, not the fuzzy kind
I performed a little rudimentary math last week. A little because even a little pushes my limit for math, these days. And rudimentary for the same reason. The outcome was staggering: We’re using oil at the rate of 5,500 cubic feet per second (cfs).
Three documentaries describe the fall of empire
I haven’t watched television for years. My brain’s in bad enough shape without the brain-cell-destroying intoxicants of alcohol or delta waves, so I’ve foregone both for quite a while. Long enough, in fact, that I’m starting to feel as if I’m obsessing about them, so I suppose I should get back on the wagon to see what I’ve been missing.
Personal preparations for the fall of empire
It doesn’t pay to be a prophet, at least not in one’s own time. I’ve been ridiculed, disparaged, and generally mocked in public, and the email in-box is filled with hateful missives. I’m not complaining, mind you: Every social critic knows how little regard society has for criticism. I don’t much care for it myself, when it’s pointed my way.
Thriving in the post-carbon era
We’ve passed the world oil-supply peak and we’re staring down the barrel of a crisis to which leadership is conspicuously absent. If you think the government — or anybody else for that matter — will bail your sinking rowboat when oil is priced at $400/barrel and annual inflation is running at 1,000 percent, you failed to notice how long it took FEMA to get water to the Superdome in the wake of Katrina. That was a temporary inconvenience, and the feds had plenty of resources, including carbon-based ones.
The End of Civilization and the Extinction of Humanity
Peak oil spells the end of civilization. Runaway greenhouse spells the end of humanity. This is my latest attempt at standup tragedy.