Thriving in the post-petroleum era

A couple days after returning from a trip across the pond, I departed Tucson for northern California. As suggested in my latest entry, I have multiple goals for this trip: (1) There’s no better time than June to avoid the Sonoran Desert; (2) I’m seeing the world while I can, before the Empire dissolves; and (3) I’m facilitating the Fall of Empire, one gallon at a time. In addition, I’ve been asked to speak at the monthly meeting of the Willits Economic LocaLization group (WELL), arguably the people best prepared, at least in this country, for the collapse of civilization. If you’re in the area, drop by the Willits, California community center Monday, 23 June at 6:15 p.m. for a discussion titled, “Thriving in the post-petroleum era.”

While I was buying lunch at a local organic cafe in Willits yesterday, I asked the youngsters running the joint if they could point me toward the community center, and also if they were familiar with WELL. Nada to both. Imagine my disappointment. Then I noticed a poster on their wall with my photo on it. Even if they had no clue about the event, they still were advertising it.
I have events scheduled in Ukiah and Westport, as well in Willits, so I’m staying in the coastal burg of Ft. Bragg. On this trip, I’m pimping my latest book, the advance copies of which were released this week, as well as talking about the ongoing imperial collapse.
Two resources are proving particularly useful as I think about, and talk about, collapse: (1) Dmitry Orlov‘s superb new book, Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects, and (2) the long-awaited report from my students, Personal Survival Skills: Life at the Twilight of Empire. The latter is a draft — we’re awaiting art from one of the contributors, and we’re hoping for personal statements from three contributors. Please send comments of every kind to this blog, but let me know via email about grammatical and typographical errors, as well as more egregious mistakes. I’ll forward corrections to the authors.