A User’s Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save it – A Review of Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed’s Latest Book
Anyone who has spent much time discussing peak oil, the collapse of civilizations, climate change or modern security issues eventually confronts the issue of historical antecedents. The [Insert choice of vanished civilization here] collapsed because o...
In Our Hands, Part 1: How We Got What We Have (1950)
How economic progress comes from the accumulation of privately owned tools of production; demonstrates the need for tools by showing a young couple with their infant child in a wilderness with nothing but natural resources and their hands.
A Campfire ...
Rescuing Suburbia
Analysis from The Oil Drum :
Mr. Jeff Vail from ASPO-USA
2010 Peak Oil Conference. More: http://www.aspousa.org/
Below the fold are the slides, and a rough approximation of my presentation entitled "Rescuing Suburbia" from the 2010 ASPO-USA confere...
The Abandonment of Technology
This is a guest post by Cameron Leckie, known on The Oil Drum as leckos. Cameron is an officer in the Australian army. He is a member of ASPO Australia and lives in Brisbane with his wife and two young children.
The other day, whilst visiting the in-l...
What careers are best?
If a young person is just starting out, and is wondering what career choice to make, what would you suggest?
How would this advice differ, for a person who has been laid off from their current work, and wants to make a career change?
What should we be teaching our children?
If the world will be changing, what should we be saying to our children about it?
Should the peak oil story be taught in schools?
Clown Fest
The continued expansion of the internet has brought with it a surge in information, analysis, opinion and insight. At the same time the vast mental and social freedom in cyberspace has manifested an exponentially growing forum for self-expression –...
Thinking about things you can do now, that may be more difficult later
We all have things that we like to do, or are important to us. We also have things we want to do that might be helpful for the long term.
Not all of these things will be as easy to do if oil becomes less available, or even if the economy turns for the ...
Joseph Tainter’s 2009 Speech – Human Resource Use: Timing and Implications for Sustainability
Joseph Tainter, a Professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University, and author of the seminal work "The Collapse of Complex Societies", gave a speech about a year ago on complexity and resource use at the 94th Annual Meet...
Campfire Open Thread – What I Learned This Week
This has been a busy week. I had started a longer Campfire piece on Democracy and Gresham's Law but didn't finish. Instead, lets share 3 things that we learned this week. How about '2 facts and an insight'?
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK
1. I was hiking Tue...
Biodiesel, Biochar & Biodiversity in Costa Rica — An Example of Small-Scale, Locally-Appropriate Action
This is a guest post by Ryan King. Ryan is a biologist, independent journalist, and community “eco-preneur” in Costa Rica. Below, he provides a brief introduction to decentralized biodiesel and biochar production in Costa Rica. His story will in...
