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The Vulnerabilities Of A High-Tech Society
The Vulnerabilities Of A High-Tech Society In the title of this piece, I use the term, “high tech” however this is about the vulnerabilities of any advanced civilization. Such societies tend to be specialized with their members dependent on services and jobs being carried out by others in the community to provide the basic necessities […]
Are You Willing to Starve for the Greater Good?
Are You Willing to Starve for the Greater Good? Central planners are pulling double shifts. Contriving plans and proposals to control what you consume, how you travel and cook, where your money is spent, and much, much more. You know who we’re talking about. The Davos WEF crowd. The UN, IMF, World Bank, and central […]
A Deep Dive Into the Future
A Deep Dive Into the Future Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash Thinking more than a couple of days ahead is not one of humankind’s greatest strengths, especially not beyond the scale and scope of our immediate surroundings. In the rare occasion when thinking of this type does happen, however, it usually takes two directions: the future will […]
Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past
Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past Civilization may need to “forget the flame” to reduce CO2 emissions. Just as a living organism continually needs food to maintain itself, an economy consumes energy to do work and keep things going. That consumption comes with the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, […]
I also hate this conclusion (on net zero)
I also hate this conclusion (on net zero) I begin the final section of my chapter on Energy Collapse with the subtitle “I also hate this conclusion”. Because I did not want to discover that modern societies cannot continue their energy trajectories by simply displacing fossil fuels with new technologies. But that is what the sum […]
Ecological doom-loops: why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected–new research
Ecological doom-loops: why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected–new research Across the world, rainforests are becoming savanna or farmland, savanna is drying out and turning into desert, and icy tundra is thawing. Indeed, scientific studies have now recorded “regime shifts” like these in more than 20 different types of ecosystem where tipping points have been […]
Researchers: We’ve Underestimated The Risk of Simultaneous Crop Failures Worldwide
Researchers: We’ve Underestimated The Risk of Simultaneous Crop Failures Worldwide (PeterAustin/iStock/Getty Images Plus) The risks of harvest failures in multiple global breadbaskets have been underestimated, according to a study Tuesday that researchers said should be a “wake up call” about the threat climate change poses to our food systems. Food production is both a key source of […]
US Honeybees Suffer Second Deadliest Season On Record
US Honeybees Suffer Second Deadliest Season On Record Figures published today reveal beekeepers in the U.S. lost an estimated 48% of their honey bee colonies in 2022-23. As Statista’s Martin Armstrong reports, according to an annual survey that tracks the state of managed hives, this is the second highest death rate on record after 2020-21’s 51%. You will […]
Solar Cycle 25’s Maximum Might Arrive Earlier And Hit Harder
Solar Cycle 25’s Maximum Might Arrive Earlier And Hit Harder Solar Cycle 25 has been underway since April 2019. Ever since the cycle began, the sun has become more active, unleashing solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms, with at least one scientist warning solar maximum could arrive ahead of schedule, and that’s not […]
When Nature Gazes Back
When Nature Gazes Back It’s been a month since I last posted on the theme of disenchantment, and a lively month at that. The cracks in America’s global empire have become increasingly visible around the world. Here at home the mentally challenged resident of the White House continues to blunder through a vague approximation of […]
Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change William R. Catton (1980)
Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change William R. Catton (1980) Though, ‘Overshoot’, is ostensibly a book about biophysical limits, the theme that runs through it is about the human propensity for denying obvious facts: Our ability to deceive not only others, but more importantly, ourselves. As with the first review in this four-part miniseries, ‘Farewell to Growth’ (2007), any book […]
Thai Rice Crop In Crosshairs Of El Nino As Farmers Are Warned About Water Shortages
Thai Rice Crop In Crosshairs Of El Nino As Farmers Are Warned About Water Shortages A disruptive El Nino pattern might impact rice production in Thailand, the world’s second-biggest exporter of the grain that feeds half the world’s population. Bangkok Post reported farmers are being asked by the Office of the National Water Resources “to grow […]
Global Rice Shortage Looms, Set To Be The Biggest In Decades
Global Rice Shortage Looms, Set To Be The Biggest In Decades Rice is the primary food source for over half of the global population, especially in emerging markets, where it plays a crucial role in feeding people. Last year, we highlighted the potential for a severe global rice shortage. A new report reveals that rice […]
Our hunter-gatherer future: Climate change, agriculture and uncivilization
Our hunter-gatherer future: Climate change, agriculture and uncivilization Highlights •The stable climate of the Holocene made agriculture and civilization possible. The unstable Pleistocene climate made it impossible before then. •Human societies after agriculture were characterized by overshoot and collapse. Climate change frequently drove these collapses. •Business-as-usual estimates indicate that the climate will warm by 3°C-4 °C […]
Community, Belonging and the Polycrisis
Community, Belonging and the Polycrisis Image: Ad Parnassum, by Paul Klee Wherever I go and ask people what is missing from their lives, the most common answer (if they are not impoverished or seriously ill) is “community.” — Charles Eisenstein ChatGPT, the A.I. robot, often gets things badly wrong It even makes wildly false statements […]
