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Tag Archives: resource insights
Puerto Rico: When the electricity stops
Puerto Rico: When the electricity stops When the electricity stops in modern civilization, pretty much everything else stops. Not even gasoline-powered vehicles can get far before they are obliged to seek a fill-up—which they cannot get because gas pumps rely on electricity to operate. When I wrote “The storms are only going to get worse” […]
The solar panel imports case and the future of self-sufficiency
The solar panel imports case and the future of self-sufficiency Last week the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the American solar panel industry had been harmed by cheap imports though it did not specifically find that the competition was unfair. The decision has stunned the solar industry which has relied on cheap panel […]
The high cost of an easy-care, low-maintenance world
The high cost of an easy-care, low-maintenance world I may be a member of an endangered species. I prefer a perfect crease in a pair of pants resulting from the use of an actual iron rather than a crease maintained by a toxic brew of chemicals that can make cotton-fiber pants not only “wrinkle-free,” but […]
In media res: Houston, Harvey and the catastrophe of climate change
In media res: Houston, Harvey and the catastrophe of climate change “In media res” is Latin for “in the middle of things.” Frequently, it refers to the literary device of plunging readers into some central action of a story (often an epic) and then filling in the details and background later. The residents of Houston […]
Arctic riches: A most insane discussion
Arctic riches: A most insane discussion As climate change rips away the icy armor of the Arctic, nations surrounding the North Pole and companies eager to exploit the area’s mineral wealth–particularly oil and natural gas–are growing giddy with anticipation. So reports the Associated Press, though the AP is by no means the first to report […]
“Reform” won’t solve our biggest problems
“Reform” won’t solve our biggest problems “You never cure structural defects; you let the system collapse.” As I contemplated this proposition taken from a recent piece by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, I realized what profound implications accepting it would have for all those engaged in attempting to address our current social, political and environmental ills. If […]
Risk, double-edged swords and imagining the worst
Risk, double-edged swords and imagining the worst A friend of mine recently said that intellectual honesty often requires imagining the worst. Of course, in the study of climate change and natural resources one needs only to read the analyses of scientists to imagine the worst. Imagining the worst in not necessarily the same as believing the […]
To confront power, one must first name it: Neoliberalism and the sustainability crisis
To confront power, one must first name it: Neoliberalism and the sustainability crisis Recently, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ordered references to human-caused climate change be deleted from the state Deparment of Natural Resources website. Scientific findings concerning the natural world have become an embarrassment for the neoliberal world view. The answer in this case seems to be to […]
Deepwater Horizon and our emerging ‘normal’ catastrophes
Deepwater Horizon and our emerging ‘normal’ catastrophes While watching the recently released film “Deepwater Horizon” about the catastrophic well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history, I remembered the term “fail-dangerous,” a term I first encountered in correspondence with a risk consultant for the oil and gas industry. We’ve […]
Why ‘overregulated’ California is leading the way
Why ‘overregulated’ California is leading the way Ideologues hate it when the facts get in the way of their theories. California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed trailblazing legislation last week that commits the state to audacious greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030 of 40 percent below 1990 levels. Not surprisingly, longstanding critics from the business community were howling once […]
M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil
M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil Almost synonymous with the term “peak oil” is M. King Hubbert, perhaps the foremost geophysicist of the 20th century, who first theorized about the eventual decline of oil production in the 1930s. His life has now been chronicled by science writer Mason Inman in a new […]
Disconnect: Congressional hawks hate sustainability, but love military that seeks it
Disconnect: Congressional hawks hate sustainability, but love military that seeks it Recently, I toured a U.S Navy mine sweeper and destroyer during Fleet Week. Just before the tour entrance line a tent with exhibits caught my attention. On the first table were a set of small bottles containing various kinds of liquid fuels, a sampling […]
Can the world go all-electric?
Can the world go all-electric? Recently, word leaked out that Norway may ban the sale of diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2025. The move toward electric vehicles is part of a dream shared by those concerned about climate change and about fossil fuel depletion (especially oil depletion), namely, to turn the world into one big all-electric […]
The faux insurgency of the climate change deniers and the need for closure Climate change deniers like to style themselves as latter-day Copernicuses and Galileos, lone visionaries bucking the established wisdom of the ages embodied back then in the teachings of the Catholic Church. There is a certain appeal to imagining oneself as isolated and embattled but unbowed. […]
Why you can’t argue with a “modern”
Why you can’t argue with a “modern” The modern world is filled with things many of us regard as antiquated and old-fashioned. Modern people often say that ancient rituals are mere superstition, that science tells us what is real and what is not, and that we are now free from ideas including untestable ideas from […]
