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2021 is Already Optimized for Failure
2021 is Already Optimized for Failure One sure way to identify a system “optimized for failure” is if all the insiders are absolutely confident the system is “optimized for my success”. I often discuss optimization here because it offers an insightful window into how systems become fragile and break down. When we optimize something, we’re aiming to get […]
Limits to Growth and the COVID-19 epidemic
Limits to Growth and the COVID-19 epidemic Forty-eight years ago I led an 18-month study at MIT on the causes and consequences of growth in population and material production on the planet earth through the year 2100. “If the present growth trends … continue unchanged” we concluded, “the limits to growth on this planet will […]
A Visit to Titusville: Building Resilient Communities
A Visit to Titusville: Building Resilient Communities The University of Pittsburgh recently invited me to their Titusville, PA campus to speak about the Transition Towns movement.I chose the theme of creating communities that have the resiliency to withstand the inevitable challenges of this century. I met with three classes, had lunch with student leaders, made […]
Feeling Resilient in Tumultuous Times
Feeling Resilient in Tumultuous Times As I read the thoughtful blogs on this site, I feel grateful for the vision, practical wisdom, and creative thinking that I see so often expressed here. In a time when the very foundation of our way of life is breaking down, it is inspiring to hear from so many […]
Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 5
Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 5 Gustave Courbet Sunset on Lake Geneva 1876Chapter 1 of this five-part series by Dr. D is here: Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 1 Chapter 2 is here: Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 2 Chapter 3 is here: Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 3 Chapter 4 is here: Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 4 Next […]
Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 1
Bitcoin Doesn’t Exist – 1 Gustave Courbet The wave 1869A while ago, I asked a regular commenter at the Automatic Earth, who goes by the moniker Dr. D, to try and write an article for us. Not long after, I received no less than 31 pages, and an even 12345 words. Way too long for […]
An Energy Diet for a Healthy Planet–Part II
An Energy Diet for a Healthy Planet–Part II How do we get to 100 kwh/person/day, and where are we now? I’ve written before about how efficiency is not the enemy of resiliency and the benefits of going all-electric. In Part I, I mentioned a few ways to cut our energy diet from 230 kwh /person/day to 100 kwh/person/day. I […]
Hottest Year Ever Recorded + Collapsing Oil Prices = Broken Fossil Fuel Economy
Hottest Year Ever Recorded + Collapsing Oil Prices = Broken Fossil Fuel Economy “I read the news today, oh boy.” —John Lennon Two overlapping news stories in the past few weeks must focus our attention on the need to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and to transition our global economy to […]
For a Resilient Future, Put Community First
For a Resilient Future, Put Community First Imagine a respite from the relentless torrent of bad news! Both The Transition Towns (Transition) and Intentional Communities movements facilitate secession, to varying degrees, from the exploitive culture that surrounds us, and build alternatives that are supported by broad networks. Now the two movements have joined together to share lessons learned about […]
What are the essential elements for successfully building community resilience?
What are the essential elements for successfully building community resilience? Introducing Six Foundations for Building Community Resilience, PCI’s new report which describes how communities can approach the full scope of the 21st century’s challenges equitably and sustainably. It’s all too easy to look at the news these days and find an instant reminder of how vulnerable, […]
The Permaculture City: Cities as Complex Systems
The Permaculture City: Cities as Complex Systems The following sections are excerpted with permission from Chapter 1 of Toby Hemenway’s new book The Permaculture City, published by Chelsea Green. When a permaculturist sees words such as “function” and “synergy,” it sets off lightbulbs in his or her head. Function, for example, indicates a relationship, a connection […]
How to Start Prepping in 3 Easy Steps
How to Start Prepping in 3 Easy Steps One day, you’re just moving through life with everyone else in your office or at your church, and then, for whatever reason, the reality of how tenuous our current lifestyle is, hits you squarely between the eyes. You realize that electricity and grocery stores and transportation are […]
Terms of debate: Destroying vs altering nature, the fragile vs the resilient Earth
Terms of debate: Destroying vs altering nature, the fragile vs the resilient Earth Last week’s piece drew responses that throw into relief how much the language we use depends on our most basic assumptions about how the world works. If left unexamined, that language leads to further conclusions that go unchallenged because the underlying assumptions are never scrutinized. […]
Resilience is The New Black
Resilience is The New Black This is another essay from our friend Dr. Nelson Lebo III in New Zealand. Nelson is a certified expert in everything to do with resilience, especially how to build a home and a community designed to withstand disasters, be they natural or man-made, an earthquake or Baltimore. Aware that he […]
A Resilient Society
A Resilient Society The final video in a four-part video series. Released in conjunction with Afterburn: Society Beyond Fossil Fuels. Resilience is a word that’s gaining a lot of currency in recent years, as more and more people realize there are some shocks headed our way. But what would a more resilient society look like? This […]
