Electric Cars to the Rescue?
A lot of hope is riding on the wheels of the world’s three million electric cars. So, how’s the EV revolution going? And even if it’s going well, is it really the best strategy? Those are the questions I...
“Always the Same, Always Different”: a Response to Ted Trainer
The late John Peel once said of The Fall that they were “always the same, always different”. The same could be said of Ted Trainer’s critiques of Transition. He just published another one, many of the points in which...
Systems Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Personal Resilience
In discussing climate change and all our other eco-social predicaments, how does one distinguish accurate information from statements intended to elicit either false hope or needless capitulation to immediate and utter doom? And, in cases where pessimistic outlooks do...
Puerto Rico: Deciding Its Energy Future
The immediate energy nightmare in Puerto Rico is gradually winding down, with electrical power now available to about 90 percent of households (some rural areas are still without power). But it’s clear to nearly everyone that a reversion to...
Where are we going?
Ed. note: Nate Hagens gave this talk on Earth Day on April 23, 2018 at The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas. What follows is an essay loosely related to the talk. The Human Predicament Around 11,000 years ago, as the...
Politics versus the Future: Canada’s Orwellian Energy Standoff
Governments telling us we must increase emissions from oil and gas production in order to meet emissions reduction targets would make George Orwell proud.
Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the imagination with Lise van Susteren
A while ago I was reading a report about the psychological impacts of climate change, and came across the term ‘pre-traumatic stress disorder’. It fascinated me. The author of the piece that discussed the idea was Lise van Susteren. Lise...
Is Inequality in America Irreversible?
An excerpt from Chuck Collins’ new book, “Is Inequality in America Irreversible?” A Front Row Seat to Inequality I grew up in an affluent family in the wealthy Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. I attended an elite boy’s...
The End of Growth, Seven Years Later
The end of growth has been postponed as long as is humanly possible. It’s far past time to come to terms with ecological reality and make a deliberate transition to a post-growth regime.
The Problem with EIA Shale Gas and Tight Oil Forecasts
Each year the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) produces forecasts of U.S. oil and gas production in its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), which is widely viewed as an authoritative assessment of what to expect for future U.S. oil and...