Getting Past Trump, Part 3: The Futility of “Big Green” Activism: A Conversation With Tim DeChristopher
If environmentalists hope to have any real success in the age of Trump, they will have to change strategies and tactics in response to a transformed political and social context.
A Dazzlingly Delicious Taste of the Future in Liége
Something really amazing is happening in Liége in Belgium. I was last there 4 years ago, where I gave talks and did meetings in support of Liege en Transition, and to attend a meeting to promote a project...
A River’s Right to Flow
Do rivers have a right to water? As dams and diversions deplete flows, it’s a question environmental advocates and legal scholars are asking more and more. Over the last decade, rivers in Ecuador and New Zealand have won legal...
Richard Heinberg on Sustainable Nation Podcast
Right now, we are on track for not a very happy energy future unless something changes. And of course that’s why we do our work to raise the alarm and help people to understand where we are.
Getting Past Trump, Part 2: The Russia Connection
In Part 1 of this essay we surveyed the historical, economic, and cultural context for the upset victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. I did not mention Russian interference in that election. That’s because it is a subject...
Getting Past Trump, Part 1: This Is How Democracies Die
Ed note: This piece is part of a 3-part series. Part 1 is also cross-posted on Truthout. Donald Trump’s 13-month tenure (so far) as president of the United States has been an exhausting sprint for onlookers concerned about the state...
New U.S. Record-Level Oil Production! Peak Oil Theory Disproven! Not.
Well, I’m amazed and impressed. Tight oil production has pushed total United States petroleum output to more than 10 million barrels a day, a rate last seen almost a half-century ago. It’s a new U.S. record. Fifteen years ago...
The Brief Sad Story of GDP—and the Happy Alternative
Local Futures and the Economics of Happiness, Richard discusses why GDP growth became a measure of success, why it’s officially a failure, the reasons growth can’t continue indefinitely, and why we need a metric that reflects human and ecological wellbeing. Originally presented...
Webinar: Community Resilience in an Era of Upheaval
On February 27, 2018, Island Press hosted a well-attended webinar on our 2017 book, The Community Resilience Reader: Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval. Editor Daniel Lerch and contributors Richard Heinberg (Post Carbon Institute) and Rebecca Wodder presented...
U.S. Department of Energy Doubles Down on Shale Optimism
The U.S. stock market is not the only thing that’s gotten overheated in the last few years. Exuberance over U.S. energy output has hit a record high as natural gas production has reached its all-time peak, and oil production...