Taking on a Billionaire Landlord in the Twin Cities
The doorknobs were busted again. But this time Arianna Anderson’s son was trapped in the bathroom. Out of desperation, she called the fire department, which came and busted down the door, freeing her son. “Nine out of 10 times...
Understanding Power
This article, the first in a series of five, is based on the author’s forthcoming book, POWER: LIMITS AND PROSPECTS FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL. For information about the book and how to join exclusive pre-release webinars, please go to postcarbon.org/power....
Relative Status and Environmental Breakdown, or… the Story of Bartenders and Bird Feathers (Episode 33 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
Thursday March 18, 2021 How can the climate disaster and humanity’s overall sustainability crisis be explained by 80s sitcom characters, birdbrained hats from the late 1800s, and a dubious new use for scratch-and-sniff technology? Go for a ride to...
Cognitive Bias and Global Warming, or… the Story of Cattle Prods and Ice Cream Shops (Episode 32 of Crazy Town)
Asher Miller Jason Bradford Rob Dietz
Thursday March 11, 2021 Season 3 of the Crazy Town podcast launches with episode 32, which explores cognitive bias and the wide world of irrationality. If only we were as rational as we think we are! It turns out that...
Fountain Pen as Bellwether
As a writer on environmental topics, I try to limit my purchase of consumer products whenever possible. I do, however, permit myself a couple of extravagances. One is books: my job requires me to be conversant with the latest...
Can Big Tech Save the World? A Review of Gates and Kolbert
Originally published at Literary Review How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need By Bill Gates (Knopf / Allen Lane 272pp) Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future By Elizabeth...
Capitalism, the Doomsday Machine (or, How to Repurpose Growth Capital)
David Fleming, the late British economist, contributed many blazing insights; one that’s captivated my attention recently has to do with capital. Fleming counted six kinds of capital (natural, human, social, scientific/cultural, material, and financial), and noted that all six...
Nomadland: The Impact of Gender-Bias in Wages
If you grew up agitated that “women earn 59 cents on the dollar,” for the same work as men, there’s a movie for you. At the beginning of the new film, Nomadland, one of the characters tells Fern, the...
Drucilla Cornell on the power of the public imagination
I recently read a brilliant article by Drucilla Cornell and Stephen D. Seely, called ‘What has happened to the public imagination, and why?’. I found it so insightful, and such a powerful take on what the public imagination is and why...
Will Technology Solve Climate Change?
The following is Richard Heinberg’s contribution to a two-way discussion with Adam Dorr, an environmental social scientist at the nonprofit think tank Rethinkx. The exchange was hosted by Pairagraph, a platform for written dialogue between pairs of notable individuals. For the entire exchange, click here....