My hypothesis—let’s call it the Technospheratu hypothesis—is that the technosphere, having risen up on top of and in opposition to Gaia and the biosphere, possesses a certain primitive emergent intelligence that allows it to grow in complexity and power and to dominate the biosphere to an ever-greater extent. Unlike Gaia, it is a parasite upon the biosphere….
Read More about Bookshelf: Shrinking the Technosphere by Dmitry Orlov
John Michael Greer writes: While the standard peak oil scenario did not happen, quite a bit of the economic, political, and social turmoil we’ve seen since 2005 or so was in fact driven by the impact of peak oil—but that impact didn’t follow the linear model that most peak oil writers expected it to follow….
Read More about Whatever happened to Peak Oil?Colin Todhunter writes: There is a notion that we can just continue as we are, with an endless supply of oil, endless supplies of meat and endless assault on soil, human and environmental well-being that intensive petrochemical agriculture entails. Given the statistics, this is unsustainable, unrealistic and a recipe for continued resource-driven conflicts and devastation….
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Gail Tverberg writes: We are about to see a substantial disruption to the economy, as oil limits, as well as other energy limits, cause the economic supercycle to contract. Whether its Peak Oil, the Limits to Growth, or the Debt Supercycle, the underlying problem is the same – we’re reaching the limits of a finite world….
Read More about Tverberg: A market collapse is on the horizon
A depiction of the 'Pralaya' or Great Flood, from the Matsya Purana
It’s indeed possible to wrap your head around the new emerging reality. It doesn’t take a financial maverick to foresee collapse and it’s by no means my discovery. I just saw the patterns emerging before most people simply because I was paying attention to facts and trends – all in public domain, some for decades….
Read More about Economic collapse: How to face it without fearAUTHOR Prof. Mark Lindley, University of Hyderabad School of Economics DESCRIPTION/EXCERPT The galloping environmental degradation is complicated. Let me distinguish seven aspects of it, as a step toward developing a comprehensive understanding of it. (Some of these seven are closely linked to each other in a cause-and-effect or overlapping way.): 1. Renewable natural resources being…
Read More about A few reflections on the galloping environmental degradation
From the Heart of the World – The Elder Brother’s Warning [1989 – full movie] More at: www.alunathemovie.com Review: Aluna: A Message to Little Brother Charles Eisenstein, Tikkun.org Aluna Directed by Alan Ereira How are we to interpret this warning coming from the Kogi people of the Sierra Madre in Colombia, delivered through their latest film,…
Read More about Video: Aluna – A Warning from the Kogi of Sierra MadreDoomstead Diner Doomstead Diner Discussions on The Shit Hits The Fan (TSHTF) – Three Recordings on Aug. 23, 2015. At the Doomstead Diner, we investigate, discuss and debate the ramifications of the Economic Collapse of Industrial Civilization. Often referred to in shorthand as TEOTWAWKI. The End of the World as We Know It. Energy Discussion…
Read More about Video: The Shit Hits The Fan discussion series at the Doomstead DinerNew coal plants ‘most urgent’ threat to the planet, warns OECD head The Guardian UK Governments must rethink plans for new coal-fired power plants around the world, as these are now the “most urgent” threat to the future of the planet, the head of the OECD has warned. In unusually strong terms for the organisation…
Read More about News updateThe Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University The Future of Humanity Institute is a leading research centre looking at big-picture questions for human civilization. The last few centuries have seen tremendous change, and this century might transform the human condition in even more fundamental ways. Using the tools of mathematics, philosophy, and science, we explore…
Read More about Three Leading Think-tanks Studying Global CrisesCalifornia Drought Tests History of Endless Growth The New York Times For more than a century, California has been the state where people flocked for a better life — 164,000 square miles of mountains, farmland and coastline, shimmering with ambition and dreams, money and beauty. It was the cutting-edge symbol of possibility: Hollywood, Silicon Valley,…
Read More about News updateIn 1977, Time magazine asked science writer Isaac Asimov for his vision of an energy-poor society that might exist at the end of the 20th century. The following portrait, Asimov noted, “need not prove to be accurate. It is a picture of the worst, of waste continuing, of oil running out, of nothing in its…
Read More about Isaac Asimov: The Nightmare Life Without FuelWhat is Saudi Arabia not telling us about its oil future? Kurt Cobb, Resource Insights What if the Saudis are acting now to undermine U.S. and Canadian oil production because they realize that Saudi production will soon reach a peak? What if the Saudis fear that energy efficiency, fuel substitution (say, toward natural gas), and…
Read More about News updateWhen William R. Catton Jr., American sociologist and author of Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, passed away on January 5th, it went unnoticed by the mainstream media, or even the alternative press. This was expected, too. His work shaped the views of many activists and writers on issues like Peak Oil, resource depletion…
Read More about Obituary: William R. Catton Jr. (Jan 15, 1926 – Jan 5, 2015)The Planetary Boundaries framework was first introduced in 2009, when a group of 28 internationally renowned scientists identified and quantified the first set of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come. A Jan 2015 update by the researchers say a fourth of these boundaries – forests – have…
Read More about Planetary Boundaries: A fourth danger line crossedClimate change inaction pushes ‘doomsday clock’ closer to midnight The Guardian, UK The symbolic doomsday clock moved to three minutes before midnight on Thursday because of the gathering dangers of climate change and nuclear proliferation, signalling the gravest threat to humanity since the throes of the cold war. It was the closest the clock has…
Read More about News update“He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news.” – Bertolt Brecht (Editor’s Note: As a necessary corrective to the unbridled optimism of the mainstream media, here’s a selection of forecasts for 2015 by some of the most insightful alternative voices on world politics, energy and the economy. For those in a hurry, here’s a one-line…
Read More about Special: 2015: The bad news[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akX3Is3qBpw] “It’s the oil, stupid!” Mad Max, the 1970 Australian dystopian movie which went on to be part of a hit trilogy will soon be back with a fourth edition. Going by the trailer, it promises a lot more explosions, high speed crashes and other such violent thrills the franchise is known for. The…
Read More about Film: Mad Max Fury RoadBad loans will worsen if economy falters: RBI Indian Express The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned that the asset quality of scheduled commercial banks may worsen from the current level if the macroeconomic conditions deteriorate drastically. The central bank’s latest Financial Stability Report has also raised red flag on connected banks triggering a…
Read More about News updateThe Oil Price Crash of 2014 Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute Oil prices have fallen by half since late June. This is a significant development for the oil industry and for the global economy, though no one knows exactly how either the industry or the economy will respond in the long run. Since it’s almost…
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