The magazine on peak oil and the Transition movement
Ways to reduce and prepare for climate change, while conserving peak natural resources and preventing pollution and waste.
The disappointing climate conference in Warsaw, Poland -- which was intended to lay the groundwork for a global climate agreement in 2015 -- stands in sharp contrast to the continued growth in emissions of greenhouse gases. Negotiators and activists alike confront not only the fact that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reached the highest annual total to date, but also a shifting geographic … [Read more...]
It’s a good day to write about climate science and climate denial. A typhoon of historically unprecedented strength hit the Philippines last weekend, with reports of 2,000 to 2,500 dead. Homes and lives are devastated, corpses hang from trees and litter the rubble of houses and buildings. At the UN Climate Talks being held in Warsaw this week, the lead negotiator from the Philippines, Naderev … [Read more...]
To be in a body is to hear the heartbeat of death at every moment. -- Andrew Harvey As I write these words in early November, 2013, humanity is confronting an unprecedented and horrific challenge which it may or may not survive. I’m referring to two uncanny realities about which we are not being told the unmitigated truth. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant which suffered a … [Read more...]
To mark the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Josh Fox is encouraging people to watch his short film on storm cleanup and relief efforts, Occupy Sandy. Fox, better known for his two full length documentaries on hydrofracking, Gasland and Gasland II, also makes short films. He made the 25-minute video on Sandy and its connection to climate change at the end of last year. Don't count on … [Read more...]
New Zealand case comes as tens of millions across the world are forced to flee their homes because of global warming. A 37-year-old man is petitioning the government of New Zealand to grant him, and by extension his children, asylum as the world's first legally recognized climate refugee. The case is of international significance, as global warming is already forcing tens of millions of people … [Read more...]
Just when I think the climate-change situation can become no worse, additional information appears on my screen. Six self-reinforcing feedback loops have been documented since last month's essay on the topic. The four-minute video embedded below describes the dire nature of climate chaos and indicates how individuals might respond to the information. Guy-3Min from Pauline Schneider on … [Read more...]
Ahead of IPCC report on global warming, Oxfam warns of dangerous spiral of poverty and food scarcity It is nearly a cliché to declare that the failure of the world's governments to respond to the repeated warnings by scientists and environmentalists about the perils of climate change is a crime against future generations. However, as a new study released Monday by Oxfam International proves, … [Read more...]
Ours is a world of increasing control. Control over our environment, our citizens, and the very building blocks of life. Culturally we learn to think of control as a good thing. Yet I put to you it is exactly this pursuit of control that creates most of the world's systemic problems, climate change included. That means at its root, climate change isn’t a technological or economic problem but s a … [Read more...]
This essay updates my earlier effort to tally and describe self-reinforcing feedback loops with respect to climate change. At that time, seven months ago, we had strong evidence of nine such catastrophic phenomena. The nineteen I currently know about are described below. Only the final one is reversible over a temporal span relevant to humanity. Methane hydrates are bubbling out the Arctic … [Read more...]
When I give these climate talks, by the end people are typically agitated and full of questions. “What technology is going to fix this?” “How are we ever get people to agree on a solution?” “I’m just one person, what could I possibly do that would make an impact?” My answers often catch people a little off guard: I try to instill that more important than any technical fix is a cultural change, … [Read more...]