The magazine on peak oil and the Transition movement
A strange thing has happened in the response to the nuclear crisis triggered by the tragedy of the Japanese earthquake. The nuclear industry, long used to trying to marginalize its critics by claiming the rational high ground and trying to frame opponents as emotional, has ended up making a case which is more emotionally driven than rational. This, more than anything else, indicates a change in the balance … [Read more...]
Had the massive 8.9 earthquake that has just savaged Japan hit instead off of the California coast, it could have ripped apart at least four coastal reactors and sent a lethal cloud of radiation across the entire United States. The two huge reactors, each at San Onofre and Diablo Canyon, are not designed to withstand such powerful shocks. All four are extremely close to major faults. All four reactors are located relatively low to the coast. They're vulnerable to tsunamis, like … [Read more...]
Live Blog Since it's official that peak oil is here, we can now anticipate many changes in how the industrial world may look over the coming years. Already, much of America's urban infrastructure is crumbling. And with public and private budgets for maintenance likely to face further cuts, we can expect to see our cities and roadside landscapes get junkier. Industrial detritus has long held an aesthetic appeal for writers, artists and photographers. Now, Transition Voice photographer … [Read more...]
BOOK REVIEW Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight Without Oil by Richard Gilbert and Anthony Perl New Society Publishers, 430 pp, $26.95 I know a textbook when I see one. This feels like a textbook without the homework, unless you include constantly referencing the many footnotes throughout the text. Advertised as a book for the general reader and the transportation planner, it's an interesting read, but a bit of a slog to power through. I'm afraid that while wonky types in … [Read more...]
Transition means locally grown food, among many other things. As the fuel that powers our vehicles continues to increase in price, the cost of shipping food hundreds of miles will become prohibitively expensive. That means our awareness of the origins of our food will be on the increase; it only makes sense. A local farmers’ market? Great idea. Community Supported Agriculture? You’ll have enough to share with friends. Grow your own? There’s never been a better time, especially for … [Read more...]
When we hatched the idea this summer of starting Transition Voice as the first online magazine devoted to regular coverage of peak oil, we knew immediately that Matt Simmons was the first expert we wanted to interview. Those familiar with the subject will know why. That's why we were so glad when Simmons took a chance on our fledgling effort, and agreed to talk to us for our first issue. We spoke by phone with Matt in late July from his newly formed Ocean Energy Institute in Maine, where … [Read more...]
Editor's note: With apologies to Bob Marley, Cheech and Chong, and Harold and Kumar, we have resisted the temptation to make as many weed jokes as we might have liked. We hope you will indulge the few that did make it into this otherwise serious and helpful article. Few plants have such an extreme history as the hemp plant, or Cannabis sativa, which in recent times has made it a more notorious story. There have been laws to to prohibit its use and laws to make its production compulsory. … [Read more...]
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