There's no moral comparison between humans who suffered in slavery and molecules of fossil fuels. But the abolition movement of the nineteenth century may hold the key to unblocking climate action today. Image: slaveryimages.org. The planet continues to fry. Yet, America is pumping more fossil fuel than it has in decades. And the U.S. government does nothing to slow the … [Read more...]
To Save the World, We Need to Save America First — with Patriotic Solar
One of the biggest things the world can do to slow climate change is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, coal and natural gas. As of 2013, the energy sector accounted for 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So, you can stop cutting down all the trees in the Amazon or Indonesia, and replant trees across the Sahel, but it won't be anywhere near enough to slow … [Read more...]
Trumped and Stumped: A Cure for Political Polarization?
A book called I'm Right and You're an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up sounds like it was written just for the 2016 US presidential race. The book is not about the race per se. It doesn't say anything about Donald Trump and the only Clinton it mentions is Bill. But the book does say a lot about the polarization in American politics that has … [Read more...]
Breaking the System: Activists, Be Careful What You Wish For
A couple months ago, while Hillary and Bernie were still duking it out in the presidential primaries, I was having coffee with a friend. My friend -- let's call him Jason -- was serving as the head of the local Sanders campaign in my liberal-ish town in rural Virginia. Since I serve on the local city council, my friend wanted me to speak at a rally he was planning in town in … [Read more...]
Despite Cheap Gas, Coming Back to Peak Oil [Infographic]
Yesterday, in Virginia, I filled up my gas tank for $2.75 a gallon. At that price, even old peak oilers like my wife and I hardly think about poor old King Hubbard's theory much these days. And though gas has been cheap in the U.S. for the last six months or more, I still think Hubbard was right that global oil production naturally has a point of peak … [Read more...]