Financial markets have been turbulent as of late with no end in sight. A sagging global economy could overwhelm America’s recovery efforts with toxic effects on key climate change and clean energy initiatives now underway. The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to postpone an interest rate hike is but one reflection of their deep global concern. In a world of multiple, … [Read more...]
About R. Michael Conley
The cyber blitzkrieg
The forces of the perfect storm of climate change, energy tsunamis and global economic bubbles in collision are complex and varied; each with their own levels of threat and urgency. In this milieu, it's easy to over-fixate on the more visible threats and downplay the others. Case in point: The Iranian nuclear showdown has dominated the news and polarized the geopolitical … [Read more...]
Cheap oil just keeps on coming
The stunning plunge in oil prices – almost 45% since June – has roiled the global oil markets; creating new winners and losers almost overnight. It has also unlocked a number of potential problems and opportunities we would be wise to consider. In our consumer-based economy, savings at the gas pump provide a direct stimulus to the economy – freeing up a reservoir of new … [Read more...]
Climate change a threat multiplier for global crisis
This article is re-posted, with permission, from R. Michael Conley's "Weathering the Storm" email newsletter, intended to explain the coming crisis brought on by climate change, peak oil and the economic crisis to business leaders. -- Ed. The forces of the perfect storm are intensifying; the danger more imminent. Its fury will intensify as colliding forces reach critical … [Read more...]
Cheap gas no reprieve from peak oil
We think everybody needs to know about peak oil these days, when oil companies are trying to snooker the public into believing that today's cheap unconventional oil and natural gas will solve our energy problems for decades to come. Everybody should know why this is wrong. But not everybody is ready for either wonky analyses of oil depletion curves on the one hand or bleak … [Read more...]