Ugo Bardi: “the Human Eradication Plan.”

With this post, I am continuing the exploration of the narrative approach to understanding the future, in particular about the effects of climate change (see here, and here). Here, I am reproposing a complete Cli-Fi short story that was originally published on this blog in 2012. (originally published in 2012 on “Resource Crisis“) From: Earth […]

Oil Depletion Resources

Introduction to the problems In the 21st century the world must solve two great problems. These problems are rarely discussed by the public and have received little media attention. Neither are they discussed by those in power, at least not publically. The two problems are: Overpopulation in the developing world. Overconsumption in the developed world. […]

America—the Grim Truth

Americans, I have some bad news for you: You have the worst quality of life in the developed world—by a wide margin. If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you’d be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. […]

Ferguson: Chronicle of an insurrection

An in depth look at the events that unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri following the police murder of Michael Brown, a black teenager. Also features an exclusive interview with former Black Panther, Ashanti Alston, about the state of black “America”, abolishing penile power and taking care of your peeps in the muthafuckin resistance. More analysis on […]

The Narrative of Collapse: “Queen of Antarctica”

  The continent of Antarctica (from Wikipedia) as it could appear after that the runaway greenhouse effect has caused the disappearance of the ice sheets. This image also shows the effects of sea level rise and  of “isostatic rebound”, that is the continental shelf rising up being freed from the weight of the ice. Antarctica […]

Book Review: The End Of Growth

Jeff Rubin’s book The End Of Growth is a good introduction to the impact of Peak Oil on the economy and markets. It was published in 2012, and the Kindle version has been updated since then (note that I did not read the updated version). Although the book is not perfect, I think it has […]

What next for Scottish energy?

Three things you shouldn’t miss this week Chart: How Scotland’s energy compares with the rest of the UK’s Source: DECC electricity generation and supply figures for the home nations, 2012, via Carbon Brief Commentary: What Happens To Clean Energy Investments If Scotland Votes “Yes”? – Reviewing the BNEF study. Commentary: Going green is good for the economy (depending on your economic […]

John Michael Greer: Dark Age America The End of the Old Order

Lately I’ve been rereading some of the tales of H.P. Lovecraft. He’s nearly unique among the writers of American horror stories, in that his sense of the terrible was founded squarely on the worldview of modern science. He was a steadfast atheist and materialist, but unlike so many believers in that creed, his attitude toward […]

The Peak Oil Crisis: It‘s All Around Us

Ten years ago peak oil was assumed to be a rather straight forward, transparent process. What was then thought of as “oil” production was going to stop growing around the middle of the last decade. Shortages were going to occur; prices were going to rise; demand was going to drop; economies would falter; and eventually […]

Peak Oil: The Mirage

Several months ago, one of this year’s better features on the subject of peak oil was offered by John Kaufmann in his article entitled: The Energy Independence Illusion. It’s an excellent read [adapted from a presentation to the World Affairs Council of Oregon this past march] for anyone interested in this topic. [Any quotes here […]

Melbourne University research on Energy, Climate Change, Collapse, Resilience and Transition

Some of the most important academic research into mankind’s present and future is being conducted at the Melbourne Sustainability Society Institute at the University of Melbourne. Here are links to some of their most important papers Is Global Collapse Imminent? by Graham Turner. Dr Turner gathered data from the UN (its department of economic and social affairs, Unesco, […]

The Greatest Peak Oil Novel Ever Written

  Herman Melville never mentioned “peak whale oil” in his “Moby Dick”, published in 1851. But the novel can be understood taking into account the fact that the American whaling industry was going through its production peak just during those years. We may consider “Moby Dick” as the greatest peak oil novel ever written. In […]

Peak Oil: Empty Promises

Americans only want to hear about the promise of ‘energy independence;’ they don’t want to hear that independence will ultimately mean higher prices. [1] Well that’s not a happy ending! Shouldn’t we expect this recent, great oil production boom to have supplied us with just barrel after barrel of lower-priced oil and gas for we […]

No Possible Relevance Media

The greatest environmental catastrophe and resource crisis in human history is about to crash down on our heads. What is CNN talking about? Missing airplanes and dead celebrities. What is the New York Times talking about? Illegal alien children are cute–let’s give ‘em amnesty. What is NPR (No Possible Relevance Radio) talking about? The usual […]

On The Brink Of A Major Crisis: “This Will Be A Literal Collapse of the Entire Global Monetary System”

Discussions of the possible collapse of the U.S. dollar often center around how such an event will affect the domestic economy. But the dollar doesn’t just operate inside of a bubble. It is the world’s reserve currency for a reason. Some sixty-six countries world-wide either utilize it as their primary currency or peg their own currencies […]

Ten Reasons to Take Peak Oil Seriously

Forty years ago, the results of modeling, as presented in The Limits to Growth, reinvigorated a discussion about exponentially growing consumption of natural resources, ranging from metals to fossil fuels to atmospheric capacity, and how such consumption could not continue far into the future. Fifteen years earlier, M. King Hubbert had made the projection that […]

Ruin is forever: When the precautionary principle is justified

If you are dead, you cannot mount a comeback. If all life on Earth were destroyed by, say, a large comet impact, there would be no revival. Ruin is forever. The destruction of all life on Earth is not 10 times worse than the destruction of one-tenth of all life on Earth. It is infinitely […]

Dark Age America: The Population Implosion

The three environmental shifts discussed in earlier posts in this sequence—the ecological impacts of a sharply warmer and dryer climate, the flooding of coastal regions due to rising sea levels, and the long-term consequences of industrial America’s frankly brainless dumping of persistent radiological and chemical poisons—all involve changes to the North American continent that will […]

Have we reached peak peak? The rise (and rise) of a ubiquitous phrase

First it was peak oil, then peak beard, peak Beyoncé and peak porn. Have we had enough of the joke yet? Beyoncé hitting her peak at the 2014 MTV video music awards show. Photograph: Phil McCarten/Rex Features This is an exhilarating time to be alive. All our efforts, all our resources, our consumption and tastes are […]

Peak Oil: Science for energy scenarios

Febuary 2014 Susan Krumdieck explaining (EROEI) energy returned on energy invested.

Collapse Cafe – Dmitry Orlov

Collapse Cafe – Dmitry Orlov part 2 (supply chains, population decline and community)

Peak Oil: “Malthusian Requirements”

Recently, in challenging contentions I had raised, “RGR”—an otherwise unnamed commenter (a petroleum engineer, if I understood correctly)—offered this: Richard, are you aware of the history of peak oil claims, and the similarity of those claims with those started during the ‘modern’ peak oil era (starting with Colin Campbells 1989 claim)? If so (and you […]

Lessons From The Last Time Civilization Collapsed

““Consider this, if you would: a network of far-flung, powerful, high-tech civilizations closely tied by trade and diplomatic embassies; an accelerating threat of climate change and its pressure on food production; a rising wave of displaced populations ready to sweep across and overwhelm developed nations. Sound familiar? While that laundry list of impending doom could […]

Peak Oil: Maddening

Those of us paying attention to oil supply issues are on occasion torn by decisions as to whether to simply be amused by the maddening, cherry-picked attempts at analysis of the “myth” of peak oil [similar to the myth of gravity], or  just annoyed as hell that even the simplest concepts are either lied about […]

Jessy Re’s Eulogy to Mike Ruppert

Jessy Re’s Eulogy to Mike Ruppert, Portland OR May 17, 2014 While we intend to make public the entire Portland Memorial for MCR, I wanted to first introduce Jessy Re to the world. She spoke beautifully about Mike, their relationship, and about our troubled times. I didn’t want the preceding hour of footage to drown […]

The thick façade of civilization

Most of the sky was clear and starry, but ten miles out to sea there was a cluster of clouds filled with lightning. I was anchored peacefully behind a low island that afforded me a perfect view of this dramatic spectacle. Sitting on the foredeck with my back against the mast, I sipped some hot […]

Conversations with Great Minds – Richard Heinberg

In tonight’s “Conversations with Great Minds” Thom discusses what a post carbon planet would look like with the Post Carbon Institute’s Richard Heinberg, author of the book “Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future.”

Review: A History of the Future by James Kunstler

In the category of thrilling fiction about our post-industrial future, James Howard Kunstler’s World Made By Hand novels have no equal. And much of their magic lies in the way they transport readers to a captivating, fully imagined world. They depict a future in which the fossil fuels that make today’s world possible have long since […]

Kurt Cobb: I’d be happier if I didn’t write this stuff

Thus happiness depends, as Nature shows, Less on exterior things than most suppose.                   –William Cowper For years my father–who is a really great guy–has been telling me that I’d be a happier person if I didn’t write about all the converging threats bearing down on the human race. Turns out he’s right! Here’s what a […]

Peak Oil Civilization After Oil Runs Out

National Geographic Peak Oil Civilization After Oil Runs Out Documentary

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