October 2009 Blog Posts (8)

Summary of Wendell Berry; The Unsettling of America, Culture and Agriculture

Just finished reading “The Unsettling of America, Culture and Agriculture” by Wendell Berry. His writings make so much sense as to make a complete mockery of what commercial agriculture has become in our modern age. I doubt anyone has done such a thorough job of explaining just how deep the erosive fissures run in industrial agriculture, or “agri-business” as it is known in his book. He weaves together the failed policies and practices of the “get big, or get out” era of farm consolidation… Continue

Added by David Pike on October 31, 2009 at 3:43pm — 2 Comments

We Are Not Dinosaurs

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”.

Sir Winston Churchill

WE ARE NOT DINOSAURS

For weeks, maybe months now, I’ve been trying to put into words my feelings around the impending effects of Peak Oil and Global Warming in the years to come. It comes from fear and perhaps desperation as I watch most people act like nothing is wrong or out of the ordinary. Heads of state, religious leaders,… Continue

Added by Ron Snyder and Cathy Taggett on October 19, 2009 at 8:47am — 3 Comments

Local Media looks at "Peak Oil"

In the Monday October 112, 2009 edition of the Bellingham Herald on page A3:

"Peak Oil" talks set in Denver (AP)

DENVER-Proponents of the "peak oil" theory are in Denver to discuss the impacts of what they say is the quickly fading supply of world's oil.

Subscribers of the peak oil theory say the world is at or near its maximum oil production and that demand will soon eclipse supply levels.

Oil industry executives, financial analysts and peak oil… Continue

Added by Rob Olason on October 12, 2009 at 12:56pm — 1 Comment

Cover Crops-Green Manures & Soil Restoration

With Pleasure I Walk through our small garden, tossing cover crops seeds under the still standing fall plants, knowing the seeds when sprouted will protect the soil from erosion, increase soil tilth, increase bio-mass, and result in some food for both the birds & our family.

My Favorite Autumn Cover Crops for Sowing are Crimson Clover, Fava Beans, & Tyfon Greens.

I often spread a thin layer of straw (not seedy hay), onto any bare soil. Be careful not to…

Continue

Added by Heather K on October 11, 2009 at 3:30am — 12 Comments

Art in Action photos of energy generation politically transforming: Mitch Epstein's photographs

“I mean, I’m not much of an environmentalist,” he said. “But as I worked and traveled, I came away troubled by the implications of what I was seeing and what happened to me.”

What he saw — during the first and second administrations of George W. Bush, years deep in the shadows of 9/11 — was a country that could be both largely ignorant of the immense environmental and political costs of its energy consumption and profoundly suspicious of anyone paying too much attention to the… Continue

Added by Frank James on October 10, 2009 at 6:44am — 1 Comment

Direct action on trial in Utah

Tim DeChristopher became convinced last year that global warming’s potential effects were so urgent and dire that direct action was needed. The niceties of debate and environmental lobbying were not getting the job done, he said.

link to todays NYTs article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/science/earth/10leases.html?th&emc=th

The details of how a defense works or does not work when one takes direct action. A very useful and informative read.

Added by Frank James on October 10, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Rich countries 'must slash living standards' to fight climate change

From the London Times Online: "Living standards in Britain and other rich countries must fall sharply over the next decade if the world is to avoid catastrophic global warming, according to a leading climate research centre."
More...

Added by Rob Olason on October 9, 2009 at 1:15pm — No Comments

“Happy Relocalisers”, Doomers, Wheelwrights and the concept of Resilience

First Published Dec 18 2006 by Transition Culture (Rob Hopkins' blog), Archived Dec 22 2006. This should now be considered a "classic" post - the discussion that brought the concept of "Resilience" into Peak Oil discussions in a major way, and a major development in Rob Hopkins' thinking regarding the principles of the Transition movement. The post was… Continue

Added by David MacLeod on October 9, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments