May 12, 2008
Please Act Now to Protect ANWR
Senators may vote as early as Tuesday 5/13 on the McConnell Domenici Amendment which would allow drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. Click the image below to send an email to your Senators....
May 9, 2008
12 Stepping Our Way to Armageddon
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power The end of everything we call life is close at hand and cannot be evaded. H.G. Wells, 1946 I recently received an email from a reader, frustrated with my insistence on holding...
May 4, 2008
We Can Survive, but Can We Communicate?
By Carolyn Baker and Sally Erickson of Speaking Truth To Power [As promised in my last article "Peak Civilization And The Winter Of Our Disconnect", my colleague and friend, Sally Erickson and I are offering what we believe are vitally...
April 25, 2008
Peak Civilization and the Winter of Our Disconnect
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana~ The appearance of springtime in North America may be...
April 23, 2008
Negotiable or not, the American Way of Life must be extinguished...
By Jason Miller of Thomas Paine's Corner (As inspired by a conversation with Derrick Jensen) "There's got to be just more to it than this; Or tell me why do we exist?" -Iron Maiden We in the Western "developed" nations,...
April 21, 2008
Get Ready for Oil Prices to Surge - Updated
Get ready for oil prices to surge. I know that you think that they are already surging. However, two bits of news are likely to drive them higher, faster. The most immediate factor is the shutdown of Scotland's only refinery....
April 10, 2008
Recession, Depression, Collapse: What's Fear Got to Do with It?
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power Interesting, isn't it, that mainstream economists need a so-called economic guru like Alan Greenspan to confirm that the U.S. economy is in recession? If the maestro says it is so, then it...
April 7, 2008
Recipe for Catastrophe: Climate, Fuel, and Food
Food riots turn deadly in Haiti. Food riots fear after rice price hits a high. And so it starts. Globally there has been roughly a 25% increase in food prices. In some areas - such as Haiti - food...
April 2, 2008
Bush Continues His Attack on the Environment and Life
Amazingly, the Bush administration seems determined to continue its environmentally destructive path to the bitter end. The National Parks Service in Yellowstone has already sent 1,200 buffalo from the last free herd to the slaughterhouse. They are now preparing to...
March 31, 2008
Global Warming Still Accelerating
The headline bleakly states "Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf eroding at an unforeseen pace." It is a magnified echo of scientific reports over the last five years - it's all happening too fast. The change is not just happening too fast,...
March 29, 2008
Give an Hour for the Earth
You can participate in the Climate Hour (an hour of power-less). Participating is simple - just turn off your lights and unnecessary electrical appliances from 8-9 pm. Sign up at Earth Hour US for more tips for saving the planet....
March 6, 2008
Personal Survival in a World Gone Mad
Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power Reviews "Path Through Infinity's Rainbow: Your Guide To Personal Survival and Spiritual Transformation In A World Gone Mad" by Mike Byron. We must leave the old left/right, liberal/conservative paradigm behind us. Smaller government...
March 1, 2008
Eugene Oregon: Community and Personal Collapse Preparation. Part 2
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power CB: Thank you Dan for that fascinating and comprehensive analysis. Now bringing all of this closer to home, what kinds of preparations have you personally been making in recent years for Peak...
February 27, 2008
Dmitry Orlov's "Re-inventing Collapse"
A review by Carolyn Baker. The old normal is that life will go on just like before. The new normal is that nothing will ever be the same Rather than attempting to undertake the Herculean task of mitigating the unmitigatable-attempting...
February 21, 2008
Eugene Oregon: Community and Personal Collapse Preparation. Part 1
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power This is the first part of Carolyn Baker's exclusive interview with Dan Armstrong, writer, activist, and owner of MUD CITY PRESS. CB: I'm going to ask you about your book "Prairie Fire",...
February 4, 2008
An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton from a Wellesley College Alumna
The following is reposted from Speaking Truth to Power. Editor's Note: This article is written by Linn Cohen-Cole. The issues regarding Monsanto are real and urgent, and the author has done a good job discussing the process and support for...
February 3, 2008
Who Wins, Oil or Arctic?
Whether to open the Chukchi Sea to exploratory oil drilling now rests in the hands Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. He plans on opening 20 million acres of the Chukchi Sea for leasing on February 6, 2008. The Chukchi...
January 29, 2008
Population and Intensive Crop Culture Are Unsustainable
By Peter Salonius. Originally published on The Relocalization Network A growing number of media commentators, such as Allen Greer in The Australian, John Gray in the Guardian's Observer and Alan Weisman in his book 'The World Without Us', have begun...
January 22, 2008
The Shell Game: The End of Oil, The Next 9/11, and The End Of Civilization
A review of the new book by Steve Alten by Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power With a doctorate in Sports Administration from Temple University, unhappy in his job, and struggling to support a family, Steve Alten wanted to...
January 18, 2008
Transforming Communities Through Locally-Grown Food
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power Carolyn interviews Greg Cox, owner of Boardman Hill Farms, West Rutland, Vermont and is President of the Board of Rutland Area Farm and Food Links (RAFFL). After many months of trying to...
January 12, 2008
The Year of the Bear: Reflections on the Daunting Challenges of 2008
By Carla Royal republished from Speaking Truth to Power On New Year's Eve I went to a friend's house. A few of us gathered in the middle of the afternoon to bring in the New Year with quiet contemplation, ritual,...
January 5, 2008
Oil Increases Hit More than Gasoline Prices
Once again, oil prices are "surging," and once again the primary discussion focuses on the cost of gasoline. While the price of gasoline is the most direct visible aspect for individuals, it is certainly not the only one. Increasing fuel...
December 31, 2007
New Year's Dissolution: Surrender vs. Giving Up
By Carolyn Baker of Speaking Truth to Power It's almost 2008, and in the final hours of 2007, I'm reflecting on the past twelve months and what may lie ahead of us in the coming year. It's been a dreary...
December 9, 2007
The Flooding In Centralia, Washington
While Portland largely escaped the flooding from the recent monster storm, many places did not. Among them was Centralia, Washington. Check out this slide show of a boat tour around Centralia. It was posted on The Daily News Online. Thanks...
November 19, 2007
Compare the Democratic Candidates on Global Warming
Living on Earth and Grist and Grist sponsored a Democratic candidate forum in Los Angeles on Global Warming and America's Energy Future. Only Kucinich, Edwards, and Clinton bothered to show up - which dramatically narrows the candidate field for me....
November 9, 2007
San Francisco Oil Spill
I am not sure why this story is getting so little national news coverage, but it is huge. On Wednesday, 11/07, a container ship (Cosco Busan) rammed the Bay Bridge. An estimated 58,000 gallons of bunker oil spilled into the...
October 24, 2007
Following the California Fires
Here is a link to the LA Times to follow the California Fires. Current numbers (8am 10/24/07): 420,424 acres burned; 1,155 homes destroyed; 881,500 people evacuated. Please remember to share the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) has set up a hotline...
October 23, 2007
California and Disaster Accountability Project
Southern California continues to burn and more than 500,000 people have been evacuated. This will be a disaster long after the fires are out. While the diaster response seems to be improved over Katrina, there are likely issues that need...
September 9, 2007
"Shocking" Changes in Greenland.
on September 7th, I wrote about the arctic melt. More specifically, the concern is regarding the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. What scientists now believe is that condition of the Greenland ice sheet has been pivotal in dramatic climatic...
September 7, 2007
Arctic going, going
The news from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is that we just lost another 50 years in the global warming catastrophe. The melt is accelerating beyond any projections, and the current amount of CO2 in the atmosphere will...
August 30, 2007
Greensumption
The International Forum on Globalization has released a short video on the false solution of going "green" while maintaining or increasing consumption. It does an excellent job of addressing a number of myths. At YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ft5SSIfmeKU...
August 13, 2007
The Social Effects of Peak Oil
Last summer I was interviewed by Janaia Donaldson of Peak Moment TV. Peak Moment is a weekly community television program which explores the issues and solutions of a "changing energy future." Janaia and Robyn took a tour last year to...
August 11, 2007
Emerging Conflict Over the Arctic
As the sea ice melts in the Arctic, conflict heats up over who it belongs to. The Russians wasted no time at all in sending a submarine to to plant the flag on the ocean floor....
July 8, 2007
The Birth of a New Environmental Movement?
With the apparent success of yesterday's Live Earth concerts, one has to ask whether something new is being born. It is reported that the broadcasts reached 2 billion people. That is almost one-third of the population of the planet. If...
July 7, 2007
Live Earth Access
If you don't have access to the Sundance Channel and the Live Earth Concerts, you can watch it live at liveearth.msn.com. The site also has access to the videos shown during the concert. There are also links to a number...
July 2, 2007
Gore on Moving Beyond Kyoto
Did you see the editorial by Al Gore in Sunday's NY Times? An excellent piece, so here is a teaser to whet your interest....
June 6, 2007
Gas Prices Could Go Up - Way Up
Hold onto your hats folks. Gas prices could skyrocket shortly due to cyclone Gonu which is hitting Oman and heading into Gulf of Oman. This could have a significant effect on oil fields, production facilities and shipping. There is an...
May 31, 2007
Just Say 'No!' to Coal
There needs to be a call to action. Big Coal (like Peabody Energy Company aka Peabody Coal Company) is pushing hard to get us (via the government) to make massive investments in coal, and coal to liquid fuel legislation. The...
May 28, 2007
Need Is a Nasty Word
Sally Erickson, producer of the documentary "What A Way To Go: Life At The End Of Empire," has an excellent article over at Speaking Truth to Power. The article explores her personal upbringing in relationship to our collapsing ecosystems....
May 25, 2007
Toxic Love
Hexxus (Tim Curry) sings Toxic Love Or available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLQ1XfaTuU>/a> Thanks to Ed for sending this along....
May 21, 2007
New Life - On Its Way Out
(Image courtesy of James Dragesic of the Australian Gvt. Antarctic Division) It was reported that scientists have found more than 700 new species of sea life in the Antarctic. Hailed as a "treasure trove," the species were found by...
May 13, 2007
The Consequences of a Globalized, Industrialized Food Supply
The United States has seen the chickens coming home to roost regarding the consequences of a globalized and industrialized food supply. The issue arose in relationship to animal feed. It started with a recall of dog and cat food because...
May 7, 2007
Confronting Our Energy Future - Confronting Ourselves
More and more people are aware of "peak oil," or at least the concept that oil is an increasingly limited resource. Numerous discussions are flying about addressing the issue of oil, and responses to its increasing costs. The issue overlaps...
May 6, 2007
Arctic Melt Underestimated
According to a new study released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the climate change models have significantly underestimated the amount of arctic melting that occurred from 1953 - 2006. The estimates had been based on a melt...
May 1, 2007
Now We Have a New Czar
The food contamination issues, and the lack of oversight by the FDA has now been solved. The FDA has named a Food Safety Czar. Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief and go back to sleep. David Acheson,...
April 25, 2007
Food Contamination - A Much Larger Set of Problems
Just as the Dubai Ports World fiasco (1, 2, 3) brought to public attention that the US has ceded control of our ports to international corporate control, the pet food contamination has brought to the fore problems with globalization, our...
April 23, 2007
China Grain Issue - Pet Food and Beyond
I thought it might be a good idea to keep this at the top of the list for a while. Here are the links to articles posted here at Uncommon Thought, and the FDA link so folks can stay on...
April 22, 2007
Grains from China - Pet Food and Beyond
As predicted, corn gluten has joined wheat and rice in the pet food recall. Also, it is now believed that the contaminant has entered the human food chain via pigs out of Sacramento, California - they ate contaminated food....
April 3, 2007
Dead Seas Still have Tides
Last week I took a break and went with family over to the Oregon coast. It was an almost perfect day for the end of March - low 60s with sun and haze and almost no wind. The tide was...
March 27, 2007
Time Running Out on Public Comment on Cloned Meat
I am republishing this article as a reminder that the end of the public comment period is ending. If you do not want to write to the FDA directly, please sign the petition at The Petition Site. As you have...
March 15, 2007
Overshoot Global Warming Into An Ice Age?
In 2004 I wrote an article Environmental collapse - sooner not later. In that article, I discussed the Pentagon's scenario (as discussed by David Stipp) that we could find ourselves in the middle of a rapid onset ice age. I...
March 11, 2007
Yuba Gals and Peak Moment TV
I just received a progress report from Janaia of the Yuba Gals. She is one of the producers of Peak Moment Television. The Yuba Gals produce an independent TV series on peak energy and positive response to it. You can...
March 8, 2007
We Need To Get Real About the Planet
Every day there is more bad news about climate change and global warming gases. It seems that the more we hear about it the more we pollute. U.S. emissions are projected to increase, and China is passing the U.S. as...
February 12, 2007
Bees Are Dying - Again
The honey bee population is facing catastrophic losses again. There has been a fairly consistent die off happening for the last twenty five years. In fact, according to Penn State, the population is less than half than what it was...
January 21, 2007
Draft of Portland Peak Oil Recommendations Released for Public Comment
After months of research and work, the Portland Peak Oil Task Force has released the draft of its findings and recommendations for public review and comment....
January 8, 2007
Troop Surges and Bloody Oil
I doubt that anyone will be surprised this week if Bush announces that 20,30, or 40,000 more troops will be in Iraq. The "surge" will likely come from extending the tours of those already in Iraq, possible redeployment and extension...
January 4, 2007
Industrial Problem - Technological Solution - Cloning
Industrial agriculture has been coming home to roost. One of those negative impacts has been "mad cow" disease or BSE. Now, scientists have apparently found a cure for BSE - genetic engineering. This report comes on the heels of the...
December 31, 2006
Cloned Meat Supposedly Safe
As you have likely already heard, the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) has determined that cloned meat and milk are compositionally no different from non-cloned meat and milk (FDA Press Release). I would urge people to submit their comments...
December 17, 2006
Why Isn't Global Warming News?
Oregon and Washington just got creamed by the second damaging storm in a month. Why isn't global warming news? In watching the hours of coverage for both storms - the one that hit in November and the one that hit...
December 3, 2006
U.S. Not the Only Nation Spinning Global Warming
While the world has been more than frustrated with the lack of action on the part of the United States, China is not moving very far very fast either. Perhaps part of the reason resides in the information that the...
November 26, 2006
Carbon Footprint Series
The Oregonian is running a series on personal carbon footprints. Patrick O'Neill talks about how to reduce 200 pounds of CO2 by changing your breakfast routine. He continues with a piece on reducing impact beyond your home. There is also...
November 18, 2006
Shall The Cradle Fall?
Africa, the home of the human race. Science indicates she birthed us. She nurtured our infancy. Some went out from her to spread across the Earth. Others stayed and continued an unbroken relationship with our birthplace. Africa was, and is,...
November 11, 2006
Moves In the Right Direction On Environment
With the mid-term elections behind us, there are some important shifts on the horizon for the environment. Two of the biggest blockages to positive climate action will be moving on climate change - James Inhofe and Richard Pembro - will...
November 7, 2006
Thinking About Systems Crash
Peak oil, global warming, and now the report that sea life could collapse before 2050. All symptoms of system failure. That system is the earth ecosystem, and it is crashing because of the path that has become embedded under "modern"...
November 1, 2006
A Necessary Shift Part 1: WorldChanging
WorldChanging is an organization and website aimed at solutions to our environmental problems. They are releasing a new book tomorrow called WorldChanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century (at Amazon). I have seen a copy of the book and...
October 31, 2006
Peak Oil, Global Warming, Oh My!
Peak oil and global warming - the Janus catastrophes of our times. Entwined and interrelated, they are equally symptoms of systemic collapse. We face the collapse of natural systems, caused by the insanity of social systems, and leading to the...
October 26, 2006
A Creative Approach To Energy Production
The Pacesetters Project is an initiative of The Facility, which is an association of British facilities architects. The project is aimed at producing electricity from daily activities - primarily foot pressure....
October 15, 2006
History and Global Warming
Share the article and site below with everyone you know! 10/16/06 Spencer Weart, HNN, Global Warming: How History Is Being Manipulated to Undermine Calls for Action The Discovery of Global Warming "A hypertext history of how scientists came to (partly)...
Finally An Acknowledgement of Oil's Role in Darfur
The International Crisis group has released its report on ending the Darfur crisis. Central in those findings is sanctioning the oil industry....
October 8, 2006
Global Warming - High Stakes High Costs
The price tag to cap global warming emissions? According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers the answer is $1,000,000,000,000. The cost of not capping and decreasing emissions? Massive death and devastation....
September 22, 2006
The Global Warming Snowball
Reading the news, it seems clear that global warming has become a snow ball rolling down hill gathering both size and speed. It seems that there is no good news to be had, and each new study and report is...
September 15, 2006
Big Oil Find Not So Big
The trumpeted big oil find in the Gulf of Mexico is not what it is cracked up to be. Two very good articles are available. One is by Tom Whipple, "The peak oil crisis: Hyping Jack No. 2." The other...
September 6, 2006
The Meaning Of Things
I recently re-read Sherri S. Tepper's book The Visitor (2002). While I recommend Tepper as an exceptional author, and think this is a great book, I am not writing a book review, but addressing an idea that comes up in...
September 2, 2006
Rapid Warming & Bad Solutions
Global warming continues to accelerate, and increasingly unpredictable. As I read the news, my interpretation is "throw out the predictions." Why? It is clear that there are feedback loops and areas where scientists just don't know enough. There are unpredictable...
August 27, 2006
Ocean Currents, Dead Zones, and Global Warming
For the fifth year in a row, a dead zone has formed off the Oregon Coast. First documented in 2002, the dead zone has formed for each of the last five years - though in two of those years the...
August 17, 2006
Greenland Ice sheet Melt Accelerating
According to a report in the August 11, 2006 BBC, the Greenland ice sheet is "speeding up." Using a calculation that measures earth's gravity and mass, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have determined that the ice sheet...
August 14, 2006
Escaped Transgenic Grass In Oregon
According to a report in Nature, transgenic grass produced by The Scotts Company has escaped its test plot, and been found almost two miles away. The grass is resistant to Roundup and other herbicides. The bioengineered grass could pose a...
August 3, 2006
Global Warming Overstated?
An interesting UK media analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has concluded that some British reporting on climate change amounts to "climate porn." "Apocalyptic visions of climate change used by newspapers, environmental groups and the UK government...
July 30, 2006
Israel Won't Stop Offensive For Humans Or Environment
Israel has refused to cease fire in Lebanon to allow humanitarian aid, and they won't cease fire to allow a cleanup of a massive oil spill. The spill is a result of Israeli bombing of oil storage tanks at El-Jiye...
Nuclear Power Is Not A Solution
As the price of hydrocarbons goes up, and the supply of oil goes down, many are promoting a nuclear future. The problems with storage of radioactive for millions of years aside, nuclear power won't work. There are two major problems...
July 24, 2006
Death of the Rainforest - Catastrophic Change
The Amazon rainforest is dying. It could become a desert. The study being conducted in the Amazon is absolutely devastating news....
July 15, 2006
Panama Canal To Be Widened
The Panamanian Congress has voted to widen the Panama Canal. The plan calls for widening the canal by 42 feet to make the canal a total of 150 feet wide. Currently, the Panama canal passes about 5% of global trade,...
July 14, 2006
Conflict Up. Oil Prices Up.
The conflict between Israel, and Palestine and Lebanon continues to escalate, but thus far has drawn in Syria and Iran. That is with no thanks to President Bush who issued a statement yesterday saying that Iran and Syria were intimately...
July 11, 2006
Server Farms and the Environment
Perhaps I am a bit slow, but a report on NPR called "Cheap and Reliable Power Nurtures Server Farms" stunned me. Back in about 1994, I was meeting with a group of internet consultants about connecting a program I worked...
July 10, 2006
Global Warming and Earthquakes
Well as if droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, and heat waves weren't enough, scientists are now talking about earthquakes and volcanoes being linked to global warming. The theory runs like this. The ice sheets and glaciers are ice, and that weighs a...
July 4, 2006
The Media And Science
What do you ideally expect when you watch or read the news? Ideally, I expect facts and unbiased reporting. That is rarely what one gets. One expects that differing points of view will be included, but that fact remains fact....
July 1, 2006
An Inconvenient Truth and NativeEnergy
SEE THIS MOVIE I finally got the opportunity to see "An Inconvenient Truth." It is an exceptional presentation on global warming. The visuals are very good, and recent information is included - like the CO2 measurements over the last 650,000...
June 26, 2006
Why Does Global Warming Seem To Be Happening So Quickly?
Read the news, or read the reports, underlying the discussion of global warming is a sense of panic. It is all happening too fast. The search is on to try and figure out why, but so far there is tantalizing...
June 10, 2006
Slow Growth, Inflation? Raise Interest Rates
According to the NY Times, the Fed Makes It Clear That Rates Will Rise Again: "SIGNS of slower economic growth, paradoxically, would normally have been welcome news this week, bolstering the idea that the Federal Reserve would stop tightening the...
June 7, 2006
Of Water, Human Beings and Other "Worthless" Commodities
BY: Jason Miller How Capitalism Unleashes the Beast of Soulless Avarice Jinshan Mining Ltd, a leading mineral extraction corporation based in China, has officially announced its ground-breaking technology for extracting gold from the water supply in the United States, including...
June 5, 2006
Oil Lust And Climate Collapse
As Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" gets both rave reviews from most, and the cold shoulder from others, climate change is real and we all know it. The tension level in hurricane areas seems to be pretty high, and insurance...
May 28, 2006
Record Shark Killed
The big news for "fishing" enthusiasts is that a 1280 pound hammerhead shark was caught. That "record" catch is credited to Capt. Bucky Dennis. He used a stingray as bait, and the shark dragged his boat about 12 miles out...
May 26, 2006
Jet Stream Is Shifting
According to a report in Science, "Enhanced Mid-Latitude Tropospheric Warming in Satellite Measurements," the Jet stream is bulging outward from the equator. I do not have access to the full report, but an AP story provides more depth....
May 23, 2006
What Are The Costs Of Biofuels?
With the most recent increases in fuel costs in the United States, there is increasing talk of biofuels - ethanol in particular. The popular belief is that ethanol will save us, and Brazil comes up frequently with its use of...
May 22, 2006
Global Warming: Who Lives Who Dies?
It seems easy sitting in the most consuming, capitalist nation in the world to think that global warming is not a big deal. There is a belief that no matter what nature throws this way that "technology" can handle it....
May 7, 2006
The Mountain Sentinel
Hi all, I would like to recommend Dale Allen Pfeiffer's The Mountain Sentinel. The magazine is in its second volume. The current volume (available for $2.50 pdf or $7.50 print and bound) covers issues from the laws of thermodynamics to...
April 30, 2006
Oil Prices Oil Lies
Gasoline prices continue to rise even though the cost of crude oil has dropped. While crude futures were rising, it was consistently linked to the gasoline price increase. So why don't prices drop when the price of oil per barrel...
April 22, 2006
When Will Earth Day Really Be Earth Comes First Day?
My first Earth Day was in 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri. I was 18 years old. I had read "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson a couple of years before that day. I had followed the impacts of pollution after that....
April 20, 2006
Global Warming Programs
Just wanted to give folks a heads up. There are two global warming specials on this week. One is on PBS Nova, and is called "Global Dimming. I watched it last night, and I must say it did not make...
April 15, 2006
Climate Alert - Global Warming Accelerating
The news this week has been frightening out of the UK with reports that a 3C rise in temperature is expected in this century, and that 400 million people will be at risk. Noted in these articles and reports, is...
April 12, 2006
What Is Up With Fuel Price Predictions?
In listening to the news yesterday, I was getting very confused. I listened to ABC, CBS, NBC, and some cable news. Each of them seemed to have a slightly different take on where gasoline prices were going. They were all,...
March 30, 2006
Perilous Economic Terrain
It President and the Congress seem to think that they can just continue to raise the debt limit of the United States indefinitely. Back on March 14th, Mark Trumbull asked"Is rising US public debt sustainable?" The Congress decided the answer...
March 22, 2006
What Peak Oil Looks Like
In a March 16, 2006 article called North Sea oil and gas - The long goodbye, there is a telling chart (below). What is clearly portrayed in the chart is that despite significant increases in both exploration and the cost...
March 17, 2006
Sneak Preview of Peak Gas
Britain is experiencing a peak gas scenario. From Friday to Tuesday, gas prices increased 400 percent. "... Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat industry spokesman, accused the government of incompetence. "Only last November the energy minister told the house that Britain...
March 12, 2006
Game Theory...The Ball is rolling - Part 3
BY: Mathew Maavak Rice Extends Good Will to Latin Leftists Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the United States has no quarrel with leftist leaders in Latin America and wants good relations with Bolivia under its new president, a...
Game Theory: The Ball is Rolling - Part 2
BY: Mathew Maavak "The United States has the power to cause harm and pain," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, a senior Iranian delegate to the IAEA. "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is...
March 11, 2006
At Leask Two Alaskan Oil Spills
On March 6th, a 267,000 gallon oil spill was discovered at Prudhoe Bay. A second leak (or unknown size) was discovered on Friday 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. On the heels of this news, The Senate Budget Committee...
March 9, 2006
Game Theory: The Ball is Rolling....
When a friend of mine felicitated me over a recent "energy geopolitics" article, I frankly admitted that I haven't read real news for months, perhaps a year. "I use game theory to forecast news," and would be ready with an...
March 6, 2006
Global Warming - A Frightening Thought
Things on the global warming front have changed rather dramatically over the last five years. We have moved from a crisis that might culminate some time in the 22nd century to one that is creeping into this one. If I...
March 2, 2006
The Brinksmanship of Energy Geopolitics
BY: Mathew Maavak "It is thus probably no overstatement to say that the Russian campaign has been won in the space of two weeks." - German Chief of General Staff Franz Halder, July 3, 1941 "The whole situation makes it...
February 28, 2006
Excellent articles
I came across two excellent articles and want to recommend them to you. The first is a piece by Paul Krugman which was published in the 2/27/06 NY Times, and then in the Oregonian - "Graduates Versus Oligarchs. In it...
How Do You Know When Peak Oil Is Close?
How do you know when peak oil is close? Well a clue might be when DuPont starts looking to displace fossil fuels as the building blocks of chemicals (or here). DuPont is at the head of the wave of "industrial...
February 21, 2006
Oregon's Measure 37 Upheld
This may not mean much to those outside of Oregon, but it is important to us here - on both sides of the argument. Oregon passed Measure 37 which requires governments to recompense property owners "losses" due to land use...
February 19, 2006
Katrina Is Not History
As the investigation into the failed response to Hurricane Katrina drags on, we see what has become a pattern of graft, cronyism, incompetence. FEMA's almost billion dollar purchase of mobile and modular homes largely sit decaying in a filed in...
February 17, 2006
Global Warming Is Accelerating
There are a flurry of articles coming out about the acceleration of global warming. This is because of the reports coming out of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Conference which is currently in session (2.16-2.20) in...
February 14, 2006
South America Flexes Its Muscles
There is an interesting sea change that is occurring in South America. One by one, countries are swinging left and reclaiming resources in the name of the people. They are also attempting to set their own terms with the United...
February 5, 2006
What Did Stephen Harper Actually Win?
BY: JOHN CHUCKMAN There has been a lot of noise about the victory of Stephen Harper, leader of Canada's new Conservative party, but just what did he win? Votes in the recent election for progressive parties - Liberals, New Democrats,...
February 2, 2006
Bush On Cloning In State of The Union Address
Some of you who watched or read the State of the Union Address may have been taken aback by his comments on cloning. He said: Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical...
January 31, 2006
Liberty Lost - Chaos Reigns
A lot of things have changed since George W. Bush went into office in 2001. Maybe my bias shows in saying that I can't think of one of those changes that have been positive. But a series of changes are...
January 30, 2006
Imminent Peril, Part 2
BY: DALE ALLEN PFEIFFER see also Imminent Peril, Part 1 Note: The Washington Post and The New York Times have both published stories asserting that Global Climate Change is now accepted by the majority of the world's scientists, and that...
January 25, 2006
Imminent Peril, Part 1
BY: DALE ALLEN PFEIFFER - his site This article originally went out through several different sources in spring & summer of 2003. However, the collection of scientific statements referred to in this report are possibly the most important announcements of...
January 22, 2006
Oil Prices Up - What Is The Threat Now?
Ron Scherer of the Christian Science Monitor reports that oil prices are almost back to [re-Katrina levels. He also notes that this is the time of year when oil prices historically start down rather than up. So what has changed...
January 19, 2006
Costly Alternatives To Oil
As oil prices increase and the discussion of peak oil starts making headline news, the "alternatives" compete for public attention. Consistently, those "alternatives: offer false hope, if not outright deception, to the people. This article discusses some of the issues...
January 13, 2006
On The Health Front
There are concerns that the Avian (Bird) Flu is making the shift to a more easily human to human communicable form. The recent cases of Avian Flu in Turkey has Europe, and Health officials concerned. Researchers from the UK National...
January 4, 2006
The Myth of the Hydrogen Economy
BY: DALE ALLEN PFEIFFER also see his blog There is a lot of talk about the hydrogen economy. It is at best naive, and at worst it is dishonest. A hydrogen economy would be a pitiful, impoverished thing indeed....
January 3, 2006
Oil, Gas, and Politics
The conflict between Russia and the Ukraine highlights the differences between oil and gas, and energy as a political whip. Russia's row with the Ukraine has everything to do with politics. Namely, punishing the Ukraine for turning to the west....
Home Heating Options
Mother Earth News has pulled together a great collection of articles on efficient, renewable and alternative home heating methods. They include Do-It-Yourself Solar Heat and Passive Solar Home Design; Earth-sheltered Houses and Renewable Heating Fuels. They also have links to...
December 31, 2005
More Bad News Ahead
How far do greenhouse gas emissions need to drop in order to change the global warming path we are on? According to Guy Brasseur, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology 80 to90%. Well that level of emissions decrease would mean stopping...
December 28, 2005
Russia and the Ukraine - Next Resource War?
There is escalating conflict between Russia and the Ukraine over gas supplies and costs. The issue started with the pipeline deal between Germany and Russia. The deal left both Poland and the Ukraine with major concerns about the amount and...
December 27, 2005
Alaska's Peak Gas
You know it just figures. We fight to stop further drilling in Alaska, and the "Powers that Be" are already planning routes for the pipeline. But, let's add insult to injury shall we? According to Alaska's consultant on energy, Douglas...
December 22, 2005
Bird Flu May Be Tamiflu Resistant
According to a report in the Independent/UK, the H5N1 avian flu virus is developing mutations that make it resistant to the anti-viral Tamiflu. Two of the 13 people recently stricken in Vietnam developed a Tamiflu resistant strain of the virus....
December 20, 2005
Act Now To Save ANWR
We are at the wall on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska Senator attached opening ANWR for drilling to the Defense budget appropriations. Now that budget will come to a vote of the Senate. Senator Gordon Smith of...
December 19, 2005
Dirty Budget Tricks - ANWR
The House has approved the 2006 Budget (see also Bloomberg, AP). The whole deal is dirty as far as I can tell. In a convoluted arrangement, drilling in ANWR was passed....
December 16, 2005
Congress Acknowledges Peak Oil
On December 7, 2005, the first in Congressional hearing on Peak Oil Was held. Global Public Media has the transcripts of that meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett presented the...
December 4, 2005
Tired of Hearing About Dependence On Foreign Oil
I don't know about you, but I am darned tired of hearing the catch phrase "End (reduce) our dependence on foreign oil." Let's get real. As long as we are dependent on oil, we are going to be dependent on...
December 2, 2005
Fire or Ice - Which Will It Be?
The headline reads "Scientists Say Slower Atlantic Currents Could Mean a Colder Europe. The currents in the Atlantic are slowing significantly, which means that the warm waters of the Gulf Stream won't be moving north. That means the colder waters...
November 28, 2005
Oil Costs Hit Middle Class
The cost of heating oil and natural gas are starting to hit the middle class. According to an article in the NY Times - Middle Class Gets in Line for Help With Rising Heating Bills, people who have never showed...
November 27, 2005
Peak Oil and the Redelineation of Global Power
Please comment, and make suggestions. I am working on this as part of a research proposal. Thanks, Mathew INTRODUCTION: This research will analyze the ramifications of the growing energy crisis, and the possible restructuring of the present geopolitical and economic...
November 26, 2005
It Is Us Driving Global Warming
The latest report from European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) removes any doubts that humans are dramatically affecting the climate. New core samples from Antarctica show that current CO2 (carbon dioxide) levels are higher than they have been...
November 25, 2005
China's Toxic Spills - A New Chapter In An Old Story
On November 22,2005, the BBC reported that Harbin, China was shutting off its water supply for four days. While the official story from Chinese authorities was that the water mains needed maintenance, this was a cover up for an explosion...
November 20, 2005
Consequences Of Global Warming Hits Hardest At Those With The Least
A report released by the World Health Organization says that 150,000 people a year are dying from the effects of global warming, and that number could double in the next 15 years. The report is discussed in a Washington Post...
November 16, 2005
China Vaccinates Birds
Yay! FINALLY, someone does something that makes sense about Avian Flu. China is going to vaccinate all of its poultry. Now that is no small task with roughly 5.2 billion birds to be vaccinated. This is the first action to...
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