Fossil Fuel based growth has ended: This is the best place to learn about the future. In which localism prevails and power moves from the top-down to the grass-roots. Prosperity will decline and life will again be worth living.
By Richard Heinberg, with permission, originally published by Resilience.org An Interview with Chris Bystroff A couple of years ago I read a paper titled “Footprints to Singularity: A Global Population Model Explains Late 20th Century Slow-Down and Predicts Peak Within Ten Years.” The banner finding of the paper—that world population is very close to peaking—seemed …
On Monday 15 May, as EU policymakers gather for the first day of the landmark 2023 Beyond Growth conference at the European Parliament, over 400 experts call for political leaders to seize this opportunity to tackle interconnected social, environmental and political crises and embrace a wellbeing economy that allows humanity and the planet to thrive, …
Copied from the Imagine Newsletter 31 January 2024 Tata Steel, the largest private-sector employer in deprived south Wales town Port Talbot, will cut 2,800 jobs by closing its last two coal-powered blast furnaces. Instead, the steelworks will invest in an electric arc furnace that can run on renewable power but at the cost of fewer …
26th January 2024 Today’s Round-Up of Economic News “The Next Global War. How today’s regional conflicts resemble the ones that produced World War II… “World War II began as a trio of loosely connected contests for primacy in key regions stretching from Europe to the Asia-Pacific—contests that eventually climaxed and coalesced in globally consuming ways. …
It is interesting how individuals in different fields view the future differently. Classical economists see a future of endless economic growth, as does everyone employed in the public sector. Understandably so because without growth, their future is dire. Down here at the grass-roots, the first glimmerings of localism can be seen imaginatively. I hear a …
Gail Tverberg has permitted me to copy the headings from her post in Our Finite World.. Her post tells us how much the current system depends upon fossil fuels. To whet your appetite, here are the headings of her piece. What will happen in an economy without fossil fuels: [1] Banks, as we know them, …
In my advanced years, I find an increasing desire to understand the evolving dynamics of our world. Much of the knowledge accumulated over my 86 years has become outdated, prompting me to reflect on my journey, current state, and the potential future of the planet. The Great Simplification is a podcast which is a source …
A growing influx of newcomers has recently subscribed to the orcop.com blog, and I warmly welcome each of you. The blog’s popularity seems to be spreading rapidly, and one could speculate that it mirrors a broader awareness that the economy is undergoing a profound shift, departing from its traditional trajectory of perpetual growth. In his …
First published in the RADIX think tank by Barry Cooper and ChatGPT A few minutes ago, David asked me if I had anything he could publish in the RADIX blog. I have been thinking about the future in terms of the evolution of markets, but then had a mental block. So I asked ChatGPT for …
New subscribers joining this blog who need convincing that the world economy is shrinking could not do better than read this post by Dr Tim Morgan in his Surplus Energy Economics blog. Tim sets out his interpretation of the interconnectedness of the economy, finance and the environment. To visit Tim’s post.
The title and quotations are copied from a recent essay by Karl North. It is good. It was an eye-opener because it introduced me to systems thinking about agriculture. It’s a super holistic way by a farmer who practices what he writes. I am grateful to Karl North for providing an introduction to his essay: …
Quote from a discussion in Dr Tim Morgan’s blog on Surplus Energy Economicshttps://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2023/11/10/265-explore-and-explain/ I have in front of me a wooden table dating from the 1980s. It’s solid, heavy, and if it ever gets to look too tatty I can just sand it down and paint it again. What good is that to the world’s …
How financialization heralds the end of the industrial age A piece published by The Honest Sorcerer: A critic of Modern Times – offering ideas for honest contemplation. Well worth reading at https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/financing-the-end-of-modernity Western neoliberal economies are on the brink of a steep economic decline. Barring an energy / productivity miracle a prolonged and deep recession …
This 90 minute Roundtable podcast in Nate Hagens series the Great Simplification is fascinating. There are so many lessons which are relevant to the UK. To see the original go to https://youtu.be/lb2tJXopTJA__________________________________________________________________________________________________- The four speakers are as small-scale farmer Jason Bradford, permaculturist and documentarian Andrew Millison, regenerative agriculture activist Vandana Shiva, and regenerative farmer and …
How an elite clique of math-addled economists hijacked climate policy. Christopher Ketcham October 29 2023, 8:00 a.m. William Nordhaus, who turned 82 this year, was the first economist in our time to attempt to quantify the cost of climate change. His climate-modeling wizardry, which won him the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2018, …
