North America

The debate about when the world will reach peak oil production is not a new one. But recently, as the price of crude oil has been unusually volatile, the issue of peak production has received heightened attention in the media, and the tone has changed in the discussions among oil industry and energy watchdogs about the future of global oil supply.

California in 'fiscal emergency'
California's IOU to the world
Californians are sinking themselves

Economy takes its toll on Amish
Greening a mountain community: Estes Park, Colorado
Why Are Chickens Leading the Sharing Revolution?

Urban retrofits
Organic Farms as Subdivision Amenities
The Farmer and the Lawn

Just a year and a half after a breakthrough Solar Grand Plan study was published in the January 2008 Scientific American, the U.S. government has begun plans to implement major elements of such a Plan.

The Amish ran privately-owned family farms for centuries until the latter part of the 20th century when they began taking jobs off the farm where they made good money, but many also became seduced by consumerism. They gradually spent more money, allowed themselves some of the conveniences previously shunned in order to live more simply, and found themselves caught up in spending more money and buying things they didn't need ... One Amish man comments on the need to return to basics: "We were all going way too fast. This has made everybody stop and realize we're just pilgrims here..."

If we are to have any chance of working our way out of this mess, we must avoid regressive thinking, stay calm, appreciate complexity, and think clearly about the right course of action. I’m going to take a proper look at speculation in the oil market to see what the problems are and what we might actually do about them.

...the ongoing healthcare debate in Washington is anachronistic. A future oriented analysis has to include two driving forces: first, the long-term consequences of the fiscal/economic crisis and, second, the arrival of geological peak oil...

Small Towns vs. Nestlé
It’s Now Legal to Catch a Raindrop in Colorado
Struggling cities cancel Fourth of July fireworks

Nuclear power is well-disguised fossil fuel
Nuclear power must be part of energy solution
UK regulator raises French nuclear concerns