Political movements

While living modestly, these peoples' lives were filled with sumptuous dreams they worked to transform into reality. While they certainly suffered from bouts of frustration and dismay over the years, none of these greats surrendered to what we call today ‘political burn-out'—or worse, just plain jadedness. ... If environmental activists evaluate their work in terms of immediate efficacy and pragmatic ‘do-ableness', they often collapse after five to ten years (sometimes far less) under the weight of abject disappointment. They resent themselves, their movements, and the world, for not changing fast enough.

We are now approaching the first-year anniversary of Peak Oil Day. Where are we now? The global economy is in tatters, yet oil prices have recovered somewhat (they’re now about half what they were in July 2008). World energy consumption is down, world trade is down, the airline industry is shrinking, and most of the world’s automakers are on life support.

Bugging Out
How Politics Works and Why Activism is So Important
Risk Assessments: Playing the "What If?" Game
The Future of Transport
Dopamine Returned on Energy Invested (DREI)?
Tällberg Forum 2009
One Second After: A Book Review from a Prepper's Perspective
Ruins of a Second Gilded Age

Thirty contestants, only one winner in the Iraqi oil licence gameshow
Eager to Tap Iraq's Vast Oil Reserves, Industry Execs Suggested Invasion
The unemployment timebomb is quietly ticking
Interview: Hungary—“Where we went wrong”

The Key to Fixing Health Care and Energy: Use Less
Market dogma is exposed as myth. Where is the new vision to unite us?
Vandana Shivas views on society & nature
A new (under) class of travellers
Cloning Winnie

Comedian, screenwriter and peak oil activist Jon Cooksey (How to Boil a Frog) presents his alt-reality agenda for the 2009 ASPO-USA conference.

Day 1. 9-9:01: Announcement that yes, peak oil is real and here now, and we’re running out of everything. All the usual presentations will be handed out as footnotes.

9:01-noon: Everyone who flew to the conference on a plane plants trees outside the hotel, followed by a pledge to forego driving double the number of miles they flew in the coming year. A Cadillac Escalade will be sacrificed to the god of climate change, Carbonus, just before lunch

We can still hope for unprecedented cooperation to manage the coming decline. But Jay Hanson (dieoff.org) may be right that if that cooperation doesn't emerge, we may be faced with a decision about making preparations for an all-out and probably violent scramble for the world's remaining resources--a contest in which a disciplined, cohesive and militarized society has the best chance of survival. Is he missing a viable third or fourth way?

If you haven't read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, you really should. It's an examination of how the Chicago School of Economics and its adherents have taken advantage of or created crises to further their privatization agendas.

Want to be a real hero? Save the planet. Don’t know how? Start by viewing the new eco-comedy, How to Boil a Frog. The film tells the story of Jon Cooksey, an ordinary man on a mission, who decided two years ago that he had to do something personally to make sure his 12-year-old daughter would have a future, given all the bad news on global warming.

It's not a Twitter revolution in Iran
Hyperlocal Journalism Business Model
Fibber McGee, Molly, and Your Energy Future