The Beginning of Contraction
“Understandably, everyone wants it to get “back to normal.” But here’s a disturbing thought: What if that is not possible? What if the goalposts have been moved, the rules rewritten, the game changed?” –Richard Heinberg Biocapacity and the limits to…
Five-Planets-Worth-of-Consumption
There are three ways in which North Americans have managed to live at five-planets-worth-of-consumption. I am indebted to Sophy Banks and Naresh Giangrande for an explanation in the Transition Training here in Los Angeles in 2008, which really broadened my…
A Basic Explanation: Economics
We have an economic system that is based entirely upon the presumption that growth will be ongoing, unceasing, and unlimited. This in turn requires ever more extraction from the earth. At this most basic level, our tour of economics must…
Possible Ways off the Mountain
“Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” –Kenneth E. Boulding I usually begin the economics portion of my talks with an overview: that we’re coping with…
Part I: Understanding Economic Contraction
Just like peak oil and global warming, economic contraction is a “game changer.” As the economy we now know crumbles, the far-reaching repercussions will sculpt every aspect of our future. In my opinion, any long-term plan must anticipate that it…
Resilience
The idea of resilience comes from the study of ecology. It’s really about how systems, settlements, withstand shock from the outside … that they don’t just unravel, and fall to pieces. … It’s about building modularity into what we do,…
About “Economic Resilience”
When it comes to change-making, I tend to be the person you’ll find wielding a shovel, either literally or figuratively. Although I spend plenty of time talking in meetings, I feel happiest when I’m out there getting things done. With…
Debt: Borrowing money in times of Economic Contraction
When my kids were younger they used to play a game in which everything they said was turned opposite. Up was down, hot was cold, yes was no. As we enter a contracting economy, virtually every assumption and expectation we…
Why edible landscaping?
• Edible landscaping puts the city footprint to use.• Your landscape water performs dual duty – aesthetic AND food production.• Edible landscaping helps cut the oil use, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions of importing your food.• Health: You can control…
A fungus among us
Compost and mulch, compost and mulch, I had heard it a million times. But Lowenfels and Lewis’s book was an eye-opener. Certain of our edible plants prefer soils which are heavily populated by bacterial soil life. Others of our edible…