Gulf Oil Spill 2010, Image: Reuters, UK
I can’t help but think, with the Gulf oil spill, that we’re simply fleas on the back of a living organism that’s about to shake us off. The spill is big. A retired expert mentioned this morning on The Power Hour internet radio show with Joyce Riley said there is not an easy way to stop such a huge oil spout, which is under such high pressure. It’s escaping the man-made hole created thousands of feet under the ocean’s surface. The expert actually said the only way he knew of containment, was to use an atomic blast, placed just in the right way, to seal the hole.
In any event, Chief Sealth from the Pacific Northwest was right, “We do not own the earth.” This latest mishap by us, seems to really be screwing things up. To be more informed on a culmination of “the perfect storm” read Richard Heinberg’s Peak Everything which addresses a number of issues which are peaking on our planet today.
Below if from Amazon’s page on Peak Everything.
Heinberg is Brilliant
From Publishers Weekly
In his latest, “Peak Oil” expert Heinberg (Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies) puts that theory in place alongside corresponding peaks in population, food production, climate stability and fresh water availability to paint a grim future of overlapping and accelerating global crises. For an introduction to Peak Oil, the idea that coming fossil fuel shortages will be sudden and drastic, readers should seek Heinberg’s earlier works; this volume assumes familiarity and addresses the challenges a post-carbon world poses for a global community “as reliant on hydrocarbons as it is on water, sunlight, and soil.” The worst-case scenario, “global economic meltdown” read more
Description of Peak Everything
The twentieth century saw unprecedented growth in population, energy consumption, and food production. As the population shifted from rural to urban, the impact of humans on the environment increased dramatically.
The twenty-first century ushered in an era of declines, in a number of crucial parameters:
* Global oil, natural gas, and coal extraction
* Yearly grain harvests
* Climate stability
* Population
* Economic growth
* Fresh water
* Minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum
To adapt to this profoundly different world, we must begin now to make radical changes to our attitudes, behaviors, and expectations.
Peak Everything addresses many of the cultural, psychological, and practical changes we will have to make as nature rapidly dictates our new limits. This latest book from Richard Heinberg, author of three of the most important books on Peak Oil, touches on the most important aspects of the human condition at this unique moment in time.
A combination of wry commentary and sober forecasting on subjects as diverse as farming and industrial design, this book tells how we might make the transition from the Age of Excess to the Era of Modesty with grace and satisfaction, while preserving the best of our collective achievements. A must-read for individuals, business leaders, and policymakers who are serious about effecting real change.
Tags: Bill MicKibben, Environmental Damage, Gulf Oil Spill, Lester R Brown, Peak Everything, Plan B, Richard Heinberg, Worldwatch Institute
Mountain Spirit's Blog 
04/05/2010 at 16:05 |
Big Deal, so we drive a Prius. I drove yesterday, for the first time since I had heard the news about the scope of the oil emergency in the Gulf of Mexico.
Every mile I drove, I felt partly responsible for every drop of oil I was using. I was literally part of the problem. I am part of the problem. what shall we do? We already minimize our driving, but I think a major life move may be in order. Buying some land, putting up a small cabin and growing our own food is on the horizon. My other half is from New Zealand and I think we’ll head down under.
R Richards
12/06/2010 at 17:06 |
I understand that peak oil is accurate and that we are now past the point of peak oil. I believe many of the current events have to do with this understanding and it won’t be long before the main stream media and population wake up and understand what is going on. For me and my family, we are preparing for the next era.