As energy prices rise, they have an impact not only on individuals, but also on state and local governments, colleges and universities, companies, and organizations of all sorts. In many of these institutions, there is currently little understanding of oil depletion and its far-reaching consequences, let alone a plan for an energy transition. As [...]

Products that are identified chiefly as green, organic, or locally produced have sometimes risked falling into what one might call the LOHAS Trap. To the extent that LOHAS, an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, is regarded as a relatively affluent, well-educated market segment, products that are aimed at that segment are likely to [...]

Today’s Oregonian reports the less than surprising news that Americans are questioning the need for bottled water as the economic downturn prompts people to search for ways to reduce their spending. The article suggests that economic forces are now achieving what environmentalists have long struggled to do: changing how we consume water and reducing [...]

David Holmgren, who along with Bill Mollison introduced the concept of permaculture, has launched an insightful new website called Future Scenarios that assesses how the climate crisis and peak oil may interact and shape the prospects for humanity.
In exploring the future of energy, Holmgren outlines four possible futures, ranging from a wildly optimistic “techno-explosion” to [...]

I recently read a description of a project called Earth 2100 at Celsias. It asks “environmental enthusiasts, film makers and creative minds” to produce videos that depict what the consequences of the climate crisis, resource depletion, and population growth will be for the remainder of this century if we fail to act. ABC News plans [...]

Each day, it seems, there are more signs of a serious economic downturn. On Friday, the price of crude oil jumped by an unprecedented $10.75 to more than $138 per barrel, with major U.S. stock market indexes dropping roughly three percent for the day. The rise in the U.S. unemployment rate in May was [...]

Grist’s David Roberts has posted an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Hermann Scheer, a leading advocate for renewable energy. (New Scientist conducted the interview, but requires a subscription to access the full interview.) Dr. Scheer is a physicist, member of the German parliament, and General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy.
In [...]

If you provide a product or service that is more environmentally responsible than those of more established competitors, how do you differentiate your offering? Part of the way you may do so is through education about the hidden costs of products or services that were created with little concern for the environment. When governments [...]

Direct causation is a common way of thinking about problems. It can work fine for simple dilemmas: “Listening to scary bedtime stories gives Sam nightmares.” Applying the same direct logic to complex problems, however, often falls flat. This mismatch is apparent in two attempts in the last few days to respond to rising [...]

There has been much discussion of the presidential candidates’ proposals to address rising gas prices. I would like to examine a dimension of this debate that I haven’t yet seen explored: what the candidates’ messages express about their views of prosperity and its sources. The word “prosperity” might seem out of place in [...]