Politics

The Reality Report interviews Daniel Lerch, author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, the first major local government guidebook on peak oil and global warming. The interview opens with a discussion of the responsibilities and roles of local government, where important decisions are made regarding land use, transportation, water systems, schools and emergency services. It reviews how systems thinking can be used to understand the impacts that "energy uncertainty" will have on basic government services, and covers what some local governments in the U.S. and Canada are already doing in repsonse to peak oil. Transcript now included.

"The only way to avert massive social chaos and famine as extraction levels decline will be to devote public capital domestically toward the building of low energy infrastructure (e.g., electrified rail networks, trolley lines, wind farms) while moving many people to rural areas and teaching them to farm sustainably. Production and consumption will have to be largely re-localized, essential goods rationed by quota. Basically the same thing will have to happen in the poor nations."

It’s getting pretty damn obvious that the world is sliding head-first into the abyss at an accelerating rate, with most Americans as oblivious as ever. Museletter #186 has been completed in two parts - both of which are now available.

Tim Flannery, one of Australia's top scientists and author of The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change talks to Andi Hazelwood of Global Public Media about his suggested mitigations for climate change on the heels of the alarming new report from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Flannery also discusses Australia's drought and food crises, relocalization and Bjorn Lomborg's skeptical new book on global warming.

Queensland's newly appointed Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation talks with GPM's Andi Hazelwood about his robust new portfolio (with double the previous environmental budget), the impending public release of his government-commissioned report on "Queensland's Vulnerability to Oil Prices," and the importance of relocalisation in the face of oil depletion.

Paul Syvret, assistant editor and columnist for the Courier Mail newspaper in Australia, talks to GPM's Andi Hazelwood about the forthcoming report on "Queensland's Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices." Syvret also discusses his coverage of peak oil in the Courier Mail and other News Corp. publications and his own thoughts on peak oil and mitigation strategies.

Stuart McCarthy of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas talks to GPM's Andi Hazelwood about Queensland's new leadership, Andrew McNamara's recent appointment to Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, McNamara's "Queensland's Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices" report three years in the making and today's coverage of this landmark report in Queensland's Courier-Mail newspaper.

Local-global-cosmic. The start of a new year always seems to be a time for reflection and prediction. Mayors Gramson, Williams, Van Dusen and Larsen of Warrenton, Cannon Beach, Astoria and Seaside -- and City Manager Jerry Taylor of Manzanita join us in examining local trends. Richard Heinberg makes a personal visit by phone from California addressing national and international trends. And, then we "sail into uncharted waters" and talk with a student of behavioral psychology-turned-astrologer Bill Herbst for the cosmic perspective on the first decade of the 21st Century.

Former BBC journalist David Strahan talks to GPM's Julian Darley about the sudden attention to peak oil in the UK and elsewhere from the media, the NPC, the IEA, Goldman Sachs and CIBC. Strahan also recounts his experience with the UK's new All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and Gas (APPGOPO).

Green architect, author, economist, feng shui-ist and local legend Tom Bender recounting his recent essay, "Oh, NO! We've Been Elected!" Connecting the dots between global warming and peak oil, and peak oil and culture, Tom draws on his own award-winning "Factor 10 Economics" for solutions to the question, "What can I do?" Putting Spirituality back into the equation is a good start, and Tom leaves us with a sense that this is going to be an exciting adventure in which we can all take part.