GreenTransitions Policy & Political Resources, Sustainability Commentaries Page

GreenTransitions Policy, Political Resources and Sustainability Commentaries

Government Policies & Resources:
White House Energy Policy Report
Environmental Protection Agency

Global Public Media
Democracy Means You
Common Dreams
Present Danger
Arizona Independent Media Center
Greg Palast -- Political Commentary at its best!
Tom Tommorow -- A little political satire to make us smile...

Each person in the U.S., as part of our society, consumes annually 8,000 lbs of oil, 5150 lbs of coal, 4700 lbs of natural gas and 1/10 lb of uranium
2004 world-wide demand for oil was 84 million barrels a day Demand is increasing by 2-4% per year yet 70% of the oil fields are in decline Richard Heinberg

The End of Petroleum; Resources & Commentaries:
The Post Petroleum Paradigm and Population -- The epic importance of oil (after reading, go to the home page for a more global perspective).
Synopsis (of Declining Energy) -- Not only are oil (and coal) reserves declining, but so is the energy content of the remaining resources!
Life After the Oil Crash -- Respected web site on the oil issues, including economic and human consequences.
Surviving Peak Oil
Musings (of Richard Heinberg) -- Author of "The Party's Over"; his musings & updates
From the Wilderness -- Michael Rupert's website (author of "The Decline of the American Empire at the end of the Age of Oil")
The Oil End Game
Post Carbon
The Energy Bulletin -- A good resource for the current (petroleum) state.

The Impending Energy Crisis -- Petroleum may be running out faster than we think! (01/03/2003).
A Government Energy Conspiracy? -- Are we really fighting terrorism in the Middle East? (01/19/2003).

Perspectives on Fuel Cell and Battery Electric Vehicles -- Is Hydrogen really the answer? {pdf format}.
Econogics -- The Hydrogen Economy - An essay on whether it can be made to work...

The U.S. in 1950 was self-sufficient in all resources and a net exporter of oil and manufactured goods. By 2005 this had reversed and, in addition, many of our jobs are now being exported to follow the resource availability.
Oil production is estimated to peak as early as 2007 by current estimates After that point, the cost, in terms of energy required to recover, will rise rapidly even as the quality of the extracted fuels declines
What are the consequences of 'Peak Oil'? 1) The economy (in the cost to change over to other fuels, if available), 2) Transportation (personal and public), 3) Food and Agriculture (fertilizers, pesticides and transportation) and 4) War and Peace (control of remaining resources) Richard Heinberg

Global Warming / Climate Change:
A European Iceage? -- Another fallout of Global Warming as the oceans heatup and the icecaps melt...
Global Dimming -- Want to know why Global Warming not showing up as we think it should? Read this!
EarthFuture Greenhouse gasses -- a good perspective on the greenhouse gass emmissions with an historical perspective.
Redefining Progress -- The ecological footprint of nations.
Footprint Network -- Similar to above.
My Footprint -- Calculate your own (personal) ecological footprint.
SafeClimate -- Calculate your "carbon footprint."

Globalization has been about Destroying Local Economies

What can we do? 1) Use less, 2) Talk about 'peak oil' and resource degradation to others, 3) Ensure local food and water security, 4) Reduce transportation needs, 5) support the local economy and 6) Foster local manufacturing of essential goods Richard Heinberg

Urban Transitions:
City Repair
Dom Nozzi's Urban Design Principles -- Collections of essays on urbanism and restoring communities.
Home to Nowhere -- Urban decay
The Simpler Way -- Ted Trainer's overview of a sustainable society

In Europe, cars are sold with their engines rated in KW (Kilowatts) rather than HP (horsepower). I would propose a similar, but farther-reaching standard. Specifically, labeling all machines in terms of a common unit of work/consumption, as well as valuing our food, services and labor in such terms. The result would be far more agreeable to local currencies, economic localization and fair wages.

Sustainability Concerns, Resources & Commentaries:
A Steady-State Economy -- Dr. Hubbert's analysis of the economic state and a prescription for survival
Peak Oil -- Peak Economy -- Community Solution's paper on conserving resources with (economic) equity to all
Redefining Progress -- Shifting the economy and public policy towards sutainability.
The Current Mass Extinction -- Are we entering another mass extinction?

BioTech Info -- Report on genetically-modified crops & pesticide use in the US.
Green Plastics -- Scientific American article on bio-plastics.
African Dust Carries Microbes across the Ocean -- New disease vectors? {USGS, pdf format}

Question of Debate: The problem in generating electricity is storage. Is it any better to support off-grid systems that employ tens of lead-acid batteries, each containing tens of pounds of lead, or to support nuclear power generation, especially with the newer pebble reactor designs? If the nuclear waste storage problem could be addressed, which approach (to generating electricity) is better -- especially in consideration of the greater (world) population...
For an interesting commentary, see Stewart Brand's (the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog) essay Environmental Heresies on the new environmental paradigm.

Environmental Organizations:
PlanetSave Network
NaturalStep
Friends of the Earth
Environmental Protection Information Center (Ca)
GreenPeace
Carbon Neutral
Skymetrics -- Sonoma County's climate change page and their work (including Ann Hancock's) on committing cities to climate change reduction.
Renewable Energy Policy Project -- Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology.
World Resources Institute
Union of Concerned Scientists -- Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions
Environmental News Network

Dark-Sky Association -- Light pollution and its impacts.
Noise Pollution Clearinghouse -- Noise pollution and its impacts.

The U.S. per-capita Ecological Footprint is currently at 24 acres/person Much of this is in embodied in our social and political structure (highways, commerce, etc.)
Roughly 1/4 of the Earth's surface is bioproductive Given the available world resources and population, a Sustainable Footprint is roughly 4.5 acres Ann Hancock

Sustainability Organizations:
CloudForest -- At last, a group taking the demise of oil seriously and taking steps to reduce the impact on their community!
Journey to Forever / Handmade Projects
Bioneers
Sustainable Business
Green Biz -- Resource center on business, the environment and the bottom line
ConservationEconomy -- EcoTrust
GreenSense

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