Tag Archives: sustainability

Can India come out ahead in an energy squeeze?

The slower the growth, the more sustainable an economy is over the moderately long term.

Energy consumption and the use of complexity tend to rise together.

Too much complexity can lead to collapse.

In general, the most “efficient” economies can be expected to do best.

Over the long term, all economies will collapse.

There have been shifts in which economies get a major share of available energy supplies. Shifting patterns are likely again in the future.

India may come out ahead in an energy squeeze because its warm climate and conservative culture allow its energy consumption per capita to remain low. Continue reading

Posted in Energy policy, Financial Implications | Tagged , , , | 2,991 Comments

Sustainability: How Humans’ Economy Differs from Natures’

A few years ago, I had an ah-ha moment when it comes to what we as humans would need to do to live in a sustainable manner. It is very easy. All we have to do is leave our homes, … Continue reading

Posted in Financial Implications | Tagged , , , , , | 354 Comments

Is Sustainable Agriculture an Oxymoron?

This is a guest post by Toby Hemenway, author of  Gaia’s Garden, a Guide to Home Scale Permaculture. It is being republished with the author’s permission. It was previously published on his blog, Pattern Literacy.  Jared Diamond calls it “the worst mistake … Continue reading

Posted in Food issues, Guest post, Planning for the Future | Tagged , , , | 143 Comments

True sustainability solutions

We live in a world with very limited solutions to our sustainability problems. I often hear the view, “If we would just get off fossil fuels, then our society would be sustainable.” Or, “If the price of oil would just … Continue reading

Posted in Planning for the Future | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 119 Comments

European Debt Crisis and Sustainability

What would humans have to do to really live sustainability with the world’s ecosystems? I got a shock when I read about the pattern of species extinctions which is taking place that form a part of what is called the … Continue reading

Posted in Financial Implications, Planning for the Future | Tagged , , , | 100 Comments