Commentary

Shale Gas – Bonanza or Hype?

by Brian Davey. In recent months there have been a lot of very rosy news items about so called "unconventional gas" as a "game changing" new feature of world energy markets. It's bonanza time... Maybe....however, before going further, its useful to think about what happens in a gold rush. Very few of those out prospecting get rich. But people who sell wagons, equipment and the banks do. The problem is that when it comes to any news from the hydrocarbons market one should never take things at face value...

Allan Savory wins the Buckminster Fuller award

We are delighted to learn that the Africa Centre for Holistic Management and Allan Savory have won the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Award. Allan Savory was our Feasta lecturer for 2009, and Feasta was interviewed at length about the value of Mr. Savory’s work before the award was announced. His lecture, “Keeping Cattle: Cause or Cure for Climate Crisis?” summarises his ideas about using livestock to restore degraded land and address climate change. You can find out more about Mr Savory’s work at the Savory Institute website. …

New articles about the Liquidity Network and debt-free currency

The Liquidity Network group, which is developing a debt-free currency, submitted this entry to the Your Country, Your Call contest, which will award two €100,000 prizes later in the year. An article in the May issue of Construct Ireland magazine about the group’s plans is here.

You can also download a powerpoint file of a talk that Richard Douthwaite recently gave at the Degrowth conference in Barcelona here. …

Feasta Money Group to fight change in Building Society law

Ireland has only two mutual building societies left – the EBS and the Irish Nationwide – and for at least ten years, Michael Fingleton of the Nationwide has made it clear that he intends that it should follow the example of the Irish Permanent and the First National and shed its mutual status. The Feasta Money Group intends to try to prevent it doing so. Here’s why.…