energy

Culture and climate

"I see the shadow of a proper economy everywhere....decayed towns and villages, drained by corporate retail park, entirely oil-powered suburbia and the falsely-egalitarian call of the internet, await the returning flow of ingenious, convivial humanity," writes Patrick Noble in a foreword to his new book.

Decarbonising the Irish energy system: cards on the table?

Barry McMullin argues that decarbonising Ireland will require an enormous reduction in overall energy consumption, with bioenergy developmemt playing only a cautious and secondary role. (This is a Beamer presentation; please click on the slides to access sources and more information.)

End of the Oilocene: the roar of the oil-fizzle dragon king

"Ireland’s policymakers exist in an insulated bubble; congratulating themselves on reducing the debt-GDP ratio and high employment due to the sleight of hand of low corporate tax rates, " writes Tim Clarke. He argues that Ireland is hugely vulnerable to a global financial crash triggered by net energy decline, coupled with rapidly rising extreme global debts and many other factors: "Talk of a 'Celtic Phoenix' excites dull short memories, and another property bubble is in the making."

Money through the looking glass

Caroline Whyte argues that the only way to achieve degrowth without crashing the global economy is to change the way that money is issued. Yet, paradoxically, it would be advisable for central bankers to continue to publicly disagree with the Vollgeld and other debt-free-money campaigns’ suggested financial reforms - and for the campaigners to continue their campaigns regardless, not letting themselves be discouraged by the officials' stance.

On faiths, keeping them and losing them…

"If we are going to survive the turmoil of the years ahead, we are going to need a deeper understanding of ourselves and what makes for our emotional well-being." write Brian Davey in the first chapter of his book Credo.

The tales of history are a dead-end road

"Culture is what people do. It decays when people stop culturing. Changing a culture means changing what we do. Often, that will need a step by step transition as we negotiate obstacles. Even though we follow some backward meanders, the river may flow on." By Patrick Noble.

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