issuesComplex, interconnected issues must be dealt with rapidly and effectively if we are to achieve a resilient future.
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Wandering Home
Modern industrial civilization was built on fossil fuel energy, but climate change, overpopulation and resource scarcity require that we find other ways to power our societies — and fast. The energy problems the world faces are too big, too complex, and coming too fast for us to responsibly hope that new technologies or new discoveries will save the day. Unfortunately, the decline of our most important energy source—petroleum—is already underway, and the resulting supply and price volatility will make investment in alternative infrastructure increasingly more difficult.
There are many things we must do to transition away from oil, coal and natural gas, but the most important are these: Reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. Use what fossil fuels we have more efficiently. Develop renewable energy sources and technologies. Decentralize energy production so that communities can power themselves from local energy sources.
Richard Heinberg examines the ongoing financial crisis, explaining how and why it occurred, and what we must do to avert the worst potential outcomes. Describes what policymakers, communities, and families can do to build a new economy that operates within Earth's budget of energy and resources. Heinberg argues we can thrive during the transition if we set goals that promote human and environmental well-being, rather than continuing to pursue the now-unattainable prize of ever-expanding GDP.
Anti-fracking activist Jonathan Deal, winner of a 2013 Goldman Environmental Prize, discusses strategy to save the Karoo region of his native South Africa from gas drilling. Credit: Goldman … >>
A new phrase, “supply shock,” entered the lexicon of the global oil business this week when the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that unexpectedly rapid growth in tight oil … >>
A recent series of studies and rebuttals have debated the greenhouse gas impacts of shale gas production as compared to coal. Post Carbon Institute Fellow David Hughes, author of the … >>
More than ninety percent of the electricity we use to light our communities, and nearly all the energy we use to run our cars, heat our homes, and power our factories comes from large, … >>
In Rebuilding the Foodshed Philip Ackerman-Leist refocuses the local-food lens on the broad issue of rebuilding regional food systems that can replace the destructive aspects of industrial agriculture, meet food demands affordably and sustainably, and be resilient enough to endure potentially rough times ahead.
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meet our fellowsPCI has gathered 29 of the world's leading experts on a wide range of interdependent social and scientific issues.
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what is pci?Founded in 2003, Post Carbon Institute is leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world. The Institute has gathered 29 of the world's leading experts on a wide range of interdependent social and scientific issues.
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