A few days after President Obama's State of the Union address, an address in which he (rightly) called for massive investments in clean energy and (wrongly) included "clean coal" and nuclear in that vision, PCI Executive Director Asher Miller penned an open letter to the President asking him to face some hard truths. We were touched by the number of smart and heart-felt pleas we received as endorsements (nearly 650) to the letter. Many of you spoke of your loved ones and future generations. The resolve and compassion in these comments was very inspiring to us.
So to those who shared their thoughts with us, we thank you. We have delivered the letter along with your comments to the White House. But we won't stop there. One letter is highly unlikely to change the course of national energy policy. Moving forward, with the combined might, reach and expertise of our assembled Fellows, we will do everything in our power to help our leaders and the American public "face reality."
open letter to obama
latest publications and media
Read and listen to the latest content by our Fellows, Board and Staff anytime on our website. Here are some selections from the last month:
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The Attack on Climate-Change Science: Why It’s the O.J. Moment of the Twenty-First Century
Post by Bill McKibben • February 25, 2010
Twenty-one years ago, in 1989, I wrote what many have called the first book for a general audience on global warming... Read more |
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Preparing for 2014-15 "Oil Crunch" Forecast by UK Industry Group
Post by Warren Karlenzig • February 25, 2010
A new report by a United Kingdom industry taskforce predicts steep oil price rises and gasoline supply shortages by 2014-2015... Read more |
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Who L'eggo My Eggo?
Post by Asher Miller • February 20, 2010
This is old news, but new news to me: Eggo Waffles Facing Shortage Until Mid-2010. My brother and his family are in town for the weekend... Read more |
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The World Saving Habit You'll Hate (And the Great Puzzle of the Well-Intentioned Do Nothings)
Post by Tod Brilliant • February 19, 2010
Last week we received a letter at the Post Carbon Institute office from Scott B., a sports car owner/engine rebuilder/computer programmer... Read more |
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Rob Hopkins on BBC One Planet
Interview with Rob Hopkins • February 19, 2010
Post Carbon Fellow Rob Hopkins was interviewed about the Transition Movement... Listen |
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Goldilocks and the Three Fuels
Post by Richard Heinberg • February 18, 2010
Recent shale gas projects, including those involving the massive Marcellus Shale in several northeastern states, have been yielding significant quantities of fuel... Read more |
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The Peak Oil Crisis: The Crunch
Article by Tom Whipple • February 18, 2010
Another study warning governments of the imminence and danger of peak oil was released last week... Read more |
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Urban Form, Behavior Energy Modeling in China: Sim City for Real
Article by Warren Karlenzig • February 17, 2010
One of the great challenges in urban planning and green building has been material life cycle energy use... Read |
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A Politician's View of Policy Making
Article by Debbie Cook • February 16, 2010
Jeffrey Sachs, economic advisor to the UN, in his recently published article, Fixing the Broken Government Policy Process , articulates four manifestations of the breakdown in Washington... Read more |
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Greening the Urban Jungle
Interview with Majora Carter • February 5, 2010
Carter talked to NBCs Anne Thompson about her ongoing efforts to bring environmental justice to inner cities... View video |
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China or the U.S.: Which Will Be the Last Nation Standing?
Article by Richard Heinberg • February 3, 2010
Silly me. Here I had thought that world leaders would want to keep their nations from collapsing... Read more |
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Our Food...Our Growing Power
Interview with Erika Allen • February 1, 2010
This conversation with Erika points to the potential at hand, with Chicago’s urban farming community as a model for the rest of the nation and world to consider... Listen |
fellows and staff in the press
energy bulletin highlights
Below is a selection of recent articles and media appearing on Energy Bulletin.
energy bulletin featured articles
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Mythological thinking, the de-industrialisation of the West and the New World Order
by Big Gav, Peak Energy
Australian climate change minister Penny Wong recently made a speech to a conference on "Coasts and Climate Change" (see Wong: Climate sceptics are all red herrings and quackery for the full text)... Read more |
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Envisioning sustainable communities
by Pamela Courtenay-Hall and Gary Clausheide, Energy Bulletin
The question of how to build sustainable communities is essential to surviving the predicaments of climate change, peak oil, environmental degradation, global imperialism and economic collapse that are upon us.... Read more |
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Small is beautiful (and radical)
by Eliot Coleman, Grist
When a friend told me of two of the proposed discussion topics for a major agricultural conference—“What is so radical about radical agriculture?” and “Is small the only beautiful?”—I told him that... Read more |
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The Radical Homemakers
by Shannon Hayes, Yes Magazine
Long before we could pronounce Betty Friedan’s last name, Americans from my generation felt her impact. Many of us born in the mid-1970s learned from our parents and our teachers that women no longer needed to stay home...Read more |
energy bulletin featured media
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Agroinnovations #77: CREAR with Mark Feedman
by Frank Aragona, Agroinnovations
Mark Feedman is the founder of CREAR, the Regional Center for the Study of Rural Alternatives, a small agricultural school located in the northern mountains of the Dominican Republic, near the Haitian border... Listen |
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Farming in the City XIII (Backyard Chickens X)
by Jon Steinman, Deconstructing Dinner
In November 2009, a panel discussion on urban agriculture was hosted by Backyard Bounty and the University of Guelph... Listen |
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Peak Moment 162: Innovation Bears Fruit for Family Farm
by Yuba Gals Independent Media, Peak Moment Television
Tour the century-old organic Chaffin Family Orchards where even the animals are “farm hands.” Visit chickens in their egg-mobile, scratching for bugs and pooping fertilizer in the heirloom stone-fruit orchards... View media |
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In Defense of Food
by Michael Pollan, commonwealthclub.org
According to In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan, "...the advent of “nutritionism” has vastly complicated how Americans see food, without doing very much for our health... Listen |
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transition US update
A monthly update from the US regional hub of the international Transition Towns movement.
 It is now a year since Transition US began in January 2009. By that time the Transition model had caught on in several countries around the world and also got a foothold in the US where there were already seven official Transition Initiatives. Read more about our momentous first year in 2009 Year in Review.
This month Transition US welcomes five official transition initiatives from California, New Hampshire and Philadelphia (browse the initiatives map). Transition US is also excited to be holding a webinar in collaboration with the Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer Initiative on Thursday, March 4th. The webinar will explore how the two networks can work together to make the transition to a more fulfilling, equitable and sustainable world. More details here. Browse our calendar for all upcoming online workshops and trainings.
For more news on Transition Initiatives, projects and resources, check out our monthly Transition US Newsletter (subscribe).
Photo: Transition US Board and Staff, February, 2010 |
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events
View our events calendar
 15th Water Conservation/Xeriscape Conference
February 25—26, 2010, Albuquerque, NM
Post Carbon Fellow Sandra Postel will participate in this special 2-hour panel discussion that will assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of creating and expanding product stewardship efforts, including framework policy...
Further event information. |
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 CT NOFA's 28th Annual Conference
March 6, 2010, Manchester, CT
Post Carbon Fellow Michael Shuman will be the keynote speaker at this annual celebration of local organic farming, gardening, landscaping and sustainable lifestyles.
Further event information. |
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 Peak Oil and the Industrialised World
March 8—12, 2010, Dartington, UK
Part of a 3 week course After Copenhagen: Opportunities and Challenges, Post Carbon Fellows Richard Heinberg and Rob Hopkins will join Nigel Topping teaching week 2 of the course.
Further event information. |
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 Built Green Conference
March 12, 2010, Bellevue, WA
Post Carbon Fellow David Orr will give the keynote address at this year's annual Built Green Conference.
Further event information. |
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 Illahee Lecture Series - Power, Change and Food
March 15, 2010, Portland, OR
Post Carbon Fellow Wes Jackson's focus is the development of natural systems agriculture and the transformation of our food systems.
Further event information. |
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 Heinberg at Post Carbon Toronto
March 22, 2010, Toronto, Canada
Post Carbon Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg will be at Toronto City Hall, sponsored by Post Carbon Toronto
Further event information. |
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 The Progressive Club of Healdsburg High - Celebration of Earth Day
April 17, 2010, Healdsburg, CA
Post Carbon Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg will speak at this event which also includes local bands and speakers. |
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 Schooling for Sustainability: Making Teaching and Learning Come Alive
June 23—25, 2010, Berkeley, CA
Post Carbon Fellow Zenobia Barlow is the executive director and cofounder of the Center for Ecoliteracy. The seminar is an opportunity to learn about the growing schooling for sustainability movement.
Further event information. |
Photo: NYC photo lifson/flickr |
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