Monthly Archives: January 2012

Loss of Top Predators

James A. Estes, et al. 15 Jul 2011.  Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth. Science vol 333. Before men, large predators and herbivores had huge influences on nature across land, ocean, and fresh water ecosystems.  Their loss has a “trophic cascade” … Continue reading

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Bakken Shale and U.S. Oil Production

Roger Blanchard. 26 Dec 2011. ASPO-USA peak oil newsletter On Sept. 25, 2011 National Public Radio’s All Things Considered program had a segment consisting of what I considered highly questionable information concerning oil production in the Bakken Shale region of … Continue reading

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Departments of Descent

RAYMOND DE YOUNG “As it becomes more acceptable to openly talk about the need to downshift our personal material expectations, a few geographic locations (e.g., Flint, Detroit) will come to realize this same need exists at the community level. In … Continue reading

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When will the decline of oil begin, at what rate?

If the German Peak Oil report is correct, once investors believe oil production is declining, that will be the end of the stock market, since growth can no longer occur and debts be repaid.  The financial system is precarious enough … Continue reading

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Climate Change: creatures collide, compete, parasitize one another

Climate change models of biodiversity loss are underestimating future extinctions, because as animals move around they compete and parasitize each other.  Already animals and plants that can’t handle increasing temperatures are moving to cooler places. Some can’t move fast enough … Continue reading

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Dennis Meadows “Learning to Live within Limits”

Steven W. Running at the University of Montana wrote in the Sep 21, 2012 issue of Science: “Forty years ago, Meadows et al. published a landmark first analysis of global limits to human activity (Meadows). Based on a primitive computer … Continue reading

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Christian de Duve, Nobel Prize Winner. Natural Selection will destroy us.

Clint Witchalls. 28 Feb 2011. Biology Nobelist: Natural selection will destroy us. NewScientist. We have evolved traits that will lead to humanity’s extinction, says Christian de Duve – so we must learn to overcome them We are the most successful … Continue reading

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John Hemington: My Views on the Human Condition – A Summary

Email Forwarded from Charles A. Hall, Sep 7, 2010 A number of my correspondents have expressed the opinion that my pessimistic views of our economic, political and social future are, shall we say, a bit on the extreme side.  For … Continue reading

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Michael J. Benton, paleontologist: Runaway Greenhouse

Benton, M.J. Presidential Address 2007: The end-Permian mass extinction events on land in Russia. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association Volume 119, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 119-136 Conclusion: If the runaway greenhouse model is correct and explains perhaps the biggest crisis … Continue reading

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Stephen Meyer: The Extinction Crisis is Over. We Lost.

Stephen M. Meyer. Apr/May 2004. End of the Wild.  The extinction crisis is over. We lost.  Boston Review. Stephen M. Meyer is a professor of political science at MIT and the director of the MIT Project on Environmental Politics and … Continue reading

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