Category Archives: Collapsed

These nations went through collapse or are in collapse now. Several have recovered, such as Cuba and Russia.

Part 2. How long do civilizations last on average? 336 years

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

I stopped trying to find out why each civilization failed in Wiki because it’s not always clear and historians bicker over it, though it’s clear drought, invasions, civil wars, and famines played a role in most of them.  Yet what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Centre Study of Existential Risk, Collapsed, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged | 4 Comments

Part 1. How long do civilizations last?

Posted on May 3, 2019 by

This is most, but not all of Kemp’s BBC article, which you ought to read in its entirety at the link in the title below.  I disagree with him when he says that: “The collapse of our civilization is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapsed, Interdependencies, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged | 2 Comments

Book: John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”

Posted on October 18, 2018 by

Preface.  This contains excerpts from John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”. It’s one of my favorite books about natural resources, exploring the role wood has played in the rise and fall of civilizations since they … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsed, Deforestation, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth, Peak Resources, Soil, Wood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The fall of the roman empire from plagues and climate change

Posted on April 25, 2018 by

Preface. This is a book review of “The Fate of Rome Climate Disease and the End of an Empire” by Kyle Harper, which shows the brutal effects of plagues, climate change, and their joint interaction on the Roman Empire. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Pandemic, Roman Empire, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Lessons learned from how Cuba survived peak oil

Posted on March 18, 2018 by

[ After seeing the film “The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil” in 2006, I thought about how those lessons might apply to California agriculture. California grows about one-third of the U.S. food supply. Much of what follows … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Cuba, What to do | Tagged , | 1 Comment

House hearing: no solutions for North Korea in sight

Posted on September 17, 2017 by

[ This is a summary of the March 2017 house hearing titled “Pressuring North Korea–evaluating options”. First are some of the reasons why nothing is going to change –in my own wording–followed by congressional testimony.  Then Chairman Yoho gives a … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Policy, North Korea | Tagged | Comments Off on House hearing: no solutions for North Korea in sight

Book review of “In order to live: A North Korean girl’s journey to freedom” by Yeonmi Park

Posted on August 17, 2017 by

[ Related posts: Inside North Korea’s Environmental Collapse Who Lives, Who dies in a never-ending energy crisis. Book review of Nothing to Envy. Ordinary Lives in North Korea North Korea: what happens to a country when the oil is cut … Continue reading →

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Book review of “Empires and Barbarians: the fall of Rome and the birth of Europe”

Posted on February 14, 2017 by

[ After these introductory comments is my book review of Heather’s “Empires and Barbarians: the fall of Rome and the birth of Europe. What follows is from Ward-Perkins “The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization” about the role … Continue reading →

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Ward-Perkins “The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization”

Posted on January 10, 2017 by

[ This is a book review of Ward-Perkins “The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization“. What sparked my interest in reading several books on the decline of Rome was when James Howard Kunstler  (KunstlerCast 278) interviewed me about … Continue reading →

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Nothing is true & everything Is possible: the surreal heart of the new Russia by Peter Pomerantsev

Posted on December 7, 2015 by

Peter Pomerantsev. 2014. Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. Public Affairs. [ OVERVIEW. This is an amazing look at what it is like in Russia these days. There are schools that teach … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Financial, Russia | 2 Comments