An Example of a Sustainable Society

From The Energy Bulletin an article about the Edo Period in Japan. An interesting example of a sustainable society.

What About Our Water? -- Letter to Ald. Moore

I received an email today that pointed at the following article http://cbs2chicago.com/local/water.system.2.1267896.htmlWhile this issue is in the Land of Rumor today, it is not unthinkable that it could become reality tomorrow.I am well aware of the fact that Chicago has aging infrastructure, having just lived through a water main break at my condominium. I think it is essential that Chicago

WHOA!! America On The Ropes?

There are no words.Paul Farrell, writing in Market Watch opines on the coming collapse of capitalism. America has lost its soul, corrupted by greed and he lays it all out.Mind you, this does not mean that socialism is on the ascent. The real doomers expect much worse. Farrell doesn't go there anyway, but he does refer to Mark Faber and Faber's contention that the lifecycle of civilizations

Adding Poor People to the Climate Change Agenda

You don't have to be a navel gazing progressive with nothing better to do than tweak the establishment to recognize the truth in this blog post from Sojourners.

What A Real Catfight Looks Like..........

Parents and The Education Gap

I was checking out The Washington Post when I came across this article aboout the impact of parents on the education gap between blacks and whites. This story has relevance for what is happening in Chicago's schools. I don't believe that the situation described at T.C. Williams H.S in Alexandria, Va. (a fairly well off suburb of D.C.) is unique to them.Notice as you read the article that it is

ASPO-USA #2

Another good, plain English assessment of the recently concluded ASPO conference from an investment analyst. Take close note of his comments about Cantarell and Pemex's machinations. I said we'd be in trouble, and he is of the same mind.

Taking Deniers Seriously

Ten years ago I started a Masters program on Culture and Spirituality at Holy Names University. One of the issues I brought up was my concern that the program lacked visible diversity and could be perceived as a bunch of navel gazing white folks looking for something to feel good about. The truth is that most of my peers genuinely wanted, and still want, to create positive change leading to a

ASPO-USA Conference

Last week the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) - USA held a conference in Denver. The Energy Bulletin posted this article about the conference. It's pretty clear that while there is a consensus about Peak Oil and Climate Change there is no real consensus about what its impact on society. Collapse or no collapse? Will life be better or worse? Are we expecting to substitute

Who's Paying For All This?

One of the issues associated with any proposals, whether for health care, defense spending, or entitlements of any kind, is paying for it. Typically, federal tax revenues pay for the stuff we want government to do for us. Today I came across this article about personal income taxes. So I located the original document. The chart says it all.If your income is below $40K and you are not filing