Nicole Foss will be speaking tonight at 7 at the Goodman Center (details below). She is quite a speaker. I went to see her when she was here back in 2010. Her thinking is amazing–bringing together economics, social relations, and the natural/physical world in one very all-encompassing view. She is very good at demonstrating–jargon-free–the physical/energy resource limits we are up against on this earth. As the son of a geologist, and being a geographer myself, her thesis rings true. She then illustrates how we are papering over the inevitable energy crunch with debt–personal, corporate and government. (Think Wile E. Coyote right after running off the edge of the cliff, but just before falling into the canyon; that’s where we are now!) Being a fan of Krugman, her economics ring true as well. But it isn’t all doom & gloom. She has a somewhat hopeful outlook for those willing to move away from the world of consumerism & consumption. (Heads up permaculturists & local community-builders!)
And for whatever it is worth, this talk will go a very long way toward explaining why some of us have been fighting for decades for sustainable ways of getting around, land use patterns that are amenable to walking, biking and transit (i.e., community) and hyper-energy efficiency in our buildings. Given all of the paving, parking & inefficient buildings going in all over the place right now, we’re going to be seeing a lot of what they call “stranded capital” in the not-too-distant future.
You’ll be calling up your friendly neighborhood energy auditor right after this talk, I guarantee it!
-Mike
———- Forwarded message ———-
From:
Hans Noeldner <hans_noeldner@charter.net>
Date: Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:04 PM
Subject: Tue Jan 3 – Don’t Miss!
To: Hans Noeldner <hans_noeldner@charter.net>
Please join us this Tuesday evening for a special repeat appearance in Madison: Nicole Foss: futurist, international lecturer, and co-author ofthe top-rated financial blog
www.TheAutomaticEarth.blogspot.com The Great Recession, Energy Depletion, and Political TurmoilFree and open to the public Date/Time: Tuesday, January 3rd, 7:00 PM Location: The Goodman Community Center149 Waubesa StreetMadison, WI 53704Map:
http://tinyurl.com/7r2u3f4 Sponsors: WORT, Madison Peak Oil Group, UW Madison Energy Hub, Transition Madison Area, RENEW Wisconsin Pre-event Publicity: Nicole Foss will be interviewed live on WORT during an hour-long program starting at noon on Monday, January 2nd. Richard Heinberg, James Howard Kunstler, and Dmitry Orlov – leading luminaries in the Peak Oil/Post-Carbon world – will be calling in as guests.Matt Rothschild of Progressive Radio will also be interviewing Nicole on Wednesday Jan 4th. It will be available here:
https://www.progressive.org/radioweekly For more information please contact Hans Noeldner
hans_noeldner@charter.net 608-444-6190 Intention:During the past year, tremendous political and economic turmoil has rocked the United States and the world. Wisconsin – the center of the developing storm last February – has witnessed an unprecedented resurgence of citizen interest and engagement. In this midst of this upheaval we find ourselves challenged to re-imagine politics, economics, and government itself. Meanwhile the aftershocks of the Financial Meltdown of 2008 continue to shake the world. With the Great Recession showing no signs of abatement, and with the Euro on the verge of collapse, events are unfolding very much as futurist Nicole Foss predicted several years ago. With 1000 postings and counting at the website
www.TheAutomaticEarth.blogspot.com , Nicole and her writing partners have provided readers with many insights into the interplay between “Peak Oil”, finance, and monetary policy. Not only did Nicole warn that a Financial Meltdown was imminent well before it occurred (a prediction which eluded leading economists like Nobel-prize-winning Paul Krugman and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke), she foresaw the NATURE of the violent oscillations in energy and commodity prices that would ensue. Having lectured widely in North America and Europe during the past few years (including Madison appearances in September and October 2010), Nicole Foss is returning for another presentation – one which is generating widespread interest and excitement. How do these forces and trends intersect? What might be our vision for the future – one which combines a sober recognition of Earth’s biophysical limits…with a human-centric economic system…financial and government reforms…and an engaged, informed electorate? It is our hope that events like this will inspire Wisconsin citizens to engage in vigorous, respectful, and open-minded debate.