Posts – Extraenvironmentalist

Though we often think the modern culture of consumerism is an export from United States and a product of capitalism, people long before today’s era were enjoying the benefit of soft shoes, beautiful cloth and exceptional goods. Acquisition has been an important part of community and identity, essential to societies even though only recently so […] (Visited 4,194 times, 20 visits today) The post [ Episode #95 // Economy of Things ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Companies like Twitter can make billions of dollars in revenue while providing a widely used service and still be considered a financial failure. Though today's digital technologies provide new innovations that reorganize daily life, can the digital economy expand forever? Will our most promising tech ever reach its potential in an economy pushing for growth […] (Visited 3,236 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #94 // Rocking the Google Bus ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

After years of mediocre negotiations on an international agreement to limit future climate change, it is easy to be cynical about the viability of a global strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. What do these large conferences really mean for the future of the planet? Our correspondent reports back from the December 2015 COP21 meeting […] (Visited 3,117 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #93 // Climate Agreements ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Digital communication technologies hold the possibility of re-orienting the way we exchange value and think about money. Do digital currencies like Bitcoin have the ability to change the global economic order? Can machine learning, automation, and cryptocurrencies unleash exponential innovations that unseat the financial institutions at the top of the monetary pyramid? In Extraenvironmentalist #92 we first […] (Visited 3,469 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #92 // Decrypting Cryptocurrency ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The common political conversation about our shared economic future focuses on achieving an escape velocity where the post-war growth boom can return as usual. While years of lackluster economic performance mount, a rapidly growing global economy is still discussed like it is readily just over the horizon. Can the factors creating a slower growth world […] (Visited 3,135 times, 38 visits today) The post [ Episode #91 // Age of Stagnation? ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

In our highly connected world of cell phones, ever expanding inboxes and regular social media updates, it is easy to be constantly immersed in the rich and dynamic worlds created by our technologies. While the internet gives us so much, it also changes our social relationships and mental environment in many subtle ways that can […] (Visited 3,165 times, 8 visits today) The post [ Episode #90 // Missing Out ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

In this Autumn 2015 Interlude of The Extraenvironmentalist we talk about research on how ancient humans perceived sounds with Steve Waller on rock art acoustics and Miriam Kolar about her archaeoacoustic research at Chavín de Huantar.   // Music (in order of appearance) St. Germain - Forget Me Not Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm - […] (Visited 2,845 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Autumn 2015 Interlude // Archaeoacoustics ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

We're launching The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder - the first show on our forthcoming podcast network! This is the only episode we'll place in our Extraenvironmentalist podcast feed so please go to http://energytransitionshow.com/ to subscribe. Episode #0 features the conversation we had with Chris in XE #89 on how global macro trends are […] (Visited 3,124 times, 5 visits today) The post The Energy Transition Show – [Episode #0] – subscribe @ energytransitionshow.com appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Today's textbook notions of business were developed during an unprecedented global economic expansion - a cultural condition that faces diminishing returns in today’s world. Can we build enterprises for a post-growth future that thrive among challenges of the next century? By reversing the process that privatizes profits, would unsustainable trends and drivers of inequality be […] (Visited 3,055 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #89 // How on Earth ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Our governments, businesses and economic institutions were built on a society that was supercharged with fossil fuels to get as big as possible as fast as possible. Now, with the challenges of the 21st century, resilience is a more appropriate principle for reinventing and reorganizing our economic life. Is it possible to develop economic and […] (Visited 3,612 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #88 // Resilience Imperative ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Usually we think of permaculture as a system for land and food, where humans work with the flows and systems of nature. Can we also apply permaculture to societies? To our justice or education systems? Can we reorganize our civilization to live on yield rather than the principle before depleting our most important stocks? In […] (Visited 3,662 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #87 // Permaculture Paradigm ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The soil of our food system provides the roots of our culture. Without soil, our modern lifestyle would cease to exist. As climate change accelerates rates of soil erosion, will the global population be left as a stranded asset? As we fail to describe the real cost of cheap food through our vocabulary and economics, and […] (Visited 3,191 times, 10 visits today) The post [ Episode #86 // Slow Money // Part C ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Our 20th century food system has created a global market for cheaply priced commodities of corn, wheat, soybeans and rice. We pump a plethora of food from the earth, in the same way we pump barrels of oil. A vision of never-ending technological progress frames the creation of genetically modified organisms in an attempt to […] (Visited 3,112 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #85 // Slow Money // Part B ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Our industrial system of agriculture and an integrated global marketplace has created an abundance of available food for those in wealthy nations. Cheaply priced produce and meat shows up in our supermarkets and restaurants with rarely any concern. Values of efficiency and synchronized just-in-time deliveries have been served by a philosophy of capital-intensive financing for […] (Visited 3,201 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #84 // Slow Money // Part A ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The degrowth movement seeks to decolonize a cultural imaginary that is currently directed to expand the scale and scope of a materially extractive economy. Through adopting strategies like voluntary simplicity and convivial activities, degrowth advocates aim to create an economic system that is compatible with the biosphere. Are the ideas and concepts of degrowth ready […] (Visited 3,445 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #83 // Degrowth 2014 // Part B ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The degrowth movement seeks to redefine a cultural imagination focused on expanding the scale and scope of a materially extractive economy. Through adopting strategies like voluntary simplicity and convivial activities, degrowth advocates aim to create an economic system that is compatible with the biosphere. Are the ideas and concepts of degrowth ready for a wider […] (Visited 3,423 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #82 // Degrowth 2014 // Part A ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

With its empire in decline, the United States is no longer the world's dominant superpower. Stuck in the idea of international control, it continues to maintain military reach at the expense of long-term economic health. Will the people of the US empire be able to regain democratic control over their communities as the political system fails? John Michael Greer returns […] (Visited 3,370 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #81 // Falling Empires ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Though death is an inevitable part of life, do we really act as if we know we're going to die? In a culture that glorifies youth and technology, the true acknowledgement of death can come as an affront to our perceived ability to negotiate with limits. Can we each acknowledge the role of death in […] (Visited 3,069 times, 8 visits today) The post [ Episode #80 // Dying Wisdom ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Over the last hundred years, the international money system has unraveled every few decades with surprising regularity. With the current US-based system reaching the end of its useful life for newly rising economic powers, will campaigns of financial warfare push countries to abandon the dollar denominated financial regime? How does human nature and behavioral psychology […] (Visited 3,331 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #79 // Money System Mayhem? ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

With emerging and innovative methods for distributing information and the means of education, we're still embedded in the relationships created in the 20th century. Can our societies distribute knowledge to enable healthy forms of production and consumption as a template for a decentralized and equitable post-growth economy? On Extraenvironmentalist #78 we discuss the FLOK Society Project with Michel Bauwens of […] (Visited 3,617 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #78 // Open Knowledge Society ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

As trust is lost in the global financial system and its intermediaries, surplus investment capital seems stranded in ever more risky international asset flows. Are there ways of re-routing investments towards local processes that rebuild communities and food systems? Will alternative investment strategies develop in time to challenge the failing narrative of a standard approach […] (Visited 3,466 times, 3 visits today) The post [ Episode #77 // Locally Invested ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Our command of energy resources has created amazing technologies and social systems at a grand scale, but at what cost? Where past societies shackled human muscle with force and subjugation to create an energy surplus, beginning in the late 19th century we have used coal, oil & gas to create an unprecedented energy abundance. As […] (Visited 3,288 times, 18 visits today) The post [ Episode #76 // Energy Slaves ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Critics of quantitative easing highlight the absurdity of creating money from nothing to paper over terrible investment decisions. Yet, what about all of the money created by banks before 2008? Incorrect narratives of money have misdirected and befuddled our thinking on finance and currency, limiting our responses to the global financial crisis. Can we learn […] (Visited 3,187 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #75 // Positive Money ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Creating a society around the idea of access to leisure time has resulted in the unintended consequence of rampant addictive behaviors. Nearly ubiquitous access to mobile high resolution screens and instantaneous information is an experiment on a massive scale. Will our sensory inputs be able to overcome the addictive tendencies of the human species? Can […] (Visited 3,318 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #74 // Addiction Thinking ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Extraenvironmentalist #73 is a two part episode. This is the post for SIDE B on Egypt's revolution and education with David Blacker. The link for SIDE A featuring our interview on a contractionary revolution with Frank Rotering is here. The mainstream environmental movement has been unable to stop the ongoing ecological crisis. Are environmentalists willing […] (Visited 3,155 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #73B // Regarding Revolutions ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Extraenvironmentalist #73 is a two part episode. This is the post for SIDE A - featuring our interview on a contractionary revolution with Frank Rotering. The link for SIDE B on Egypt's revolution and education with David Blacker is here. The mainstream environmental movement has been unable to stop the ongoing ecological crisis. Are environmentalists […] (Visited 3,323 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #73A // Regarding Revolutions ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The members of the middle class in the United States are finding increasing difficulty achieving and maintaining their expectations for jobs, housing and other basic aspects of life. With the limits to growth putting basic lifestyle assumptions under increasing assault, can people use intermediate technologies to reduce their ecological and financial footprint? If we start […] (Visited 2,843 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #72 // Green Wizardry ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

When the profession of economics began to think that land and capital were equivalent and interchangeable, the roots of real estate speculation and environmental crisis were established. Because the origins of neoclassical economics became deeply influenced by the interests of early 20th century land barons, a new economic paradigm will have to challenge the assumptions […] (Visited 2,869 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #71 // Supply Shock ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

An ongoing economic crash that feels like the onset of a deep freeze is far more exhausting than a rapid implosion. As bubbles are reflated and debts accumulate yet again, the system lurches towards its next financial accident. While the global operating system fails, can the exchange of critical goods and services detach from failing […] (Visited 3,290 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #70 // Downloading Responsibility ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The ideas we have about our government systems have been dramatically shaped by the energy sources that power them. If the physical characteristics of coal and oil have developed the expectations of our 20th century politics, how they also invent 'the economy'? Will it be possible to sabotage a system that has an entirely different […] (Visited 3,019 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #69 // Carbon Democracy ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Society dramatically underestimates human potential, placing our imagination within a limited range of possibilities. What are the psychological limits of our species? Is there reliable scientific evidence of supernormal human capabilities? What areas of scientific study could replace the failing aims of a materialist scientific paradigm? Would compelling evidence for special abilities change our beliefs […] (Visited 2,569 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #68 // Better Than Normal ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

A massive pile of accumulated debts and a global credit bubble are tearing apart our politics and societies. As illusory wealth continues to evaporate, a battle ensues between creditors that lent too much and a rapidly growing class of debt serfs. With the ability for reform appearing increasingly futile, a systemic crisis has created paralysis […] (Visited 2,225 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #67 // Bubble and Beyond ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The catastrophe at Fukushima presents the opportunity to re-evaluate basic assumptions about energy and technology but the temptation to double down on business as usual becomes incredibly strong. Will our species obtain a paradigm shift in the face of an energy emergency? Could we create new models for business that regenerate ecological functions rather than […] (Visited 2,542 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #66 // Changing Reactions ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

A fundamental flaw in our economy drives the consumption of our ecosystems until they enter terminal dysfunction. This logical error has eroded numerous civilizations and landscapes. Can our species cooperate to restore large-scale degraded ecosystems across the planet before terminal collapse? In Extraenvironmentalist #65 we speak with John D. Liu about his experience documenting the […] (Visited 2,762 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #65 // Restoring Function ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

By thinking of the world as a machine our species has created an economic and political system that is dangling over an abyss. Many are optimistic for business as usual with an ideological belief in the power of positive thinking. Can we develop a practical spiritual philosophy that sorts through all the garbage? Have our […] (Visited 2,392 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #64 // Straw Into Gold ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

With a media ecosystem focused almost entirely the corporate system, burgeoning elements of a new economy revolution escape the mainstream eye. As our political systems stagnate in the face of ecological, energy and social crises, can an alternative to capitalism develop over the next few decades? Do ongoing experiments in money, society and energy have the […] (Visited 2,313 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #63 // Next US Revolution ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

A financial sector built on a foundation of continuous material expansion is seeking returns in a slowing global economy. Will investments in global farmland be able to provide the returns expected by pension funds, endowments and future financial claims? Why are investors suddenly emphasizing the same data and charts that environmentalists have been pointing towards […] (Visited 2,272 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #62 // Land Grabs ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Can we link the decline in our democratic institutions to the nature of the workplaces that occupy so much of our time? Is there reason to believe that we can transition to an alternative economic system while our current economy crashes? Can we learn from the collapse of feudalism and the formation of capitalism to […] (Visited 2,427 times, 3 visits today) The post [ Episode #61 // Cure for Capitalism? ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

While the cultural foundations of the United States are unraveling the unconscious programs of American society lay outside of public dialogue. Where there was once an American Dream, a spiritual void remains.  As the framework of consumer society breaks down, will an economic system of inverted totalitarianism reverse become explicit? Why do our elites seem […] (Visited 3,003 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #60 // Days of Destruction ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The amount of college debt is skyrocketing in the United States while job opportunities sought by graduates are dwindling. Costly undergrad and graduate degrees used to be the passport to a middle class lifestyle but are now leading to a growing number of indebted youth who are bitter about their time in higher ed. Have […] (Visited 2,843 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #59 // Financialized Education ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Even though our global environmental challenges have become dramatically more severe over the last several decades, our understanding of ecological processes have significantly deepened. Permaculture approaches offer a unique toolkit to address problems of desertification, poisoned landcapes, impure water supplies and more. Yet will low-tech solutions that work with nature be able to capture a […] (Visited 1,019 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #58 // Permaculture Possibilities ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Despite the massive destruction our species has wrought on the earth, we've also learned a tremendous amount about ecological systems in the process. As our old narrative of domination crumbles, an understanding of how to work with nature is emerging. Can we apply the ideas of permaculture to society when facing energy depletion, climate change […] (Visited 1,041 times, 13 visits today) The post [ Episode #57 // Permaculture Convergence ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

// Duncan's Photos From His Canalers Adventures [nggallery id=2 width=400] Maintaining the complexity of our civilization requires a consistent input of net energy and a stable climate. We've already experienced the first few years of a long emergency through economic stagnation and contraction, financial fraud and a lack of meaningful political momentum. Can we expect […] (Visited 840 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #56 // So Much Magic ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Decades of material growth have left us with a limited imagination for alternatives. Now that we've hit the point of diminishing returns for additional economic growth, can we decolonize our mind? In the developed world, is it possible to improve our quality of life while decreasing our standard of living? Could it be possible to […] (Visited 1,872 times, 73 visits today) The post [ Episode #55 // Degrowth ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Our cultural institutions face such immense challenges from economic and environmental factors that even our assumptions about love and marriage on the table. What does recent research into early human sexuality say about our ideas of love as practiced by our early ancestors? In hard times, did our predecessors practice fierce egalitarianism to ensure group […] (Visited 1,197 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #54 // Love + Marriage ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The global economy is searching for growth and choosing austerity when it can't be found. Is it possible to manage an economy, obtain full employment, and provide social equity without economic growth? Can we develop a dialogue about our economy that recognizes the human enterprise as a subset of biophysical processes? In Extraenvironmentalist #53 we […] (Visited 886 times, 6 visits today) The post [ Episode #53 // Without Growth ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The monstrosity of capitalism gains new strength as political leaders fight for a return to growth by dissecting society. Though many nations are rising up against the monetary elite, most North Americans are still zombified. Could some of our monster stories describe the feeling of living in a capitalist system? Will the failure of capitalism […] (Visited 180 times, 4 visits today) The post [ Episode #52 // Market Monsters ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

The globally dominant culture is suffering from an economic, ecological and social crisis that has deeper roots than failing budgets and environmental degradation. Do we have a role to play if our culture is headed towards its eventual death? Though our economic system has trained us to be needy, can we approach these challenges as […] (Visited 559 times, 10 visits today) The post [ Episode #51 // Culture of Dying ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Developed nations find themselves stuck in economic quicksand as the status quo is maintained through debts on sovereign balance sheets. Over the last few decades of rapid economic expansion, each country bet on the continued story of globalization that narrates Tom Friedman's dreams each night. As the developing world sees our folly, will they choose […] (Visited 400 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #50 // Markets By Other Means ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Central banks are undertaking unprecedented actions to keep the monetary system from unraveling. Despite unlimited Quantitative Easing and wealth transfers between Europe's economies, growth has yet to return and debt is demanding to be serviced. This process is stretching the banking system to its limit. What happens when the pretense is dropped and money loses […] (Visited 427 times, 5 visits today) The post [ Episode #49 // Developing Breakdown ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.

Human populations have lived a rural lifestyle through most of history, depending on agriculture or hunting and gathering. As abundant oil reserves fueled the rise of modern civilization, urban life grew along with it. In 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in cities, in 1900 that number reached 14% which increased to 30% […] (Visited 225 times, 8 visits today) The post [ Episode #48 // Urban Minds ] appeared first on Extraenvironmentalist.