issuesComplex, interconnected issues must be dealt with rapidly and effectively if we are to achieve a resilient future.
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Use Your Roof
Modern industrial civilization was built on fossil fuel energy, but climate change, overpopulation and resource scarcity require that we find other ways to power our societies — and fast. The energy problems the world faces are too big, too complex, and coming too fast for us to responsibly hope that new technologies or new discoveries will save the day. Unfortunately, the decline of our most important energy source—petroleum—is already underway, and the resulting supply and price volatility will make investment in alternative infrastructure increasingly more difficult.
There are many things we must do to transition away from oil, coal and natural gas, but the most important are these: Reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. Use what fossil fuels we have more efficiently. Develop renewable energy sources and technologies. Decentralize energy production so that communities can power themselves from local energy sources.
The evidence indicates that we've hit the limits to growth (as we know it).
Post Carbon Institute Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg relates the fundamentals of energy supply scarcity and how the economic markets will react.
Urban sustainability is the challenge of the century as more of the world's population becomes urbanized (50 percent in 2008, 60 percent by 2030), at an ever-faster rate. Global climate change … >>
Headlines were made recently when it was announced that in July China's GDP surpassed that of Japan to become the world's second largest economy. This was immediately followed by a passel of … >>
EXCERPT: Unlike conventional fossil fuels, where nature provided energy over millions of years to convert biomass into energy-dense solids, liquids, and gases--requiring only extraction and … >>
This is the newly updated 2009 edition of The Oil Age Poster. Oil forms the basis of our industrial age, powering everything we know as modern, from automobiles to airplanes to power plants to … >>
A must-read collection by some of the world’s most provocative thinkers on the key issues shaping our new century. Receive a 20% discount for ordering early.
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what is pci?Founded in 2003, Post Carbon Institute is leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world. The Institute has gathered 29 of the world's leading experts on a wide range of interdependent social and scientific issues.
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take actionJoin the party! - 10/10/10
Circle 10/10/10 on your calendar. That’s the date. We’re calling it a Global Work Party, with emphasis on both 'work' and 'party'. We want to send a message to politicians: if we can get to work on climate change, you can get to work too. You can sign up to host a local event at www.350.org/oct10, or search for an event to join at www.350.org/map.
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