Savage State of Torpor

Here is an excellent primer on the the current recession & its causes. If you’re interested in understanding it in greater detail, I suggest checking it out.
Via TheOilDrum.com:
The Resurgence of Risk: A Primer on the Developing Credit Crunch
We have been living in inflationary times, for as long as most of us can remember. The [...]

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320,000 brain injuries
Via RawStory.com & the AP

Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.
Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.
“There is a major health [...]

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He explains the issue PERFECTLY and SUCCINCTLY.
Via NYTimesBlogs & Paul Krugman
April 15, 2008, 9:02 pm
Oil numbers
There are two basic facts that would seem to explain a lot about what’s happening to oil prices.
First, Gross World Product growth has accelerated — from 2.9 percent in the 90s to almost 5 percent in recent years, according [...]

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[I've removed the paragraphs prior to the article. My understanding of peak [everything], Malthus, etc. will be left for another date and a much longer, more nuanced essay -ed.]
For now, another article on food shortages….
Via Naked Capitalism
While the New York Times has a good analysis today, “Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing,” on the [...]

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Another excellent piece of investigative journalism from Vanity Fair (although still “Too little too late”):
Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
Gary Rinehart clearly remembers the summer day in 2002 when the stranger walked in and issued his threat. Rinehart was behind the counter of the Square Deal, his “old-time country store,” as he calls it, on the fading [...]

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I’ll start writing about these and why they’re relevant at a later date. For now, know that these articles are just selections from an overall trend of articles on problems related to resource constraints and overpopulation.
Via Bloomberg.com
Rationing Power
Chile may be forced to limit power use for the first time since 1999 because a drought [...]

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Good news, but as with all posts of this sort from now on, it gets the “Too little, too late” tag.
Via NYTimes
With little fanfare, a small number of prominent academic scientists have made a decision that was until recently all but unheard of. They decided to stop accepting payments from food, drug and medical device [...]

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via ABCNews Australia and Cryptogon.com
Basic access to food is slipping out of reach for many people in developing countries.
The cost of the rice has risen by more than three-quarters in two months and the price of wheat has more than doubled in the same time.
The desperation in dozens of countries has turned deadly of late. [...]

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South Africa is experiencing some growing pains. I haven’t heard much on this being related to energy prices and/or lack of supply. However, it has a decent impact on gold prices and the reaction of the citizenry is an interesting case study.
If this is the kind of whiny shit we can expect with [...]

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via Wikipedia
Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological philosophy (ecosophy) that considers humankind an integral part of its environment. Deep ecology places greater value on non-human species, ecosystems and processes in nature than established environmental and green movements. Deep ecology has led to a new system of environmental ethics. The core principle of [...]

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Via Wired.com
Scientists Flesh Out Plans to Grow (and Sell) Test Tube Meat
[...]Rapidly evolving technology and increasing concern about the environmental impact of meat production are signs that vat-grown meat is moving from scientific curiosity to consumer option. In vitro meat production is a specialized form of tissue engineering, a biomedical practice in which scientists try [...]

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Information, from the internet to rock videos, will not be contained, and fundamentalism cannot control its children. Our victims volunteer.
We use technology to expand our wealth, power, and opportunities. The rest get high on pop culture.
-Maj. Ralph Peters, Office of the Deputy chief of Staff for Intelligence
[from "Constant Conflict," Parameters, Summer 1997, pp. [...]

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Via cryptogon.com
Rice prices rose more than 10 per cent on Friday to a fresh all-time high as African countries joined south-east Asian importers in the race to head off social unrest by securing supplies from the handful of exporters still selling the grain in the international market.The rise in prices – 50 per cent in [...]

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This is the most succinct explanation of the ‘peak oil’ problem I’ve yet come across:
As has been discussed for many years, the key to our collective futures is whether or not the decline in the availability of fossil fuels, particularly oil, will come upon us so fast that that the earth will not have the [...]

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