First wisdom, then action. Richard Heinberg shares insights from his deep dive into the nature of power and power relationships. He addresses the three main "power tools": money, weapons, and communication technologies with humble and thoughtful advice on how to approach them. You’ll have the chance to contemplate how you might live your most authentic life with moderation, rationality, responsibility, and sometimes sacrifice. And you’ll learn how to evaluate potential solutions to global environmental and social problems by answering a simple question about how power is shared (or how it is not). For more information, please visit our website.Support the showLearn more at power.postcarbon.org
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21:09
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21:09
Powered Down and Better Off
Learn how humanity can exercise collective self-restraint to navigate the social and environmental crises of the 21st century. The world is in overshoot. There are too many people consuming too much stuff, and we're facing climate change, biodiversity loss, and immense social inequality. We're currently on a pathway to collapse, but the future doesn't have to be bleak. We can develop communities where we take care of one another and the ecosystems we inhabit. By understanding power relationships, overhauling economic institutions, and nurturing our most honorable cultural and spiritual traditions, we can forge a happy and healthy future. Follow along with sustainability expert Richard Heinberg as he explores these topics and offers sound advice for young people who will be living through turbulent times. And don't miss Melody’s song at the end of this episode. For more information, please visit our website.Support the showLearn more at power.postcarbon.org
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1:01:11
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1:01:11
Optimal Power
Overpopulation, overconsumption, and overexploitation of Earth's resources go way beyond the realm of simple problems with straightforward solutions. Instead, they are dilemmas that require tradeoffs and difficult decisions. To guide such decisions, energy and sustainability expert Richard Heinberg explores big ideas such as the adaptive cycle, resilience theory, and prudent predator theory. Heavy topics abound, from death to extinction to societal collapse, but Richard proposes the "optimum power principle" to help humanity step back from the edge. And the good news is that we have a long history of deploying self-limiting tools (even ordinary policies like taxation and rationing) to curtail our overzealous quest for power. For more information, please visit our website.Support the showLearn more at power.postcarbon.org
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54:25
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54:25
Overpowered: The Days of Climate Chaos
As exploitation of fossil fuels powered exponential growth in population and consumption, humanity began running into problems. Serious problems. The existential kind, like the potential for runaway global warming and the onset of the sixth mass extinction. For many problems, a solution exists, but what happens when a selected solution actually generates more problems? Energy and sustainability expert Richard Heinberg explains the difference between problems and dilemmas, and discusses how to escape our current climate dilemma. Sources of renewable energy have a major role to play, but we can’t rely on technofixes and business as usual. Real change will require shared sacrifice and wise decisions in the face of tradeoffs. For more information, please visit our website.Support the showLearn more at power.postcarbon.org
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55:05
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55:05
Fossil Fuels Changed Everything
Over the 19th and 20th centuries physical power, social power, and economies grew explosively. The main cause was humanity’s exploitation of fossil fuels. Sources of oil, coal, and natural gas – a vast underground storehouse of ancient sunlight – provided an almost magical and seemingly unlimited supply of energy to grow more food, provision more people, build more cities, and create more technologies. But this age of "more" also brought global warfare, consumerism, and overproduction. Improve your energy literacy with stories about pushing motor vehicles, enduring blackouts, and growing $10 tomatoes, and take a tour of history that visits ancient China, industrializing Britain, the Great Depression, the Cold War, and the Green Revolution. Resources mentioned in this episode include a juxtaposition of old and new city photographs, and Jason Bradford’s report The Future Is Rural. The song, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was written by lyricist Yip Harburg and composer Jay Gorney. For more information, please visit our website.Support the showLearn more at power.postcarbon.org
How have humans become powerful enough to disrupt the world's climate, trigger the sixth mass extinction, and cause serious harm to the biosphere? And with all the abilities and technologies we've accrued, why do we so often oppress instead of uplift one another? Join us as we explore the hidden driver behind the converging crises of the 21st century. It all comes down to power - our pursuit of it, overuse of it, and abuse of it. Learn how different forms of power arose, what they mean for us today, and why giving up power just might save us. This podcast is based on the groundbreaking book, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival by Richard Heinberg, one of the world's foremost experts on energy and sustainability. For more information, please visit https://power.postcarbon.org/.
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