General Motors is bankrupt, and has been for at least six months. In order to continue operations, the US Government and/or Federal Reserve decided to loan it money which would be repaid at some later date. Today, a company called "Vehicle Acquisition Holdings" purchased the choice bits of GM. VAH got its money primarily from the US government. Why is the US government buying these select... See entire blog item
Change comes to Middleville, Michigan
Former Michigan Rep. Kathleen Law and renewable energy installer Mark Bauer come to Middleville on May 6 to explain the job creation potential of the new renewable energy payment or feed-in tariff (FIT) bill in Lansing. A similar bill in Germany helped to create over five hundred thousand new jobs.... See entire blog item
How can we save Earth from our global culture?
By understanding the mechanism by which our global culture is damaging Earth, and then by acting to replace this destructive mechanism with a creative, restorative one.
Our global culture is held together and connected by our economic system of money, laws and enforcement. This economic system is structured in such a way that it automatically and unintentionally motivates and perpetuates behaviors that are damaging to Earth.
In a very small, close knit... See entire blog item
I've been learning lots from educator Richard Douthwaite about money, energy, reality, the present and the future. The following videos and books provide very clear background and information, particularly about the money crisis. His premise is that the current corporate-created money system is unstable and it inherently causes negative impacts on Earth. In order to save Earth, we will need a different money system, or in this case, a set of money systems that interact in such a way as to reduce pollution,... See entire blog item
One of the major problems with money is that it is used to motivate unethical, dangerous, or damaging actions. Our current global culture uses money with very little thought to the overall impact this powerful motive force has on the planet itself.
We purchase products or services, and the money we spend, some number of transactions later, is motivating... See entire blog item
I am to blame for deflation. I am a saver. I have always been a saver. I never liked borrowing money, even when buying my car or my house. I felt very happy when the car was paid off. I felt ecstatic when the house was paid off. By the summer of 2008, my wife and I had saved up a substantial amount of cash. At the time, the price for many things were going up: oil, gasoline, food, etc. I felt that our cash savings was losing value due to rapid inflation. So, I hatched a scheme to preserve that value,... See entire blog item
In the fall of 2008, I helped to organize "The Conference on Michigan's Future: Energy, Economy, and Environment" through my organization Local Future.
The purpose of the conference was to examine the risks and uncertainties facing our global culture, and in particular,... See entire blog item
I did not want to read this book. Why Not? After learning about many things, particularly peak oil and the relationship between money and energy, I had determined that "The World is Flat" was probably a waste of time, as it was likely arguing that the world would become more globalized, interconnected, and that things would just keep growing. This is the opposite of what will be happening due to peak oil, so the book looked like... See entire blog item
A few days ago, a new president was inaugurated for the USA. As I witnessed the event and listened to President Obama's words, I felt hope rising within me. Could this be a turning point, a point from which we can say, "This is where we made the turn that prevented us from spiraling into oblivion."
[Note: the steps recommended for Michigan can be applied to most states in the USA – that is, the article applies to any state with sun, wind, or moving water - editor]
The U.S. auto industry is on the chopping block. Michigan employs 240,000 jobs in auto assembly, parts and sales. In addition, another one million plus people in Michigan would... See entire blog item
Fossil Fuel
