Chris Martenson, Creator of the “Crash Course,” on the 3 Big E’s

I’ve wanted to tape a conversation with Chris Martenson since I viewed his Crash Course last spring.

Chris opens the Crash Course by saying the next twenty years will be totally unlike the last twenty: we’ll face “the greatest economic and physical challenge ever seen by our country, if not humanity.”

In this three hour internet video (and DVD) presentation, he demystifies and weaves together the relationships between money, resources, energy and the environment — starting with the mind-boggling power of exponential growth (be it debt or human population). Chris has a gift for making complex stuff understandable and pointing to its impacts on all of us.

We met Chris in Berkeley a day before his talk at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco (here’s the transcript). Ours was an engaging, fast-paced conversation. Chris started with the three-word analysis for our economic problems: Too Much Debt. And away we went from there — the implications if we continue the way we’re going, and ways to prepare ourselves.

Chris walks his talk. He left his career in the corporate world, sold his home, moved his family to a more sustainable community, and dedicated himself to awakening people about the effects of the crash course we’re all in.

Chris is both a realist and yet optimistic about our future, saying he believes we have the time, resources and know-how needed to meet the challenges ahead. He believes that “if we manage the transition elegantly we can actually improve things.”

I think that’s a pretty big “if” given the lack of political will, the corporate mainstream media’s blackout on these topics, and the comfort of denial by many who are aware of the problems. But I agree that on the other side of transition, life could be better: more connected to one another and the earth, less pollution, more free time, meaningful work. Many of the folks we meet through Peak Moment TV are already well on their way to that future.

Off-camera Chris told us of the small group of men in his community who are preparing and supporting one another to prepare for the times ahead. I hope we can tape their story when we travel East.

Chris is a quietly warm, personable man. He wants a bright future for his children and the planet. I’m impressed by his heartful commitment to finding the best ways to communicate our situation in ways that engage people to act purposefully rather than take refuge in denial. I’m really happy we’re bringing him to Peak Moment viewers.

Watch or listen to his conversation “The Crash Course – Exponential Growth Meets Reality.”