The growth economy is historically relatively recent, and is now consuming 1.5 Earths and growing. Compound interest is sucking the lifeblood out of the real economy, from households to countries. Mike Lewis, co-author of The Resilience Imperative, tells the story of the … [Read more...]
Forging Alternatives to the Growth Economy — Examples from the Real World (315)
Beautiful Money — Salt Spring Island’s Community Currency (313)
An island near Vancouver, B.C. has designed its own form of currency. Salt Spring Island's paper dollars and coins look and feel beautiful. For the Island’s tourists, they’re genuine souvenirs. Michael Contardi, President of the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation, … [Read more...]
Smart Choices for Meeting the Coming Bust, part 2 (254)
"How do we cooperate and build a collaborative culture now?" asks Laurence Boomert, founder of The Bank of Real Solutions in New Zealand. Local currencies, barter cards, and Time Banks not only create alternatives when money systems collapse, they allow people to get … [Read more...]
What’s Ahead for the Money Economy and How to Meet It
Nicole Foss of Canada and Laurence Boomert of New Zealand are on an extensive North American speaking tour. We met up with them in Vancouver, BC and videoed a walloping lively conversation. Nicole, the senior editor of The Automatic Earth, is a brilliant economic analyst … [Read more...]
Local Currency – Better Than Money
"The global economy is much worse after the 2008 financial crash," Francis Ayley asserted. "The usurious money system is a Ponzi scheme. It's collapsing." Usurious means loans must be repaid with additional interest — so the money system requires infinite growth, an … [Read more...]
Applying a Peak Oil Filter to Financial Choices (222)
"If peak oil occurs, it will dominate most everything else that we do, because energy drives everything." Financial consultant Jim Hansen's peak oil filter doesn't just guide investment decisions for his client portfolios. He applies it to his personal lifestyle (you may be … [Read more...]
Practice Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush
I piled the laundry basket into the wheelbarrow and headed towards the Lone Bobcat Woods house. We'd agreed with our renter to share the washing machine. As I pushed the 'barrow about a quarter mile to the house in the warm sun, I thought of John Michael Greer's recent … [Read more...]
Growing Up in the First Great Depression (209)
Janaia's mother Rowena grew up in a blue collar family during the 1930s. The kids helped their mom in her own pie delivery business while their dad did construction odd jobs. In this cash-only society, they lived on what they could pay for. She recalls losing her only pair … [Read more...]
Best of 2011 – Pushing the Boundaries (vol 1)
Our top choices from the 2011 Peak Moment TV conversations (volume 1 of 2). The Vegetarian Myth, Lierre Keith How the West Has Won, Derrick Jensen Awakening the Village Heart and Mind, Brandy McPherson Portable House, Simple Life, Dee Williams Four conversations, … [Read more...]