Podcast

Situational Problem Solving: Increasing Your Odds of Success When Facing Challenge

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome is an unofficial slogan among Marines made popular by Clint Eastwood’s movie, Heartbreak Ridge. No matter what your plans for the uncertain future, the ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome problems will be necessary regardless of how well stocked, tooled, provisioned, or conditioned you currently are.

Situational Problem Solving: Increasing Your Odds of Success When Facing Challenge

by mooselick7

Combating Peak Oil with Wind and Smarter Electric Power

by Chris Martenson

We spend a lot of time on this site discussing the risks posed by Peak Oil. It’s important to us that you understand the magnitude of our national/global predicament and take appropriate preparations.

But in addition to tracking the gathering stormclouds (of which there are many), our info scouting efforts also look for developments with potential to change the situation positively.

In the podcast below, Chris and Willett Kempton explore the potential of wind power to reduce the energy pinch threat posed by depleting fossil fuels. Dr. Kempton is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Delaware and director of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration. Turns out, while still early in the game, there’s action going on in wind and electricity-management that offers real promise.

Combating Peak Oil with Wind and Smarter Electric Power

by Chris Martenson

But in addition to tracking the gathering stormclouds (of which there are many), our info scouting efforts also look for developments with potential to change the situation positively.

Willett Kempton: Combating Peak Oil with Wind and Smarter Electric Power

by Chris Martenson

We spend a lot of time on this site discussing the risks posed by Peak Oil. It's important to us that you understand the magnitude of our national/global predicament and take appropriate preparations.

But in addition to tracking the gathering stormclouds (of which there are many), our info scouting efforts also look for developments with potential to change the situation positively.

In the podcast below, Chris and Willett Kempton explore the potential of wind power to reduce the energy pinch threat posed by depleting fossil fuels. Dr. Kempton is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Delaware and director of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration. Turns out, while still early in the game, there's action going on in wind and electricity-management that offers real promise.

Willett Kempton: Combating Peak Oil with Wind and Smarter Electric Power

by Chris Martenson

But in addition to tracking the gathering stormclouds (of which there are many), our info scouting efforts also look for developments with potential to change the situation positively.

In the podcast below, Chris and Willett Kempton explore the potential of wind power to reduce the energy pinch threat posed by depleting fossil fuels. Dr. Kempton is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Delaware and director of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration. Turns out, while still early in the game, there's action going on in wind and electricity-management that offers real promise.

Why I Don’t Trust the Official Inflation Numbers (and Neither Should You)

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

In justifying the massive money printing operations of the Fed, Bernanke used inflation data to bolster his case that the Fed’s actions are both prudent and worth continuing.

Here’s what he said:

Recent data show consumer price inflation continuing to trend downward. For the 12 months ending in November, prices for personal consumption expenditures rose 1.0 percent, and inflation excluding the relatively volatile food and energy components–which tends to be a better gauge of underlying inflation trends–was only 0.8 percent, down from 1.7 percent a year earlier and from about 2-1/2 percent in 2007, the year before the recession began.

(Source)

Why I Don’t Trust the Official Inflation Numbers (and Neither Should You)

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

In justifying the massive money printing operations of the Fed, Bernanke used inflation data to bolster his case that the Fed’s actions are both prudent and worth continuing.

Here’s what he said:

Recent data show consumer price inflation continuing to trend downward. For the 12 months ending in November, prices for personal consumption expenditures rose 1.0 percent, and inflation excluding the relatively volatile food and energy components–which tends to be a better gauge of underlying inflation trends–was only 0.8 percent, down from 1.7 percent a year earlier and from about 2-1/2 percent in 2007, the year before the recession began.

(Source)

Practical Survival Skills 101 – Water

by Aaron M

In this continuation of our series on practical survival, we’re going to discuss water: where to find it and what to do with it to make it “safe.”

Water is a common theme in survival – it is unique in that it is both an absolute necessity and a looming threat at the same time. Behind breathable oxygen, it is the single most important element on our survival saw, and we have just three days to ensure a clean, potable supply of water if we are to survive. This is an overview of the “hard” way of procuring safe drinking water. Obviously, Katadyne filters, iodine tablets, and other methods of purification are superior, when they are available. However, we can’t always count on technology, and so here we’ll talk about how to strain impurities/debris and kill microbes in the water.

When determining how we’ll come by water, there are several things to consider:

Practical Survival Skills 101 – Water

by Aaron M

In this continuation of our series on practical survival, we’re going to discuss water: where to find it and what to do with it to make it “safe.”

When determining how we’ll come by water, there are several things to consider:

Dan Ariely Decodes Why Humans Are Hard-Wired To Inflate

by Chris Martenson

Looking back at the carnage created by the bursting of the credit bubble, it’s natural to scratch your head and ask “How did we ever let that happen?” Behavioral economics exists to answer questions like this.

Last week Chris sat down with Dan Ariely, gallivanting behavioral-economics-researcher-extraordinaire, who is breathing new life into this previously obscure field of study. The resulting interview is full of fresh, non-intuitive insights and shines light on how the human brain is often hard-wired for irrational action when it comes to money.

One of the key takeaways for us was how Dan’s research provides an empirical explanation for why inflation will likely win the day: our mental programming leads us to prefer behavior that favors it.

Dan Ariely Decodes Why Humans Are Hard-Wired To Inflate

by Chris Martenson

Perspective for the New Year

by Chris Martenson

Chris and I spent last week down in Charleston, SC at a gathering of thought leaders. Participants included politicians, scientists, economists, diplomats, astronauts, financiers, media personalities, entrepreneurs, entertainment executives, and others of specialized expertise. It was a humbling group to mingle with.

The general purpose of the event was to share observations about the opportunities and challenges our society faces, and to spark new thinking as to how to address them.

Chris and I spent several days attending and participating in panel discussions (there were hundreds to choose from) as well as in private conversation with many of the luminaries there. Our detailed observations from Day 1 and Day 2 are available for our enrolled members (enrollment required).

The experience was valuable for us: it sharpened our thinking on a number of fronts. We think it will be useful for you to understand how, so you have a sense of where our minds are as we look forward to the year ahead. What follows are our high-level observations and generalizations. As always, something gets lost when you reduce a rich experience into a few ideas, but with that caveat in place, here’s what we came away with:

Perspective for the New Year

by Chris Martenson

The general purpose of the event was to share observations about the opportunities and challenges our society faces, and to spark new thinking as to how to address them.

Dispatch #2 from the field

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

Here are Chris’ and Adam’s takeaways from their second day at the conference.

Chris’s Observations

Today was a quite interesting day, but also, in many ways, simply reconfirmed yesterday. I would have to say that the most powerful money and policy people are all in agreement; they believe more stimulus money is both necessary and proper here. None seem to think that there’s any real risk to the US dollar. The usual litany of perfectly reasonable rationalizations applied. “China needs the US more than the US needs China.” “The Euro is a weak substitute with plenty of risks all its own.”

These are reasonable propositions, but that’s the problem. By accepting these ideas, exploration of other risks seems to have been short-circuited, as no other discussion could follow them. That places them into the bucket of “rationalizations” as opposed to reasoned ideas. That is, they are beliefs, not facts.

The good news, such as it is, is that plenty of work remains for us to do in this world.

Dispatch #2 from the field

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

Here are Chris’ and Adam’s takeaways from their second day at the conference.

Chris’s Observations

The good news, such as it is, is that plenty of work remains for us to do in this world.

Dispatch #1 from the field

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

Chris and I are spending the week at a non-partisan conference where players from diverse industries explore ideas & trends they find most relevant to the world today. As we can steal time to do so, we’ll send out field dispatches with our notable observations from the event.

First, a little about the company here. It’s a medley of politicians, financiers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, religious leaders, actors, media personalities, and educators – of all generations. Some of those here are household names; all are engaged in endeavors that impact society in some noteworthy shape or form. It’s both a fascinating and intimidating crew to mix with.

Chris and I are here to get first-hand visibility into the issues these decision-makers are focused on, as well as to engage their attention on our mission. Can they introduce new perspective or support that will help us better serve our readers?

This morning we attended panel discussions on politics, energy supply, investing, the economy, and social media. Here are our takeaways so far.