MuseLetter #315 / August 2018 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 332 KB) Society as Ecosystem in a Time of Collapse, Part II This is part 2 of my 3-part essay that uses predation as a metaphor to unpack power relations in human societies. For part 1 see here. 4. Our current […]

MuseLetter #313 / June 2018 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 146 KB) Electric Cars to the Rescue? My wife Janet and I recently bought a used Nissan Leaf from a friend. We are now proud electric vehicle (EV) owners, and we love our plug-in, battery-powered car: some days we almost fight […]

MuseLetter #312 / May 2018 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 133 KB) Systems Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Personal Resilience As a writer focused on the global sustainability crisis, I’m often asked how to deal with the stress of knowing—knowing, that is, that we humans have severely overshot Earth’s long-term carrying capacity, […]

MuseLetter #310 / March 2018 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 118 KB) This a 3-part essay. Parts one and three is also cross-posted on Truthout. Part 1: This Is How Democracies Die Donald Trump’s 13-month tenure (so far) as president of the United States has been an exhausting sprint for onlookers concerned […]

MuseLetter #309 / February 2018 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 211 KB) This month’s MuseLetter brings three new essays. The first explores human aging as a metaphor for societal decline. Next up is a look at the importance of art and creativity in post-growth society. We finish with a takedown of […]

MuseLetter #308 / January 2017 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 119 KB) On November 30, 2017 at the New England Conservatory of Music, Richard performed Paganini’s “Sonata Concertata For Guitar And Violin” and spoke about what the future might mean for today’s young musicians and artists, and the important role they have to […]

MuseLetter #306 / November 2017 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 205 KB) This month’s Museletter features an essay on recent events in Saudi Arabia and their possible consequences for the region and beyond. On a more personal note I have also included an excerpt of an article on my experience of […]

MuseLetter #305 / October 2017 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 93KB) My hometown of Santa Rosa, California, and surrounding communities were decimated by wildfires during the week of October 9, with entire neighborhoods completely erased. If you want a sense of how bad the fires were, watch this 11-minute video clip […]

MuseLetter #304 / September 2017 by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 148 KB) This is an extended version of the article. An edited version was delivered in the email Museletter. Could declining world energy result in a turn toward authoritarianism by governments around the world? As we will see, there is no […]

MuseLetter #303 August by Richard Heinberg Download printable PDF version here (PDF, 170 KB) This month’s MuseLetter begins with a blog I wrote to coincide with the release of a new PCI video challenging the cultural story that technology can fix all of our problems. The next essay, “Are We Doomed? Let’s Have a Conversation,” […]