E77| Nate Hagens on Energy Blindness, Climate & the Future of Growth (Commons Series III)
A dialogue on humanity’s deep relation with energy in the context of fossil fuels, growth, climate, and meaning in life, with energy expert Nate Hagens.
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00:00 – Introduction
02:40 – The What & Why of Energy Blindness & Overview of the Great Simplication
20:05 – On polarisation regarding critical subjects and how Nate meets this in the context of his life and work
36:50 – On the Future of Energy, Limits To Growth, Realities of Climate Change & Alex Epstein
55:50 – On the relation between blind growth, the deep commons of value and exchange, and meaning in life
1:07:20 – On personal self-relating with systemic pattern, and looking to the future
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Nate is a well-known speaker on the big picture issues facing human society and currently teaches a systems synthesis Honors seminar at the University of Minnesota ‘Reality 101 – A Survey of the Human Predicament’ Nate is on the Boards of Post Carbon Institute, Bottleneck Foundation, IIER and Institute for the Study of Energy and the Future. Previously, he was lead editor of The Oil Drum, one of the most popular and respected websites for analysis and discussion of global energy supplies and the future implications of the upcoming energy transition.
Nate’s presentations address the opportunities and constraints we face after the coming peak of global economic growth. On the supply side, Nate focuses on the interrelationship between debt-based financial markets and natural resources, particularly energy with and the unique (and so far unplanned for) risks from the coming ‘Great Simplification’. On the demand side, Nate addresses the evolutionarily-derived underpinnings to status, addiction, and our aversion to acting about the future and offers suggestions on how individuals and society might better adapt to the coming decades. Ultimately, Nate’s talks attempt to provide a framework for people who would like to participate in shaping the future.
Nate has appeared on PBS, BBC, ABC and NPR, and has lectured around the world. He holds a Masters Degree in Finance with Honors from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Previously Nate was President of Sanctuary Asset Management and a Vice President at the investment firms Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers.
Watch Nate’s The Great Simplification Podcast on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/@thegreatsimplification
Access The Great Simplification Hub @ https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/
Nate recommended sharing this short clip in accompaniment with this podcast here: https://youtu.be/lgoD9q3A5RU
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