Topic: Oil

[ Episode #14 // Discovering Dirt ]

Though we call it dirt, the soil beneath is the skin of our planet and the breadbasket of our species. Is there a connection between the lifespan of a civilization and the rate at which its topsoil erodes? The agricultural practices of past societies can serve as a stern warning against highly erosive farming and point the way towards a revolution in the way we produce the sustenance needed for survival and prosperity. What does it mean that rapidly increasing food prices are causing riots around the world while a dump-truck load of soil enters the Mississippi Delta every second?

In Extraenvironmentalist #14 we speak with Dave Montgomery, author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. In his book, Dr. Montgomery covers historical evidence from Rome, Greece, China and other societies to trace a link between population dynamics and erosion. Even though the land of North America has only experienced heavy agricultural erosion for a much shorter span, we've already mined the fertility of the U.S. Southeast to churn out tobacco, driving populations towards the Pacific in search of more productive land. We discuss some key historical examples and talk about how modern trends point to serious concerns for the present as soil productivity declines at a rapid rate. Can a crisis in global agriculture be avoided when our society is heavily dependent on the temporary agricultural output boosted by petroleum dependent chemicals?

 

// Music (in order of appearance)
Conner Youngblood - Summer Song via The Music Ninja
Bibio - K is for Kelson via Et Musique Pour Tous
Mount Moriah - Lament via The New Music Collaborative
Daughter - Landfill via Earplugs Not Included
Daughter - Candles via Earplugs Not Included

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[ Episode #1 // The Great Awakening ]

Every audible journey begins somewhere. For The Extraenvironmentalist our quest starts with these particular bits transmitted over the internet.

We are taking the discussions we have online to the compressed air between your ears and the vibrating diaphragm enabling your audio device. In this episode, we outline our reasoning for starting the podcast, cover one of what will be many blogs we follow, talk about our thoughts on why Terence McKenna's philosophy is so deep underground, discuss a bit of Jane Brox's new book Brilliant and how it relates to oil and whale depletion: specifically the BP oil spill calculated in number of whales equivalent.

 

// Media Links
Movie | Howard Beale talks about human robots in the movie Network
Blog | Spheres of Influence via Dark Ages America
Podcast | Diet Soap Episode #69 Fighting the Control System with a Northern Song ft. Neil Kramer
Youtube | a Graduation Speech by Erica Goldson
Podcast | C-Realm Episode #214 Technogenic Catastrophe ft. Dmitry Orlov
Youtube | Bill Hicks talks about a positive drug story
Podcast | Psychedelic Salon Ep: 225 - McKenna: "Hermeticism and Alchemy" Part 3
Podcast | C-Realm Episode #218

// Music (in order of appearance)
Baths - Maximalist via Earmilk
Local Natives - Wide Eyes (Teen Daze Remix) via Stereogum
Lobsterdust - I Will Survivor via DJ Lobsterdust
Vampire Weekend - White Sky (Cecline Remix) via We All Want Someone To Shout For
Mark Ronson - Lose It (In the End) ft. Ghostface Killah via Et Musique Pour Tous
thisismycopyfight

// Corrections (let us know if you find the Easter eggs in every episode!)

Seth says that Terence has been dead for 20 years, he's only been dead for 10

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