{"id":812,"date":"2011-12-15T19:25:52","date_gmt":"2011-12-15T19:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.extraenvironmentalist.com\/?p=812"},"modified":"2017-05-11T09:10:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T13:10:36","slug":"episode-31-simplifying-complexity","status":"publish","type":"xen_episodes","link":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/","title":{"rendered":"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is our species capable of looking ahead to prepare for the potentially\u00a0disastrous\u00a0results of larger trends? While daily existence has always presented challenges, modern civilization uses advanced technologies to address problems. Yet, is our ability to problem solve the very problem itself? What if the technology we're developing is increasing our reliance on a strategy yielding rapidly diminishing returns? Though a general understanding of complexity eludes us, are there ways of feeling it in our day-to-day life?<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Extraenvironmentalist #31<\/strong>\u00a0we speak with\u00a0Dr. Joseph Tainter<\/a>\u00a0about collapse, complexity and energy. Dr. Tainter recently co-authored\u00a0Drilling Down<\/a>\u00a0which\u00a0explains why the BP Gulf Oil spill occurred in terms of the complexity that supports supports our society. \u00a0We discuss concepts of complexity, energy and a meaningful definition of sustainability. In our conversation, Dr. Tainter covers the dynamics of the Roman Empire as it moved further down the road of collapse; debasing its currency and unraveling due the expenses of foreign wars. Seth and I ask if energy alternatives exist that can support civilization, such as solar photovoltaics or wind power. If they can't, are we trapped in a complexity spiral with no way out?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/extraenvironmentalist\/xepodcasts.com\/assets\/podcasts\/extraenvironmentalist\/031-simplifying-complexity.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>
\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\/\/ Music (in order of appearance)<\/strong>
\nSinnitus Tempo - C'est La Vie<\/a> via Elbo.ws<\/a>
\nPenguin Prison - Multimillionaire (Shook Remix)<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0via\u00a0<\/em>Et Musique Pour Tous<\/a>
\nMiike Snow - Devil's Work<\/a>\u00a0via\u00a0<\/em>Pretty Much Amazing<\/a>
\nDJ Shadow - Scale It Back ft. Little Dragon (Robotaki Remix)<\/a>\u00a0via<\/em> The Music Ninja <\/a>
\nImogen Heap - Hide and Seek (ENiGMA Remix) \u00a0<\/a>via<\/em> The Music Ninja<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/ Extended Clips (in order of appearance)<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Shopping Seizes Minds, Leaves No Room for News<\/a>
\nBill Rees - How to Convince People to Face Reality
\n<\/a>Richard Heinberg on Transition
\n<\/a>Thomas Homer-Dixon on Civilization Far From Equalibrium
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/ Additional Links<\/strong>
\n Jamie of Steppin' Off the Edge interviews KMO and Justin about collapse <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is our species capable of looking ahead to prepare for the potentially\u00a0disastrous\u00a0results of larger trends? While daily existence has always presented challenges, modern civilization uses advanced technologies to address problems. Yet, is our ability to problem solve the very problem itself? What if the technology we’re developing is increasing our reliance on a strategy yielding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13058,"featured_media":1574,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30,32,58,63,87,91,110,115,121,136,140,142,155,157],"class_list":["post-812","xen_episodes","type-xen_episodes","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-collapse","tag-complexity","tag-efficiency","tag-energy","tag-human-nature","tag-innovation","tag-net-energy","tag-oil","tag-peak-oil","tag-renewables","tag-rome","tag-science","tag-sustainability","tag-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is our species capable of looking ahead to prepare for the potentially\u00a0disastrous\u00a0results of larger trends? While daily existence has always presented challenges, modern civilization uses advanced technologies to address problems. Yet, is our ability to problem solve the very problem itself? What if the technology we're developing is increasing our reliance on a strategy yielding […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Extraenvironmentalist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-11T13:10:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"580\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/\",\"name\":\"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-15T19:25:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-11T13:10:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg\",\"width\":580,\"height\":269},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Episodes\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ]\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/\",\"name\":\"Extraenvironmentalist\",\"description\":\"I am a human being therefore nothing human is alien to me\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist","og_description":"Is our species capable of looking ahead to prepare for the potentially\u00a0disastrous\u00a0results of larger trends? While daily existence has always presented challenges, modern civilization uses advanced technologies to address problems. Yet, is our ability to problem solve the very problem itself? What if the technology we're developing is increasing our reliance on a strategy yielding […]","og_url":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/","og_site_name":"Extraenvironmentalist","article_modified_time":"2017-05-11T13:10:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":580,"height":269,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/","url":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/","name":"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ] - Extraenvironmentalist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg","datePublished":"2011-12-15T19:25:52+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-11T13:10:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2011\/12\/episode31art.jpg","width":580,"height":269},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/episode-31-simplifying-complexity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Episodes","item":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/episodes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"[ Episode #31 \/\/ Simplifying Complexity ]"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/#website","url":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/","name":"Extraenvironmentalist","description":"I am a human being therefore nothing human is alien to me","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/episodes\/812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/episodes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/xen_episodes"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/episodes\/812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xenetwork.org\/xe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}