About

The past several decades have been all about transcending limits—geographical, technological, and cultural. Commentators have heralded The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman as a book that captures the limit-defying potential of the modern, globalized world. But is this truly where we are headed? Is it even where we want to go?

This blog explores the state of the modern world in light of the very real limits that the next several decades are likely to impose: limits to our energy consumption and to what our financial markets will allow; environmental limits caused by climate change, degradation, and exploitative resource use; and social limits stemming from a culture that has taught us to expect more than can reasonably be sustained. In this context, we feel that the bicycle and the olive tree provide a more apt metaphor for what is in store in this impending age—the Age of Limits.

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We are two recent-ish college grads, living in D.C. and Minneapolis, and we are growing increasingly disillusioned and, frankly, pissed off about Business as Usual. We write about peak oil and energy issues, food and water security, the environment, poverty, dignity, local communities, and how to whip up a mean bowl of rice and beans.