Dmitry Orlov explained why efforts to extend the lifetime of the industrial, fossil fuel-based economy are misguided and will fail. He then presented alternatives, describing how patterns of land use can be transformed into patterns of habitat creation and how informal local networks of sustainable non-fossil-fuel-based production and distribution can be created.
Dmitry Orlov was born in Leningrad and immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. He was an eyewitness to the Soviet collapse over several extended visits to his Russian homeland between the late eighties and mid-nineties. He is an engineer with a BS in Computer Engineering and an MA in Applied Linguistics. Orlov describes in his book Reinventing Collapse “the waning days of the American Empire”. He explains how the US administration finds itself mired in political crisis, how its foreign policy has come under sharp criticism; and why the economy is in steep decline. Orlov believes that these trends mirror the experience of the Soviet Union in the early 1980’s. By examining the circumstances of the demise of the Soviet superpower, Orlov offers clear insights into how the world might prepare for coming events.
Recorded on day two of The New Emergency Conference: Managing Risk and Building Resilience in a Resource Constrained World. Held on 10-12 June 2009, All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9, Ireland.
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