Why teotw.net? A "Mission Statement"

I was born in the 1950s and grew up in middle-class circumstances in middle America. Life for most of my "baby-boomer" generation was prosperous, peaceful, and profligate.

The maelstrom of ongoing changes (July 2009, the birthmonth of this site) is indicative of the much, much different future that we face, with challenges that are almost never discussed by politicians, mainstream media, or our financial oligarchy. The more people who understand where we are and how we got here, the better our chances of making wise choices as we face an uncertain future.

Mushrooms are kept in the dark and fed shit all the time. Our world is morphing rapidly, dramatically, and permanently, but mushrooms generally have an incomplete view of things. REFUSE TO BE A MUSHROOM!

This site "mushroomed" from materials I made available to my college students. Perhaps you, too, will find something useful here.

What this site will NOT provide:
1. Complete coverage of any of these topics. Although I've immersed myself in this stuff for the last 2.5 years, I'm not getting paid to do this, and I do (still) have a real job.

2. Lots of analysis by me. My opinions and preferences are limited to italicized introductions to each page, and to annotations of most of the source materials. Of course, my opinions also are reflected in the selection of what is on this site.

3. A forum for public discussion. Go elsewhere with an ascientific, Imhofian rant about climate change, peak oil, or whatever; I'm fighting different battles. I will, however, try to respond to
thoughtful comments or questions.