The Global Energy Crisis Is a Story of Fragility

Host Abby Kinney, an urban planner in Kansas City, and regular cohost Chuck Marohn, Strong Towns founder and president.

Millions of people around the globe are soon going to feel the impact of soaring natural gas prices—or so says an article recently published in Bloomberg Businessweek titled, “Europe’s Energy Crisis is Coming for the Rest of the World, Too.”

European governments have been warning their citizens of blackouts, factories are being forced to shut down, and other sources of energy, such as wind turbines, have not been producing enough output to pick up the slack. Gas is becoming more necessary and more expensive, especially in climates where gas is relied on to heat homes during the winter. And the crisis is spreading beyond Europe.

This week on Upzoned, regular host Abby Kinney and co-host Chuck Marohn “upzone” the rising costs of gas—i.e., they look at it through the Strong Towns lens. They discuss how the underlying story here is the fragility of these large, complex, interconnected systems, and how it impacts us all at the local level.

Then, in the downzone, Chuck needs a vacation from his vacation and Abby is getting ready to welcome a special guest to Kansas City (hint: it’s Chuck).

Additional Show Notes

• “Europe’s Energy Crisis Is Coming for the Rest of the World, Too,“ by Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg Businessweek (September 2021)

• Abby Kinney (Twitter)

• Charles Marohn (Twitter)

• Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom (Soundcloud)

• Cover image via Flickr

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