We are living in a period of extreme risk. More specifically in a time of three big risks - climate destabilisation, peak oil and a debt based financial crisis. These risks have some very big consequences attached to them and if the status quo remains, these consequences will have a huge negative impact on our society and more importantly, you. I am talking about your economic prosperity, living conditions, diet and possibly even your health.

The human mind has evolved to be very good at instinctually judging the risk posed by immediate threats. But we are not so adept at judging infrequent or longer term threats. Luckily we have also developed logical thinking skills and the science of risk management. Risk largely boils down to the equation Risk = Likelihood x Consequence and is visually represented in something called a risk matrix (if you are not very familiar with the concept of risk or how a risk matrix works, click the button below to get an overview complete with animated diagrams).

The consequences of climate destabilisation, peak oil or a financial crisis are largely undisputed. Drought, extreme weather events and economic recessions are considered bad by most people and in the scheme of things the impacts are pretty severe. But there seems to be endless argument over just how likely these events are to happen. If you put any of these events into a risk matrix they would all go in either the high or extreme risk category. The consequences are so severe that it doesn't matter if you think there is a 5%, 50% or 95% likelihood of it happening, they are still high risk. Add in the fact that there is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest that the likelihood is quite high and these risks suddenly become extreme.

Of course these are complicated issues which are very difficult to wrap your head around and it’s probably impossible to understand it all. No one can be certain of what will happen. This is nothing new and the future has always been uncertain in this way. This is why the science of risk management was developed. In the context of risk we don't need to know it all. All we need is is a rough idea of the consequences and the likelihood of those consequences occurring to decide whether we should take action to reduce the risk or not. Unfortunately this is not the context that frames the debate in the mainstream media, but I would like it to be the context for you when using this site. We do the same thing when buying insurance for our house, you’d be foolish not to. So why refuse to look at the big issues facing us in the same way?

I have been looking at these issues for a long time now and have come to my own conclusions about what the main problems are and what to do about them. But the purpose of this site is not to be a megaphone for my opinion or ego, but rather a repository of information that is presented in very user friendly forms. The purpose is instead based on one word - understanding. Understanding shapes our attitudes and our attitudes shape our actions. There is always a broad range of attitudes in our societies but usually consensus wins out. I want to bring us towards a consensus that will help solve our problems. Without it there will never be the political will to take the bold steps that need to be taken.

So that’s your job - to learn. The good news is that I have tried to make this easy as possible for you. We are visual creatures who learn best by multi sensory means. This is why most of the content on this site is an easy to understand visual form, mainly quality video that is short and to the point. Basically a collection of the best material from around the web.

I have also sorted this material into four different knowledge levels, from ‘I don't have a clue’ right up to ‘I know it all’. So depending on how much prior knowledge you have or time you have to learn, you will find something appropriate for you.

Learning this material not only could be the difference between making some very smart or very dumb life decisions, but by spreading the important ideas around to your friends and family, it will help shift the discussion played out in the media and politics away from some of the dangerous short term thinking that dominates government policy today. The future is in our hands. The biggest thing you can do is to learn, understand, accept what changes need to be made and spread the word. So with that I will leave you to begin the voyage of discovery by clicking one of the links below.