The articles and resources in this section all support the concept of resource sustainability – a central component of creating sustainable and responsible business. The articles in this section focus on better understanding the implications of energy vulnerability and resource insecurity for small (and large) business. They are designed to catalyse business into minimising their risk by actively addressing their resource use and management.

1. “Towards Oil Resilience – Community Information Paper” by the Queensland Government (2008) was probably the world’s first government-published community document to begin discussing Peak Oil – the depletion and vulnerability of the world’s oil supplies. It provides a clear and useful introduction to some of the key issues and implications for Queensland.
2. “Unholy Trinity Set to Drag Us into the Abyss” by Ian Dunlop (Sydney Morning Herald, October 2006), presents the case that peak oil, climate change and water security are not only major stand-alone issues but are converging to create a highly unpredictable future for our economy and communities.
3. “Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest, says new study” in The Guardian October 2007. This article discusses the release of a report by the German-based Energy Watch Group World which states that oil production has already peaked and will fall by half as soon as 2030. The report warns that extreme shortages of fossil fuels will lead to wars and social breakdown.
4. “Getting There” by Ray Anderson chronicles the personal story of how Ray Anderson, the Chairman of international flooring manufacturer Interface, became one of the leading proponents of achieving sustainability.
5. “A Call for Systemic Change” by Ray Anderson. This is a passionately prophetic speech by Ray Anderson, Chairman of Interface Flooring Systems, one of the leading environmentally responsible multinational corporations, calling for educators to transform education immediately.
6. “Al Gore: A Generational Challenge to Repower America” is a stirring call for all of us to awaken to our dangerous reliance on carbon-based energy (oil and coal in particular) and to look to renewable energy as an economic lever for sustainable revitalisation.
7. “Can You Still Hate Wal-Mart?” by Mark Morford is a very readable treatise on the possibility that multi-national corporations such as the US Wal-Mart, might have an interest in becoming more ecologically and socially responsible.
8. “Nine Meals from Anarchy: How Britain is facing a very real food crisis” by Rosie Boycott reflects upon the implications of oil price/vulnerability and the way the agriculture and food industries operate in the UK. She identifies how vulnerable the UK and most western industrialized nations are around the world should any sudden shocks destablise oil supplies and hence available food supplies. A frightening and catalysing article.
9. “A Deeper Shade of Green” by Bill McKibben. At times he can seem like a biblical prophet, lamenting how our human failings are destroying the planet. Yet listen more carefully to Bill McKibben—environmental essayist, activist, and author of the best seller The End of Nature and Deep Economy—and you'll hear a redeeming message that transforms the idea of what "green" can mean.
10. “My Thirty Days of Consumer Celibacy” by Wendee Holtcamp is a personal account about reducing the buying of ‘stuff’. It connects our voracious consumer culture with the degradation of the environment and social wellbeing.
11. “Water for Food and Other Products” by Wayne Meyer is a short table that identifies the amount of water required to produce goods and food.
12. “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” by Megan Quinn is a terrific story about how Cuba transformed itself from a high oil consuming culture to a low-carbon one and in the process revitalised organic, sustainability agriculture, health and wellbeing.