This is not an issue related directly to this board, but it is an issue related to every one of us here. It seems to me as if society is about to undergo a radical upheaval in the form of an new energy crisis. To put it simply we are running out of oil. I am not going to post all the details but if you want them you can message me and I will be more than happy to do so.
The growth of capitalism has spurred the world into an increasing consumption of oil. On the supply side ? we don?t have enough to sustain ourselves over time even if demand remains stagnant. Frankly, we are toast and have no chance to escape this impending disaster. I predict that while everyone focuses on Social Security and the other entitlement programs facing the US we will suddenly find ourselves in the way of the perfect storm ? Oil at near $75 a barrel. I will go out on a limb here and say this will occur within the next 24 months ? if not have at me guys. Ridicule me like we ridicule the borg?but I have little reason to believe I am wrong on this.
Richard Heinburg asks readers of his new book, ?The Party?s Over ? Oil and the fate of industrial societies? to:
?Try the following thought experiment. Go to the center of a city and find a comfortable place to sit. Look around and ask yourself: Where and how is energy being used? What forms of energy are being consumed, and what work is that energy doing? Notice the details of buildings, cars, buses, streetlights, and so on; notice also the activities of the people around you. What kinds of occupations do these people have, and how do they use energy in their work? Try to follow some of the strands of the web of relationships between energy, jobs, water, food, heating, construction, goods distribution, transportation, and maintenance that together keep the city thriving.? ?After you have spent at least 20 minutes appreciating energy's role in the life of this city, imagine what the scene you are viewing would look like if there were 10 percent less energy available. What substitutions would be necessary? What choices would people make? What work would not get done? Now imagine the scene with 25 percent less energy available; with 50 percent less; with 75 percent less.?
I suggest people need to prepare for both the financial and the social consequences if I am correct on this issue. I have long railed for exploitation of alternate renewable energy sources but they have not emerged. The reason is simple: there has been no incentive in a capitalist society to find alternatives. Shortly, this will all change as our oil-driven energy systems become the societal pivots to the next revolution in the industrialized world.
Anyway this is just another piece of my boring world. I have too much time to think and no one to talk to about this so I thought I would share it with the board. I have been preparing myself to profit financially from this inevitable event, but I fear that if the problem reaches the proportion it could I may not escape the consequences on society.
Ever the cheerful,
Ass