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Old 11-04-2010, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,710,554 times
Reputation: 14115

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The gears are turning in head as I try to put the puzzle pieces together concerning world events, policies and real world results vs not so realistic promises. I have formulated a "conspiracy theory" of sorts that matches how the world turns these days that I submit for your discerning criticism.

Ok, so here it is: Various different but more or less aligned forces are working in concert to avert an imminent collapse of modern civilization.

The collapse is cause by factors that have laid waste to civilizations in the past, abeit on a smaller scale. Basically, once a society has become too specialized and dependent on certain specific economic factors it is at high risk for collapse should that dependency be compromised. For the Easter Islanders, it was the building of the Moai, for the Mayans and Anasazi it was drought, arable land and over-population; for the Romans it was over-extension of the Empire's reach.

For us, our achilles heal is our total dependency on fossil fuels.

As our energy resources dwindle over time and our population continues to skyrocket we will eventually come to the point where everything breaks down and we start eating each other's brains, a la 'Road Warrior", just like fallen civilizations before us. There is only one true solution: we must de-specialize. This means we need to break our global dependency on fossil fuels, i.e. replace them with something else.

In reality, nothing has been invented yet that does the job as well in so many ways as does oil, coal and natural gas. We may get there eventually, but that will take time... decades before Hydrogen, Solar Power and the like are viable. But exponential growth has greatly decreased the time we have, so the only practical solution is to stretch what we have.

Of course, it is very unpopular to lower our lifestyle expectations here in the most consumption oriented land on earth. The environmental movement tried to make it hip, Global Warming tried to scare us, but only a large scale recession (really a depression) will slow us down and extend the time we've got left.

Setting up a crash in the housing market and demonizing large living (think about the backlash of Mc Mansions and Hummers) while simultaneously glorifying apartment life in popular entertainment (Seinfield or Friends, anyone?) pushes masses of people into new living arrangements that use less resources out of necessity.

Pushing up the cost of fuel prematurely forces cities to contract back toward their cores.

Tricking people into debt slavery and forcing them into poverty likewise forces large swaths of people to cut back.

In the end, only a very few of those in power will have control of the resources, so they can choose how to distribute them (or not). They may have good intentions (stop the collapse of modern civilization) but there will be many casualties.

So what do you think? Fantasy or Reality?
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Old 11-04-2010, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
20,893 posts, read 16,011,456 times
Reputation: 3954
The stone age did not end because we ran out of stones. And the oil age will not end because we run out of oil.
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Old 11-04-2010, 02:10 PM
 
29,981 posts, read 42,775,629 times
Reputation: 12828
I would say that the government intends to control the power resources in regard to earth mined fuels and hydro-electric, thus the Dept. of the Interiors new attempt at a massive land grab.

It is no coincidence that China is buying up control of the world's "rare earth" resources outside of the USA.
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Old 11-04-2010, 02:11 PM
 
27,625 posts, read 21,020,969 times
Reputation: 11091
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chango View Post
The gears are turning in head as I try to put the puzzle pieces together concerning world events, policies and real world results vs not so realistic promises. I have formulated a "conspiracy theory" of sorts that matches how the world turns these days that I submit for your discerning criticism.

Ok, so here it is: Various different but more or less aligned forces are working in concert to avert an imminent collapse of modern civilization.

The collapse is cause by factors that have laid waste to civilizations in the past, abeit on a smaller scale. Basically, once a society has become too specialized and dependent on certain specific economic factors it is at high risk for collapse should that dependency be compromised. For the Easter Islanders, it was the building of the Moai, for the Mayans and Anasazi it was drought, arable land and over-population; for the Romans it was over-extension of the Empire's reach.

For us, our achilles heal is our total dependency on fossil fuels.

As our energy resources dwindle over time and our population continues to skyrocket we will eventually come to the point where everything breaks down and we start eating each other's brains, a la 'Road Warrior", just like fallen civilizations before us. There is only one true solution: we must de-specialize. This means we need to break our global dependency on fossil fuels, i.e. replace them with something else.

In reality, nothing has been invented yet that does the job as well in so many ways as does oil, coal and natural gas. We may get there eventually, but that will take time... decades before Hydrogen, Solar Power and the like are viable. But exponential growth has greatly decreased the time we have, so the only practical solution is to stretch what we have.

Of course, it is very unpopular to lower our lifestyle expectations here in the most consumption oriented land on earth. The environmental movement tried to make it hip, Global Warming tried to scare us, but only a large scale recession (really a depression) will slow us down and extend the time we've got left.

Setting up a crash in the housing market and demonizing large living (think about the backlash of Mc Mansions and Hummers) while simultaneously glorifying apartment life in popular entertainment (Seinfield or Friends, anyone?) pushes masses of people into new living arrangements that use less resources out of necessity.

Pushing up the cost of fuel prematurely forces cities to contract back toward their cores.

Tricking people into debt slavery and forcing them into poverty likewise forces large swaths of people to cut back.

In the end, only a very few of those in power will have control of the resources, so they can choose how to distribute them (or not). They may have good intentions (stop the collapse of modern civilization) but there will be many casualties.

So what do you think? Fantasy or Reality?
C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy | Global Research TV

Rachel Maddow on the topic of the C Street house (Religious Right Watch)
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Old 11-04-2010, 02:28 PM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,710,554 times
Reputation: 14115
Quote:
Originally Posted by HistorianDude View Post
The stone age did not end because we ran out of stones. And the oil age will not end because we run out of oil.
Catchy, but completely out of touch with reality.
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Old 11-04-2010, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
20,893 posts, read 16,011,456 times
Reputation: 3954
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chango View Post
Catchy, but completely out of touch with reality.
Sorry.... but the irony could not possibly be more delicious.
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Old 11-04-2010, 03:05 PM
 
Location: Sinking in the Great Salt Lake
13,139 posts, read 22,710,554 times
Reputation: 14115
Quote:
Originally Posted by HistorianDude View Post
Sorry.... but the irony could not possibly be more delicious.
I'm sure it's wonderful to revel in your little world of self-aggrandizement as usual, but it must so lonely.

But please, educate me. What forces at were at work in the world that kept us from running out of stones and will also keep us from running out of oil?
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Old 11-04-2010, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
20,893 posts, read 16,011,456 times
Reputation: 3954
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chango View Post
But please, educate me. What forces at were at work in the world that kept us from running out of stones and will also keep us from running out of oil?
The technology that obsoletes it. Of course.
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Old 11-04-2010, 03:32 PM
 
19,226 posts, read 15,256,618 times
Reputation: 2337
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chango View Post
Catchy, but completely out of touch with reality.
I kinda like it. It can be read a coupla ways.
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Old 11-04-2010, 04:01 PM
 
745 posts, read 1,275,669 times
Reputation: 1470
If you want to see which socities and cultures will still be around in meaningful ways in 50 years, check out the population growth rates here. It is every country with a birth rate of 2.1 or higher, which is necessary to maintain a population and culture. See yours on there?
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