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Old 08-13-2012, 10:35 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
9,855 posts, read 11,901,262 times
Reputation: 10028

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Found this today:Link. Conservatives please note that Obama's name does not appear anywhere in the narrative. Nor does a timeline going back to the 1940's allow any reasonable individual to put sole responsibility for a complete collapse of life as we know it on Liberal Democrat shoulders. Discuss.

H
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Old 08-13-2012, 10:50 PM
 
Location: planet octupulous is nearing earths atmosphere
13,620 posts, read 12,708,685 times
Reputation: 20050
just a matter of time till the big flush
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Old 08-13-2012, 10:54 PM
 
Location: Pluto's Home Town
9,982 posts, read 13,734,011 times
Reputation: 5689
Scary. I have felt that we have brewed up a tremendous bubble in many sectors over the last few decades. The partisan finger pointing has blinded us to good sense. When we should be actually working together to strengthen our economic fundamentals, various factions are either trying to fleece the system or to undermine it. Truly systemic approaches cannot be undertaken in the current political climate, because sleazy half-truths and smear jobs are all we get from our leaders.
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Old 08-13-2012, 11:25 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles County, CA
29,095 posts, read 25,959,022 times
Reputation: 6128
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leisesturm View Post
Found this today:Link. Conservatives please note that Obama's name does not appear anywhere in the narrative. Nor does a timeline going back to the 1940's allow any reasonable individual to put sole responsibility for a complete collapse of life as we know it on Liberal Democrat shoulders. Discuss.

H
Its the fault of President Obama and the Democrats.
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Old 08-13-2012, 11:40 PM
 
Location: Illinois Delta
5,767 posts, read 5,007,369 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrier View Post
Its the fault of President Obama and the Democrats.


But of course! As is the fall of Rome, the Black Death, the Irish potato famine, WW II, the Cuban revolution and every poor decision made at the Presidential level between 2000 and 2008.
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Old 08-14-2012, 12:51 AM
 
Location: The Other California
4,254 posts, read 5,594,541 times
Reputation: 1552
Can't we kick the can down the road another 20 or 30 years?
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Old 08-14-2012, 01:05 AM
 
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
17,823 posts, read 23,404,380 times
Reputation: 6541
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leisesturm View Post
Found this today:Link. Conservatives please note that Obama's name does not appear anywhere in the narrative. Nor does a timeline going back to the 1940's allow any reasonable individual to put sole responsibility for a complete collapse of life as we know it on Liberal Democrat shoulders. Discuss.

H
Actually, the changes that brought about this economic catastrophe in the process of happening began in the 1890s through the 1940s. First, by former Republicans in the original Progressive Party from 1912 through 1924, then by the Democrats from 1932 through the mid-1940s. By then the damage was already done.

We have allowed the federal government to usurp powers away from the States that they were never intended to have. Until that changes, there is no hope for the nation.
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Old 08-14-2012, 06:54 AM
 
981 posts, read 1,617,311 times
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This is such complete and utter bunk. Fossil fuels, while declining, are still rather abundant in supply. The days of cheap oil are long over, which means a lot of things will cost more. It does not mean that the cost will rise to the point that extraction becomes pointless. That won't occur for a long time. And even then, there are alternatives to crude oil in the form of coal-to-gas or natural gas.

The biggest change, however, and the most important going forward will be simply reducing consumption. Personal transportation accounts for half of our crude oil consumption in the United States. The average vehicle gets around 25 mpg and the average American drives 12,000 miles per year, which is abhorrent when one considers how dependent we are on transportation. It does, however, mean there is a lot of room for addressing the issue of consumption because we already have technologies today that can greatly reduce oil consumption. The easiest thing going forward would be to simply reduce how much we drive down to what is essential. I have no clue how much of a dent that could make, but I would say it could have a profound impact. All of the people I know drive around all the time when they don't have to.

I think most Americans could switch to far more fuel efficient forms of transportation, like motorcycles or mopeds. You are probably laughing at me right now, but hear me out. I have driven a motorcycle 365 days a year for two years in a row now. I get around 80-90 mpg. And this is in an area that experiences all 4 seasons. That represents nearly a 4x increase in energy efficiency versus the typical vehicle. And you could get a moped that can get up to 150 mpg. In fact, you can easily get electrical mopeds that completely bypass the need for gas at all. The technology is much more suited to small vehicles like mopeds.

The Olduvai Theory makes far too many assumptions about consumption patterns. As prices increase, people will consume less whether through foregoing consumption entirely or switching to more efficient technologies. Never mind the fact that as technology improves, energy efficiency typically comes along with it. Appliances from a decade ago are far less energy efficient than newer versions.

One of the biggest consumers of electricity in a modern home is simply heating and cooling. In a scenario where electricity becomes more costly, people can reduce the amount they heat and cool the home. After a certain point, they could largely ditch inefficient central heating and air systems in favor of localized AC solutions, like a box fan. It is what I do since I think it is just much more efficient. I get direct heating and cooling as opposed to heating or cooling large spaces that have no relevance to me.

Another large consumer of electricity is lighting, but there are so many new technologies out there, like CFLs or LEDs, that are going to dramatically cut down on our lighting power consumption.

I just cannot take the Olduvai Theory seriously at all. I think it is bunk because it doesn't take into account too many factors that are extremely relevant. I think the name of the game in the future will be re-urbanization, more condensed families, and a move to far greater efficiency.
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Old 08-14-2012, 07:42 AM
 
25,805 posts, read 16,456,078 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leisesturm View Post
Found this today:Link. Conservatives please note that Obama's name does not appear anywhere in the narrative. Nor does a timeline going back to the 1940's allow any reasonable individual to put sole responsibility for a complete collapse of life as we know it on Liberal Democrat shoulders. Discuss.

H
Why would this happen? Money and debt is just a big sham. Farmers farm, they grow food. Automakers make cars. Oil workers produce oil. They need money to buy their food and clothing ect. What do people want? They want to watch their children grow up and be as happy as they can. The World Bank and Governments determine what money is worth. Once they took money off the gold standard it became a game with flexible rules.

The greedy are the ones who will cause problems, most people just want enough money to keep their families safe.

The US has the military to back this up--they should just say EVERYONE's debt is forgiven tomorrow. That's it, no country owes anyone anything. Now it's time to get prices down to a fair level and start over again.

If it takes a world currency, then let's do it.
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Old 08-14-2012, 07:43 AM
 
Location: North America
19,784 posts, read 15,081,959 times
Reputation: 8527
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evenstar51 View Post
But of course! As is the fall of Rome, the Black Death, the Irish potato famine, WW II, the Cuban revolution and every poor decision made at the Presidential level between 2000 and 2008.

Not to mention the Spanish inquisition...oh, wait, that's Mitt's fault.
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